Good morning!
Mrs. Pallister’s part: Brian Pallister’s wife Esther frequently received sensitive documents by email on the premier’s behalf, including a draft of this spring’s budget speech sent to Esther Pallister’s private email account nine days before it was delivered in the legislature. Said NDP MLA Andrew Swan: “There’s no valid reason why the premier of a province in 2017 could not figure out how to use a smartphone and how to use government email to conduct government business.” Larry Kusch reports. READ MORE
Your forecast: Let’s hope the weather predictions are wrong and (crossed fingers) it won’t rain this evening on Canada Summer Games events, including the outdoor musical acts at Prince Edward Island night at The Forks. The high today will be 24 C, with a 30 per cent chance of showers and risk of a thunderstorm this afternoon and this evening.
In case you missed it
MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILESA pedestrian on an early evening walk on the River Walk that follows the Assiniboine River just east of the Donald Street Bridge where a sixteen-year-old girl was attacked by two men.
Teen jailed 17 years: One of the harshest sentences of its kind in Manitoba has been imposed on a Winnipeg teen. Robert McKay, 19, was sentenced Wednesday to 17 years for random attacks he and his cousin, Justin Hudson, carried out on young women nearly three years ago. They raped and robbed a 23-year-old woman and a 16-year-old girl, who was left for dead in the freezing Assiniboine River. Katie May reports. READ MORE
More of us are loners: More Manitobans are living alone, according to 2016 census data released Wednesday. The data recorded 27.7 per cent of Manitoba households as one-person dwellings. Also, Manitoba leads the country in foster children. Dylan Robertson reports. READ MORE
Up next
MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSA replica of a Treaty Medal No. 1 on display at the Manitoba Museum. It commemorates the Treaty negotiated at Lower Fort Garry in 1871.
Treaty 1 commemoration: As announced in an editorial in today’s print edition of the Free Press, the newspaper’s editorial page will now include the motto: “Published since 1872 on Treaty 1 territory and the homeland of the Metis”. The significant recognition by the newspaper will be explained further today by Editor Paul Samyn at a ceremony at the Manitoba Museum at 10 a.m. READ MORE
Game night: With the Winnipeg Blue Bombers playing in Ottawa tonight at 6 p.m., the ending of the game is unlikely to be exciting as last Thursday’s nail-biter, when the Bombers were down by 12 points with 95 seconds on the clock. Jeff Hamilton takes an in-depth look at the Bombers’ improbable victory in their last game. READ MORE
Around the water cooler
RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSSix-year-old Bentley Gray checks out the Viking statue in the newly created Viking Park in Gimli.
Viking park: So what’s in Gimli’s new Viking Park that officially opens Saturday? The Elf Garden is one of three different attractions, also including the Troll Storm Garden and the Breakwater Garden, filled with indigenous plants, grasses and flowers in the newly-created space around the iconic viking statue. Ashley Prest went to Gimli for an advance look. READ MORE
Mom jailed for life: A Peguis mother who killed her 21-month-old daughter after extended abuse has been sentenced to life in prison with no parole for 14 years. Vanessa Bushie, 39, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Kierra Elektra Star Williams, admitting to having caused fatal internal injuries in the hours immediately leading up to the girl’s death. Katie May reports. READ MORE
Trending now
#MakeTVShowsCanadian: Not sure these would qualify under the CRTC’s Canadian content regulations: “Bacon Bad,” “Leave it to Bieber,” “It’s Always Snowing in Winnipeg,” “R*U*S*H*,” and “Orange Is The New Brunswick.”
On this date
On Aug. 3, 1982: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that retail sales were on the rise in Manitoba, particularly in Winnipeg, up 13.2 per cent in the city over the same period the previous week. The community of Lynn Lake was considering changing its name to “Heaven,” in order to turn the economically depressed mining town into a bustling tourist centre. Israeli tanks moved into Beirut, and the Canadian ambassador had been told to leave the city. In Great Britain, the royal family chrsitened Prince William at Buckingham Palace. READ MORE
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