This morning
Sexual harassment: A former NDP cabinet minister is accused of sexual harassment and has been barred from attending party caucus meetings. Mohinder Saran, MLA for The Maples, was the subject of an investigation by the province’s human resources branch, the NDP said in a statement on Thursday. READ MORE
Your forecast: There is no sugar-coating this: the temperature will fall to -23 C this afternoon and then to -29 tonight. Wind chill this afternoon will be -31. On Saturday, it will be mainly sunny with a temperature steady near -28. The low Saturday night will be -31. On Sunday, the high will be -23.
In case you missed it
MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILESJoshua Simair (left), his brother Chris (centre) and Jeff Adamson, co-founders of Skip the Dishes, seen in 2015 as they moved into a new office.
Cashing in: Winnipeg-based SkipTheDishes, a technology firm that enables couriers to deliver restaurant meals efficiently, has been sold to a British firm for $110 million. Started only four years ago, the company currently delivers orders for more than 2,900 eating establishments in 20 cities and has more than 350,000 customers. READ MORE
Health costs soar: Manitoba had had the highest increase in health spending this year among Canadian provinces, a new study shows. The report by the Canadian Institute for Health Information says spending on doctors in Manitoba increased by nearly seven per cent — by far the highest growth rate in the country. A spokeswoman for Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen said the increases are not sustainable. READ MORE
Up next
Comic workhorse: Comedian Jerry Seinfeld performs at the MTS Centre Saturday at 7:30 p.m. READ MORE
Inquest winds down: Final submissions will be made today in Winnipeg in the inquest into the 2008 police shooting of Craig McDougall.
Around the water cooler
JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILESJohn Arbuthnot VP at Delta 9 Bio-tec with medical marijuana being produced in Winnipeg at a undisclosed location.
Pot capital: Manitoba’s only commercial marijuana producer is high on the province’s potential to become the country’s cannabis capital. John Arbuthnot, who runs Delta 9 Bio-Tech Inc,. with his father Bill, says Manitoba’s access to cheap electricity and low warehousing and living costs presents an opportunity for the province to become an economic leader in the production of recreational marijuana. READ MORE
Old-school approach: Winnipeg police are boosting foot patrols downtown with the goal of reducing crime and improving the public’s perception of the area. Officers will monitor crime statistics to focus their efforts and work with businesses and residents within 12 distinct downtown districts. READ MORE
Trending now
LUCASFILM LTD.Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso
#RogueOne: The latest Star Wars movie, set before the events of the 1977 original, hits theatres today. READ MORE
#snowTO : It’s snowing in Toronto. Gosh, we hope they pull through all right. Is the army on call?
Today in history
On Dec. 16, 1980: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that Manitoba’s Crop Insurance Corporation paid out a record $50 million in benefits to farmers in 1980, wiping out its reserve funds. Nurses at 55 Manitoba hospitals had negotiated at 43 per cent wage increase over the next two years. OPEC raised its oil prices to $2-to-$4 a barrel. Iran said that once certain financial guarantees were made, it would release its U.S. hostages, who had been held for 409 days. Colonel Sanders, founder of the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant chain, died at the age of 90. READ MORE
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