Olympian Skylar Park ‘overwhelmed with emotion’ By: Ken Wiebe Posted: 11:20 PM CDT Monday, Aug. 12, 2024

Bombers look to lock in to post-season chase after dropping game to Argos

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers let a major opportunity slip through their fingers, and they know it.

“F—- yeah. That game was ours,” said defensive end Willie Jefferson on Friday’s 30-28 loss at home to the Toronto Argonauts.

It was — and then they gave it away in the final five minutes.

The Bombers came out firing, jumping out to a 21-7 lead. They had a chance to close out the contest while leading 28-27 with two minutes remaining, but couldn’t do it. Quarterback Dru Brown was sacked by linebacker Adarius Pickett, forcing the Bombers to punt, and the Argos took full advantage.

Restaurants ‘under pressure’

Happy hour outings are on Jackie Piggott’s calendar — but even those are fewer.

She and her husband might visit a restaurant once a month. It’s a change over the past year: earlier, they might go twice, thrice or weekly.

“It’s something that we’ve talked about, my husband and myself, just because the pricing is so expensive,” Piggott said, stopping during a grocery run in St. Vital. “It’s also better for our health.”

She’s in the majority: a new Restaurants Canada report found 80 per cent of Canadians are eating out less frequently because of higher living costs, up from 75 per cent in 2025.

Olympian Skylar Park ‘overwhelmed with emotion’

Sporting a bronze medal around her neck, Skylar Park returned to Winnipeg after becoming the third Canadian to earn a medal in taekwondo at the Olympic Games.

Perfumer battling city hall to keep his shop open

Michael O’Malley has been here before — fighting the City of Winnipeg to keep his business open.

He usually spends his days concocting scents. He’s owned La Parfumerie, a Wolseley shop, since 1993.

Twenty-seven natural perfumes line shelves on 145 Evanson St.’s bottom floor. O’Malley lives above the space.

Now, he’s required to change the home’s zoning or shut out walk-in customers. Either would kill the company, O’Malley said.

Canada resorting to its tried and true playbook

In 1846, Britain faced an emergency influenced by the Irish famine, so leaders repealed the country’s “Corn Laws” and restrictions on imported food and grain, transitioning to a system of free trade.

This created a crisis in the then Province of Canada, which had relied on British “preferential” status to prop up its agricultural and resource industries.

As a result, Canada looked south for new markets and eventually negotiated a free trade agreement with the United States.

This required land to be acquired and converted for industrial use quickly, so Canada quickly dispatched Commissioner William Robinson to negotiate with Indigenous communities along Lake Huron and Lake Superior for land.

New tour firm seeks to display ‘hidden gem’

Desiree Rantala has serious Manitoba bona fides.

The 34-year-old grew up in two northern First Nations communities and has lived in Gimli and Dauphin. She’s worked in marketing roles at the Manitoba Museum, Downtown Winnipeg Business Improvement Zone and Travel Manitoba, and she’s travelled to New York and Vancouver to promote the province.

Now, Rantala has launched a tour company called Toba Tripper.

“We’re a hidden gem that has so much to offer,” the Winnipeg resident said. “We have so much to see and I really hope that people leave my tours appreciating the beauty of Manitoba a little bit more.”