Lancaster County Amish population grows despite urban sprawl

Province urged to lead effort to prevent dog maulings

More than two dozen animal advocacy groups are calling for an immediate meeting with federal and provincial governments and First Nations leadership to co-ordinate efforts to deal with problem dog populations following the mauling death of a rescue worker this month.

The Winnipeg Humane Society, K9 Advocacy Manitoba and Partners in Prevention are among the 26 groups asking for the creation of an advisory committee — which would include veterinary experts — to ensure a provincewide strategy on problem dog populations is developed and implemented.

“This is very much that call for action,” said Christina Von Schindler, CEO of the humane society. “The time is now.”

They say there are “systematic gaps” in dealing with overpopulation and the lack of veterinary services in First Nation communities. They say it is tantamount to a public health crisis.

Downtown Winnipeg comedy club Yuk Yuk’s closes

A downtown Winnipeg comedy club, Yuk Yuk’s, closed after being one of the company’s worst performing locations across Canada.

“We’ve opened many clubs,” said Mark Breslin, Yuk Yuk’s founder. “They’re like oil wells — some of them gush, some of them trickle and some of them are just dry.

“You never absolutely know which is going to be which.”

The franchise counts at least 10 locations nationally.

WAG wraps exhibition showcasing fine art of a sweet bike

Growing up in rural Manitoba, Allen Hildebrand was always tinkering with something. While on a flight to Mexico in 2016, it felt like an act of fate when he picked up a magazine and opened it to the ultimate project.

“It had this dirty old bike on it and I was like, ‘I want one of these in my life,’” Hildebrand says.

After 10 years, he is running out of space in his garage after filling it with four bikes, two of which are featured in a pop-up motorcycle exhibition at the WAG-Qaumajuq that ends Thursday.

The art gallery is broadening the perspective of what fine art can be with Art Moto: Where Design Meets the Road, featuring 25 motorbikes hand-built by local enthusiasts and set up in the gallery’s main hall and skylight.

Rare white buffalo gets dignified sendoff

Indigenous elders and others came together in the blistering heat Wednesday morning to perform a sacred pipe ceremony in honour of a rare white buffalo at the Assiniboine Park Zoo.

Blizzard died July 24 after spending nearly 20 of the 21 years of his life at the zoo.

Charlene Moore, 33, was visibly emotional during the ceremony, saying she came to watch in honour of the animal she felt had guided her throughout her life.

“I feel oddly connected to them, even though we didn’t spend that much time together, but I always thought about them every time I came to this part of the city,” she said of Blizzard.

South Osborne residents fail in bid to prevent construction of 131-unit apartment tower

A proposed 10-storey highrise on an empty south Osborne lot will move forward despite concerns from residents about the impact the building will have on nearby parking and traffic.

The city-owned lot at 425 Osborne St., which previously served as a gas station but has long sat vacant, will be developed into a mixed-use residential building with 131 units, 39 of which would be affordable, along with additional office space for the adjacent Winnipeg Transit garage and the Transit customer service centre across the street, along with a two-level parkade for tenants and Transit employees.

The property is being developed by the University of Winnipeg Community Renewal Corp. 2.0, and designed by Prairie Architects Inc.

At a meeting held by city council’s appeal committee Wednesday, several residents said while they supported the idea of more housing in the Lord Roberts neighbourhood, they had lingering concerns about the impact the development will have on the already-busy area.

Fences to be installed at Whiteshell park site where brothers drowned

The Manitoba government will install fences and signs to restrict access to a popular natural attraction in Whiteshell Provincial Park, where two brothers drowned this month and others have died in recent years.