Your forecast
Mainly sunny, with wind from the north at 20 km/h becoming light this morning. High -8 C. Wind chill -23 this morning and -13 this afternoon.
What’s happening today
The Winnipeg Jets face the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center, starting at 7:30 p.m.
Today’s must-read
There’s something unmistakably legendary about Billy Beal to those living in the forestry and agricultural communities of Manitoba’s Swan River Valley.
He was something of a renaissance man: an engineer by trade, but in the everyday struggle of homesteading in Manitoba’s northwest, he moonlighted as a doctor’s assistant, mechanic, astronomer, carpenter, librarian and school district representative.
Just about everyone in Swan River remembers a story about Beal — or knows someone who does. Julia-Simone Rutgers has the story.
A self-portrait of Billy Beal taken in the Big Woody district, near Swan River, circa 1918. (William S.A. Beal)
On the bright side
Whales sing loud enough that their songs travel through the ocean, but knowing the mechanics behind that has been a mystery. Scientists now think they have an idea, and it’s something not seen in other animals: a specialized voice box.
Experts say the discovery, while based on a study that is too tiny to be definitive, will direct future research into how whales communicate. The Associated Press reports.
A humpback whale and her calf in Rurutu, French Polynesia, in September, 2022. (Samuel Lam via The Associated Press)
On this date
On Feb. 23, 1960: The Winnipeg Free Press reported radar speed traps would be introduced on Manitoba’s most “accident prone” highways in the coming summer. Mayor Stephen Juba was said to be a strong but silent supporter of Ald. Mark Danzker’s motion to table the metro bill for one year; Juba remarked that he was “not gullible enough” to believe the legislation would successfully amalgamate neighbouring municipalities into Winnipeg. 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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