Stability, prosperity pivotal in postwar landscape

Somali refugee admits he helped to smuggle African migrants into Manitoba for money

A Somali refugee who was twice caught by RCMP assisting in the smuggling of desperate African migrants into Manitoba during the frigid winter — including while out on bail, months after he was first arrested with eight foreign nationals in his vehicle — has admitted he did so for money.

Selkirk physiotherapist Pachal looks to finish strong at Natural Strongman Worlds

Over 250 competitors from 20 countries will descend on Paisley, Scotland, this week for the Natural Strongman Worlds. There the athletes will meet personal goals, test their endurance over a multiple-day event, and a winner from both the men’s and women’s division will be crowned the fittest of them all.

Selkirk’s own Tom Pachal will be competing in the under 80-kilogram weight class. Pachal has been surrounded by the fitness lifestyle his whole career, multitasking as a physiotherapist and owning the Iron Image Barbell Club in Selkirk.

“I’m very involved in the health, wellness, fitness, (and) rehabilitation community. I love being an overall active person and helping others,” Pachal said.

Starting off as a power lifter, Pachal was excited to transition over to the Strongman competitions, something that was less repetitive and more unpredictable.

City rescinds Balmoral Street property owner’s order to clean up encampment

A West Broadway landlord is off the hook for clearing a large riverbank encampment after the City of Winnipeg rescinded an order threatening to stick him with the cleanup bill.

Marvin Sharp, CEO of Astroid Management Ltd., which operates the Pen-Eve Apartments at 35 Balmoral St., said he received a call from the city Tuesday letting him know the order has been cancelled.

In a statement from the city, an official said the order was shelved due to an existing and active easement on the property.

“We have been communicating with the property owner throughout this process and they have been informed of this development,” a spokesperson said.

Stability, prosperity pivotal in postwar landscape

Acclaimed British popular historian James Holland has written numerous memorable works of history about the Second World War.

But his latest effort, The Visionaries, is a disappointment. It is essentially a narrative of events of American and European history from 1913 to the immediate post-Second World War era.

Holland has nothing original to say; he tells a familiar story that has been told many times before. The only justification for this book seems to be to pad Holland’s lengthy list of publications.

And his subtitle is a misnomer. The conference at Bretton Woods and the Marshall Plan are each addressed in brief chapters; neither is the focus of his narrative.

Tachinski helps punch men’s flag football ticket to Los Angeles Games

Jackson Tachinski: future Olympian?

Those prospects got a lot brighter for the Winnipegger on Sunday when the Canadian men’s flag football team won bronze at the IFAF World Flag Football Championships in Germany.

Tachinski was a key cog throughout a run that ended with a thrilling 34-26 overtime victory over Mexico that secured Canada’s spot at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, where flag football will debut on the biggest stage in sports.

“It was awesome. We were in overtime, and we got the ball first, and we ended up scoring and getting a two-point convert. We knew the defence just had to make a few plays and get a stop and we’d (win). Just seeing the ball go up in the air and (Montreal’s Guillaume Béland) came down with the interception, it was an unreal feeling. Just straight euphoria,” Tachinski told the Free Press shortly after returning home.