Maritime monster mystery merits a read

Maritime monster mystery merits a read

Combining a Lovecraftian monster with cryptozoological swashbuckling and the quirkiness of Newfoundland, J.R. McConvey’s first novel False Bodies is a fun, horror-tinged adventure.

Toronto-based McConvey’s debut story collection, Different Beasts, garnered some praise in 2019, including the KOBO emerging writer prize for speculative fiction. He follows this up with the slim novel False Bodies, which continues in a similar vein of monsters and examining longstanding horror tropes. This time, McConvey zeroes in on H.P. Lovecraft, tentacled monsters and bizarre cults.

The novel centres on Eddie “The Yeti” Gesner, a cryptozoologist who reads like a combination of Jack Reacher and Indiana Jones. For the uninitiated, cryptozoology concerns the pursuit of scientific evidence of cryptids, mythological or fantastic creatures which supposedly exist (or have existed) but for which proof remains elusive — think Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster. Gesner is fairly popular on the convention circuit, but mostly for rumours about his past: while hiking in the Himalayas, his wife disappeared. Gesner claims she simply vanished, blinked — or was taken — into another dimension. He remains a suspect in her death, but there is no proof.

Gesner is contacted about a case off the coast of Newfoundland where an oil rig has supposedly been attacked by a kraken, resulting in the deaths of all the crew onboard. Though the bodies were initially discovered, they and a giant tentacle found on the scene have since disappeared. Answers are in short supply as the local authorities appear to be conspiring with Haxan Corp, the energy corporation that owns the rig and is eager to keep everything quiet.

‘Huge resource gaps’: judge shortage leads to circuit court cuts

A shortage of judges is forcing Manitoba’s provincial court to slash sittings across the province.

The court announced in a notice to the profession Wednesday that it will be reducing the number of annual court sittings at nine rural circuit locations and St. Boniface provincial court in Winnipeg by 68 sittings, effective April 1, 2027.

The reductions are necessary to balance “access to justice needs with the complement of judicial resources currently insufficient to maintain the current court schedule,” said the notice, signed by provincial court Chief Judge Ryan Rolston.

Affected circuit courts include Altona, Arborg, Beausejour, Easterville, Cranberry Portage, Lundar, Grand Rapids, Moose Lake, and Pine Falls.

Closure of Nomads field massive upset for North End

The North Winnipeg Nomads have a flag on the field.

The long-standing minor football club was recently informed that its field is unfit to host games and that it would need to find a new home for its five youth and adult teams until repairs are made to the playing surface.

“Our board has made every effort to address the condition of our home field,” the club wrote in a statement. “Unfortunately, following a professional assessment, the field has been determined to be unsafe and unstable for our athletes.”

All five of the club’s teams will play their 2026 season at Frank Whyte Field, part of the Northwood Community Centre, with no confirmed date for when they can play on their home field again.

Sunday-night auto aficionados work to steer away from unwelcome elements they say aren’t a part of their tradition

The red 1969 Dodge Coronet Super Bee out for a cruise on Portage Avenue draws admiring eyes from onlookers on a recent Sunday night, many of them seeing a specimen of the now-rare muscle car for the first time on a Winnipeg street. Or any other street, for that matter.

Longtime car enthusiast Bob Sudoma was behind the wheel, participating in the decades-old show-offy summer tradition.

The Sunday night cruise is built around a simple idea: proud car owners take their beloved vehicles for a spin to meet up with others of the same autophile ilk.

Less-fortunate appreciators, or just curious folks, also gather along the route to watch the highly-polished parade. Portage Avenue is one of cruise night’s best-known stretches.

Artist’s inspired work brings Red River Métis story back to Portage and Main

Jennine Krauchi calls them the “grandmothers.” “They speak to you very silently. You never hear a word, but they speak,” Krauchi says, referring to the antique pieces of Métis needlework she’s carefully studied for years. But there are few precedents for her latest art project: a 85-foot-wide by 32-foot-high chain curtain of Métis needlework that drapes over the historic Bank of Montreal’s neoclassical facade.