Gena Rowlands has Alzheimer’s, her son Nick Cassavetes says

Kinew, two NDP caucus members file lawsuit defence, deny defaming former party MLA Wasyliw to expel him

The premier and two New Democrat caucus members have denied they conspired to defame another politician as an excuse to oust him from the party.

Mark Wasyliw, now an independent Member of the Legislative Assembly representing Fort Garry, was booted from the NDP in September 2024, which the party claimed was due to Wasyliw’s former law partner representing convicted sex offender and disgraced fashion mogul Peter Nygard.

The independent MLA, who’s a defence lawyer, claims statements his former colleagues made in September 2024 linking him to Nygard or accusing him of lying, harmed him and his reputation.

Wasyliw filed his lawsuit in December last year, naming Premier Wab Kinew, Natural Resources Minister Ian Bushie and Seine River MLA Billie Cross as defendants. The claim was later amended to remove Bushie as a defendant and add Environment Minister Mike Moyes, who was at the time chair of the NDP caucus, in his place.

Bjorck banking on patience that first NHL point will come

Viggo Bjorck believes it’s just a matter of time.

But the 18-year-old rookie forward for the Winnipeg Jets says he’s not worrying about his first NHL point after plenty of close calls and near misses so far.

The more important number is 3-0-1 — his team’s record at this point as they head into action on Friday night, hosting the Anaheim Ducks at Canada Life Centre to close out a busy stretch of five games in eight days.

“Just got to keep trying. Eventually it will come, I believe,” Bjorck said following his team’s optional skate on Thursday, which he participated in.

Fraser Institute report places Manitoba near bottom of all provinces, states in productivity, income advancement

Manitoba trails behind most Canadian provinces and American states in economic well-being, according to a new study.

The Fraser Institute, a right-leaning think tank, compared provinces’ and U.S. states’ GDP per person, among other economic measures, in a report released Thursday.

It places Manitoba 56th of 60 jurisdictions. Most provinces and every state except Mississippi had a higher GDP per person in 2024 than Manitoba, the Fraser Institute calculated.

It used data from Statistics Canada and the United States Census Bureau.

Booze sales down, gaming and cannabis up in Manitoba

MANITOBA Liquor and Lotteries delivered $724.1 million in profits to the province in 2025-26, with the lion’s share coming from alcohol, even as booze sales continue to shrink.

The Crown corporation’s contribution to Manitoba’s general revenues decreased by $6 million or 0.8 per cent from last year’s allocation of $730.1 million, its annual report shows.

That indicates stable overall performance “despite a changing operating environment,” the recently-released report said.

Those changes include the order from Premier Wab Kinew last year to remove U.S. alcohol from Liquor Mart store shelves after President Donald Trump launched a trade war against Canada as well as Manitobans’ changing tastes.

Wesmen women’s volleyball vets set on leading team to new heights

The Winnipeg Wesmen have taken their lumps over the last two years.

The women’s volleyball team has been the younger sister to some of Canada West’s more veteran programs while it refilled its cupboard with talent and cut its teeth.

The Wesmen are optimistic that those days are behind them, however.

The core of this squad is all grown up now and looking to jump into the next echelon with the rest of the conference heavyweights.

Letters, Oct. 8

Computer scientist Melvin Conway once stated, “Any organization that designs a system (defined broadly) will produce a design whose structure is a copy of the organization’s communication structure.”