Bitcoin tops $118,000 for the first time, as the cryptocurrency continues to climb to new heights

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.

It all comes down to the Banjo Bowl

It all started with a comment made by a kicker.

In 2003, Troy Westwood referred to the fine folks of Saskatchewan as “banjo-pickin’ inbreds.”

The following season, the Banjo Bowl was officially born, and it quickly became one of the most notable annual events on the Prairies.

The 22nd edition kicks off today, with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (6-6) hosting the Saskatchewan Roughriders (8-4) at 3 p.m. in a crucial West Division showdown.

Highway-safety upgrades in progress after tragic Interlake crash

Provincial workers have started to update or install safety measures at a rural Interlake intersection where four teenage friends died in a crash on Labour Day weekend.

Pavement markings were repainted at Highway 8 and Provincial Road 229, just west of Winnipeg Beach, ahead of work to refresh worn-down rumble strips, starting Monday, and install flashing lights atop two stop signs, following an assessment earlier this week.

“They will also need to incorporate any information from the RCMP report that might be helpful if we were to consider any additional safety measures at this intersection,” Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor said of department staff.

“The most important thing is safety, and any kinds of changes we make at any intersection actually have to make it safer.”

American takes men’s senior title, Manitoban Fanning finishes third

Todd Fanning did everything he could.

The decorated local golfer knew he would need to go low to have a chance at becoming the first Manitoban to win the Canadian men’s senior national championship on Friday, and while he held up his end of the bargain, in the end it was not to be.

Starting the day five shots back of the lead — a gap he closed quickly, actually taking the solo lead from a brief stretch early in the day — Fanning carded six birdies en route to tying a tournament-low four-under 68 in the final round at Niakwa Country Club.

The 58-year-old’s effort would be matched by Arizona’s Bryan Hoops, whose matching 68 carried him to a two-shot victory.

Lone Manitoba 9/11 victim's legacy lives on helping Inuit students become nurses

On the night before the morning that everyone remembers, Ellen Judd spoke to her partner, Christine Egan, several times on the phone. Egan was in New York, where she’d gone to look after her nephews so her beloved brother, Michael, and his wife, Anna, could treat themselves to an anniversary vacation.

Usually, Judd would have been there, too. The couple had been together for more than 15 years, and loved sharing all the good parts of life. But at the time, she was an anthropology professor at the University of Manitoba, and the school year was just starting; she had classes the next day. Staying connected by phone would have to suffice.

In their calls that night, Judd remembers, Egan was happy. Christmas was the main topic. They were planning to spend the holiday with Judd’s family in Ontario, and talked about when to book flights. Egan was looking forward to that visit; Judd’s family “loved her to bits,” the now-retired professor says, and the affection was mutual.

The next day, Egan said, she planned to go into Manhattan with Michael. He was an executive at Aon, a global risk, retirement and health services corporation, and had an office on the 105th floor of the World Trade Centre’s South Tower.

What it means to be green… in a city beholden to the blue and gold

It’s not easy being green… if you’re a Winnipeg Blue Bombers season-ticket holder.

Dave Dech ordinarily arrives at his designated seat in Princess Auto Stadium fully decked out in blue and gold. That won’t be the situation this weekend, however, when the Bombers clash with their principal Canadian Football League rival, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, in the annual, sold-out Banjo Bowl game.

“No, I’ll be in green pretty much from head to toe. People sitting around us kid me, but by now they know if it’s the Banjo Bowl, Dave’s showing up in green,” says Dech, 63, possibly the biggest Saskatchewan supporter this side of Moosomin.

Not only does the married father of two grown sons have 25 Roughriders jerseys hanging in his closet — at press time, he was still mulling over which one to throw on for Saturday’s tilt — there is a main-floor lair in his and his wife Patti’s Westwood abode you’ll probably want to avoid if you suffer from prasinophobia — a fear of the colour green.