NASA begins a practice countdown for its first moonshot with astronauts in more than 50 years

‘Fine wine’: Vintage Collaros shows up in big win over Als after 38th birthday

Zach Collaros was in no mood for I-told-you-so’s.

There were no references – either thinly veiled or direct – to the naysayers, many of whom thought the Blue Bombers were in deep trouble as the league-leading Montreal Alouettes rolled into town.

Looking back on Bombers shocking, and convincing, win over CFL’s top team

It was getting harder and harder to believe in the 2026 edition of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

If anyone outside their locker room picked them to beat the Montreal Alouettes, they must’ve kept it to themselves, as pundits — this one included — and armchair quarterbacks across the nation doubted their chances heading into Friday night.

And honestly, rightfully so. The Bombers had left a lot to be desired through their opening 10 games.

But no matter what the stats say or what outsiders think, they play the games for a reason.

NASA begins a practice countdown for its first moonshot with astronauts in more than 50 years

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA began a two-day practice countdown Saturday leading up to the fueling of its new moon rocket, a crucial test that will determine when four astronauts blast off on a lunar flyby.

Already in quarantine to avoid germs, Commander Reid Wiseman and his crew will be the first people to launch to the moon since 1972. They will monitor the dress rehearsal from their Houston base before flying to Kennedy Space Center once the rocket is cleared for flight.

The 322-foot (98-meter) Space Launch System rocket moved out to the pad two weeks ago. If Monday's fueling test goes well, NASA could try to launch within a week. Teams will fill the rocket's tank with more than 700,000 gallons of super-cold fuel, stopping a half-minute short of when the engines would light.

A bitter cold spell delayed the fueling demo, and the launch, by two days. Feb. 8 is now the earliest the rocket could blast off.

Nightclub owner, divorced dad sentenced for involvement in cocaine-trafficking case

Three people, including a Winnipeg nightclub owner and a divorced dad desperate for cash, have been sentenced in a cocaine-trafficking case city police were once concerned had been compromised by a corrupt cop.

The trio was charged in early 2024 as part of Project Roasted, a lengthy investigation into a drug trafficking network by the Winnipeg Police Service organized crime unit.

Investigators arrested two of the men, Mohamed Ali and Abdullah Khan, as they left the Stella’s on Pembina Highway in early February 2024. Two kilograms of cocaine was found in Khan’s car.

On the same day, Ahmed Dini was arrested at his River Avenue suite, where investigators found more than 200 rocks of crack cocaine.

Health care needs long-term planning

If there’s been a throughline in the past 30 years of Manitoba politics — apart from the fact the electorate has bounced between NDP and Progressive Conservative governments — it’s that the state of provincial health care is almost always in the headlines.

New businesses start to creep up in former Winnipeg Slurpee shops

The remnants of 7-Eleven can still be seen as new businesses move into spaces where Slurpee machines and taquitos once ruled.

As fresh paint dries on several new ventures — such as a pizza place and a convenience store with a name that might make a customer do a double-take — holes across Winnipeg once occupied by the international convenience chain are slowly being filled.

Business at a Domino’s Pizza in Elmwood, formerly a 7-Eleven, has been booming since it opened June 1, the store manager said.

“The issues that 7-Eleven would have had might be different than what we would have. They were dealing with a lot of theft where people can just walk in and out, but Domino’s isn’t set up that way,” said Paul Hemmerling.