Good morning!
Your forecast: We’re kicking off the August long weekend with a near guarantee of fabulous summer weather in Winnipeg. The only smudge on the Environment Canada forecast is mention of a 30 per cent chance of showers on a partly cloudy Saturday afternoon. Otherwise, we’re laughing. Today, enjoy a sunny day and a high of 26 C, while Saturday will be sunny in the morning and overcast in the afternoon (and that slight chance of showers), with a high of 27 C. The mercury soars to 30 C on a sunny Sunday, while Monday features a bright, blue sky and a high temperature of 29 C. Good news for cottage country – the forecasts for the Winnipeg Beach/Gimli and Whiteshell areas are super, too.
In case you missed it
MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSPremier Brian Pallister discusses the Port of Churchill and OmniTrax issue Thursday afternoon.
No subsidy for Churchill: Premier Brian Pallister said Port of Churchill owner Omnitrax closed the port in an attempt to leverage subsidies from government. But that’s not happening, he said Thursday. “We are not, as a government, interested in the business of subsidizing large corporations… ,” the premier said. Omnitrax issued layoff notices early this week to the entire unionized workforce – about 70 people. READ MORE
Contaminated meat: Hamburger meat tainted with deadly E. coli bacteria that left a boy with multiple disabilities and unable to care for himself, will cost food companies $2.5 million. Court approved a settlement reached last month between the boy’s family, grocer Westfair Foods and meat processor XL Foods. READ MORE
Bombers win! Bombers win!: Sparked by the play of quarterback Matt Nichols, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers soared to a 17-3 first-half lead and eventually defeated the host Edmonton Eskimos 30-23 on Thursday night in CFL action. Nichols got the call over regular starter Drew Willy and shined, completing 26 of 33 pass for 304 yards and one touchdown for Winnipeg (2-4). Meanwhile, kicker Justin Medlock was perfect on five field-goal attempts for the winners. READ MORE
Up next
Bruce Bumstead / Brandon Sun filesA steam-powered Case tractor moves into position for the threshing competition during the annual Thresherman’s Reunion.
World-record harvest: On Sunday, 146 antique threshing machines will harvest a field together for 15 minutes, in an effort to break a world record and raise money for the Manitoba Agricultural Museum and the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. It starts at 4 p.m. and is the big finale to the annual Threshermen’s Reunion and Stampede in Austin, about 125 kilometres west of Winnipeg. The weekend event began Thursday.
Festival season: There’s no end to the fun to be had in rural Manitoba over the August long weekend. Summer celebrations continue today through Monday at the Icelandic Festival in Gimli, Pioneer Days in Steinbach, Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival in Dauphin and Ponderosa Days in Cartwright.
And they’re off: The Manitoba Derby, the province’s most prestigious horse race, is slated for Monday afternoon at Assiniboia Downs. The more than one-mile race for three-year-olds has a purse of $75,000. READ MORE
Around the water cooler
RCMP SUPPLIEDAsha
Things looking up for pup: Asha the puppy is bouncing back after fears she was possibly paralyzed by an act of animal cruelty. The little German Shepherd pup doesn’t appear to have any fractures and can walk and wag her tail, but still requires plenty of treatment. A widely circulated video shows a man violently throwing Asha into the ground. RCMP say an 18-year-old man from Easterville faces charges. READ MORE
Tough times for Tootoo: Sources say Nunavut MP Hunter Tootoo, who was recently treated for substance abuse, was also involved in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. Tootoo would neither confirm nor deny the allegations Thursday. READ MORE
Clinton makes impassioned speech: In Philadelphia, Hillary Clinton capped off the four-day Democratic National Convention with a plea for national unity and tolerance. Clinton must convince voters that she, rather than Republican rival Donald Trump, can bring a deeply divided nation together. READ MORE
Trending now
BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSThe Canada Games flag is raised at city hall.
#JCG2017: The final countdown is on for the 2017 Canada Summer Games as Thursday marked exactly one year until the start of the massive sporting event to be held in Winnipeg next summer. READ MORE
Sesame Street: Word got out earlier this month that three of the original Sesame Street cast members — Bob, Gordon and Luis — had been cut from the iconic children’s series. But a spokeswoman for Sesame Workshop, which produces the show, said Thursday all three would continue to appear on the show. READ MORE
On this date
On June 29, 1937: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that the Japanese navy had begun shelling the Chinese port of Tangku, as Japanese and Chinese forces fought in the suburbs of nearby of Tientsin. Premier Duplessis of Quebec said that the government of his province and that of Ontario would soon direct the newspaper industry. In Belfast, police said a deliberately planted mine was the cause on an explosion that had rocked a parade in honour of the king’s visit a day earlier. In Russia, a third projected trans-polar flight was expected to set out from Moscow. READ MORE
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