Your forecast
A few showers ending this morning with a high of 13 C and wind from the north at 20 km/h late this afternoon.
What’s happening today
The second annual Beer Is Art event, takes place tonight from 7 to 10 p.m. at WAG-Qaumajuq, 300 Memorial Blvd.
Today’s must-read
There’s a rumour, too fun to verify, that a half century ago in Churchill the military would shoot rockets at the northern lights with a strange goal in mind.
That the military did fire rockets to study the aurora borealis is well-known, but according to legend, one goal was to trigger a geomagnetic storm — a power that if harnessed could be used to wipe out the Soviet Union’s electrical grids if the Cold War ever became hot.
These days another sort of rumour is circulating about Churchill: that this remote town of roughly 1,000 is poised to transform itself into a vital trade hub.
A mini-Rotterdam of the North, if you will, cleaving open access to overseas markets at a time when trade relations with our unneighbourly southern neighbour are going south. Reporter Conrad Sweatman writes on how Churchill could play a key role globally with its deepwater seaport.
The Arctic Gateway Group took over ownership of Churchill’s port and Manitoba’s northern railway in 2018. Buoyed by government investments, the entity is forecasting a significant increase in Arctic shipping. (Courtesy of Arctic Gateway Group (AGG))
On the bright side
A colossal squid has been caught on camera for the first time in the deep sea by an international team of researchers steering a remotely operated submersible. The sighting was announced Tuesday by the Schmidt Ocean Institute.
The squid filmed was a juvenile about 30 centimetres in length at a depth of 600 metres in the South Atlantic Ocean. Full-grown adult colossal squids, which scientists have uncovered from the bellies of whales and seabirds, can reach lengths up to 7 metres — almost the size of a small fire truck. The Associated Press reports.
On this date
On April 17, 1969: The Winnipeg Free Press reported in Montreal, Air Canada was preparing to face its second country-wide strike on the following Sunday when 6,300 mechanics, storment, attendants and telecommunications personnel were to stop work. A record 1,024,345,000 bushels of wheat were stored in Canada as of March 31. In Manitoba, 100 troops were rushed to St. Francois Xavier to shore up dikes as rising water on the Assiniboine River threatened the town. Read the rest of this day’s paper here. Search our archives for more here.
Today’s front page
Get the full story: Read today’s e-edition of the Free Press.
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