Good morning!
Your forecast: Were you awakened by a booming blast of thunder or a flash of lightning this morning? The nastiness began about 6:10 a.m. with some light rain, but 20 minutes later a thunderstorm settled in over the city. It’s warm and muggy out there, too, with the mercury already touching 20 C. Expect the temperature to rise throughout the day to a high of 25 C this afternoon when the sun peeks through. We’re in for a couple of dandy days, with highs of 28 C and 31 C, respectively, Tuesday and Wednesday.
In case you missed it
Pat Thornton
Lots of laughs: The inaugural Oddblock Comedy Festival, held in South Osborne over the last four days, won praise from performers as smoothly run and won over audiences with packed houses a common occurrence. Not bad for a rookie festival at the tail-end of summer. READ MORE
Tragedy here and abroad: A 45-year-old Winnipeg woman died Friday night in a motor vehicle collision in Anola. RCMP say two vehicles crashed at highways 12 and 15 about 7:30 p.m. The victim’s name was not released. On Saturday, a 20-year-old man from Winnipeg on an adventure of a lifetime riding his motorbike through southeast Asia died in a crash in Vietnam. The man was identified as Braden Purchase, who was originally from Winnipeg but had been working in Whistler, B.C., prior to the trip. And a 70-year-old man who was to meet friends Sunday for a day of fishing died after Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service crews pulled him from the Red River near a dock at the foot of the Norwood Bridge.
Reclaim the name: North Americas tallest peak is getting a new – or, rather its old – name. President Barack Obama will announce today (Monday) that his administration is officially redesignating Alaska’s Mount McKinley as Denali, the original name for the 20,237-foot-high mountain given by the area’s indigenous population. The name change recognizes the sacred status of the mountain that had been known as Denali for generations, a spokesman for the administration said. According to the White House, a prospector called the peak Mount McKinley as a tribute to William McKinley upon his nomination as a candidate for president in 1896, and the name stuck. McKinley never set foot in Alaska.
Up next
BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSPaul Vogt will become CEO of Red River College on Aug. 17. He has extensive academic and public-sector experience.
Back to school: Students are back in class as the fall term kicks off this morning at Red River College. And who better to officially welcome them back than the RRC president himself. Paul Vogt, along with members of RRC’s executive and alumni team, will meet students at the door at the main campus entrance of the Notre Dame Campus from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.
True North news: The good folks who brought you the Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose have something to talk about today, but the topic’s still a mystery. True North Sports & Entertainment will hold a press conference at 10 a.m. at the MTS Iceplex to make “a significant business announcement.” Stay tuned.
Around the water cooler
Amr Nabil / The Canadian Press FilesCanadian Al-Jazeera English journalist Mohamed Fahmy (right)
Help a journalist: Stephen Harper’s political opponents are calling on the prime minister to take time off the campaign trail and concentrate on securing the release of jailed Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy. An Egyptian court sentenced Fahmy to three years in prison Saturday. Foreign affairs critics lashed out at the PM for failing to intervene earlier in the case. They both called on him once again to phone Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to personally demand the Al-Jazeera journalist’s release.
Forgettable first half: The Winnipeg Blue Bombers suffered a 36-8 loss at the hands of the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday, the CFL team’s third straight defeat, to fall to 3-6. That’s not how the first half of the season was supposed to go for Winnipeg, particularly with the Grey Cup here in November. But the club can get back in the win column this Sunday against their Regina rivals in the annual Labour Day clash.
Trending now
Frank Gunn / THE CANADIAN PRESS FilesSaskatchewan Roughriders QB Brett Smith is stopped by the Toronto Argonauts during a game in Toronto.
#Riders: Abject failure is not the reason anyone wants to trend, however, Saskatchewan’s CFL club dropped to 0-9 on the season Sunday after a 35-13 beating by the Ottawa Redblacks in the nation’s capital.
Wes Craven: The man who scared the bejeezus out of us with horror film like The Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes and the Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream franchises, died Sunday after a battle with brain cancer. He was 76.
On this date
On August 31, 1993: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that the Israeli cabinet approved self-rule for Palestinians, which Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin called “a chance for peace.” A Winnipeg lawyer was ordered to pay $5 million to a former business partner’s estate after a judge described his conduct as “outrageous and disgraceful.” A man unhappy with a claim he had made through the Workers Compensation Board fatally shot himself outside the WCB office. Prime Minister Kim Campbell promised new measures that would make it possible for young offenders to be locked up longer.
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