Police seek suspect, probe suspected hate crimes after two synagogues vandalized

Alberta’s gopher museum closed until further notice as owners find new facility

A quirky Alberta roadside attraction that has delighted travellers for decades with its stuffed rodents in tiny costumes is closed until further notice. 

The World Famous Gopher Hole Museum, located in Torrington, a hamlet about 120 kilometres north of Calgary, made the announcement online earlier this week.

Laural Kurta, museum director, said she was forced to close the doors because the two historical buildings that house the exhibits need to be replaced. 

"We have done every patch repair, staple, spackle, everything we could possibly do, and it is just at its end," Kurta said in an interview Tuesday. 

Canadian Mennonite University students, staff victims of cyberattack

Canadian Mennonite University fell victim to a cyberattack that compromised the data of current and former students and employees last month.

School officials became aware of the cybersecurity incident, in which an “unknown third party” accessed its information technology systems without authorization, on Sept. 18, university president Cheryl Pauls said in a recent statement.

The university has since confirmed the third party used that access to steal information from its systems.

“We immediately initiated our incident response plan, retained expert assistance, and informed the university community whose workflows were affected as soon as we became aware of the incident,” Pauls said. “We also reported this incident to law enforcement and will be filing a report with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.”

Ito in the house: Writer, translator takes new post as library’s writer-in-residence

It didn’t take Sally Ito long to settle into her new role as the Winnipeg Public Library’s latest writer-in-residence.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew sticks to French for third day in legislature

WINNIPEG - Manitoba’s premier spoke almost exclusively in French for the third consecutive day in the legislature on Wednesday in a move welcomed by the province’s francophone community.

The consistency is unusual for Wab Kinew, though he has suggested there is nothing noteworthy about him answering questions in one of the province's two official languages.

In the legislature, he said in French that he was proud to live in a province where it is normal for the premier to speak the language during question period.

Derrek Bentley, president of the Société de la francophonie manitobaine, says hearing leaders speak in French is important.