Your forecast
Cloudy, but clearing this afternoon, with wind becoming south at 20 km/h this afternoon. High -1 C. Wind chill -12 this morning and -5 this afternoon.
As Nicole Buffie reports, Winnipeggers hoping for a white Christmas may have to settle for a brown one, instead. If mild temperatures and below-average snowfall continue, this will be the first December holiday without snow since 1997 — and only the fifth on record since statistic-keeping began in 1872, said Scott Kehler, president and chief scientist at Weatherlogics. Read the full story here.
Lee Galindo, general manager at Schriemers Market Centre, saw Christmas tree sales begin to pick up this past weekend. (Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press)
What’s happening today
McNally Robinson Booksellers wraps up its fall book launch/event calendar for the year with Peter Mansbridge, who brings his new book to Winnipeg, co-written with Mark Bulgutch, How Canada Works: The People Who Make Our Nation Thrive, published by Simon & Schuster. The event will be held at 7 p.m. at Knox United Church, 400 Edmonton St. Tickets are $18-$55 at wfp.to/60p
Peter Mansbridge (Chris Young / The Canadian Press files)
A Prairie Christmas with the Nadeau Ensemble takes place at 7 p.m. at Club Regent Event Centre ($41.44-$52.19 at Ticketmaster).
Today’s must-read
A Winnipeg police crackdown on serial shoplifters — prompted by a spike in reported thefts and rising violence against retail workers — has led to more than 150 arrests since Nov. 1.
Major crimes Insp. Jennifer McKinnon said officers are targeting hot spots, including the Polo Park, Kildonan Crossing and downtown areas, but will soon expand to other places over the holiday season. Chris Kitching has the story.
“A lot of the theft that we have here is not opportunity, it’s people that are hungry,” said Kevin Schmidt, co-owner of Downtown Family Foods. (John Woods / Winnipeg Free Press)
On the bright side
A humpback whale visiting the waters off Seattle dazzled onlookers recently with several breaches in the bay just beyond the city’s downtown area.
The whale has been spotted for the last three days swimming around Elliott Bay. But on last week, the whale breached for about 40 minutes, also performing several pectoral fin slaps and dives. The Associated Press reports.
In this image taken from a video, a humpback whale breaches from the waters off Seattle on Thursday, Nov. 30. (Manuel Valdes / The Associated Press files)
On this date
On Dec. 5, 1939: The Winnipeg Free Press reported the Finnish air force and army struck back against Soviet invaders. Sweden, alarmed at Russian aggression but still officially neutral in the conflict, prepared to evacute Stockholm if necessary. In London, the foreign secretary denounced German leader Adolf Hitler’s earlier arrangements with Soviet Russia as having “bartered what was not his property — namely the liberties of the Baltic peoples.” The Soviet Union told the League of Nations, “Russia is not in a state of war in Finland.” 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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