Good morning!
Land battle: The Manitoba Metis Federation is prepared to seek an injunction blocking the ongoing construction of a $3-billion all-season road in northeast Manitoba. Relations between the federation and the East Side Road Authority — the government authority created to build the road — have been strained for years, with East Side refusing to consult with the Métis on plans for the costly and expansive project, said federation president David Chartrand. READ MORE
Your forecast: The showers will end late this morning. Then there will be a mix of sun and cloud with a 30 km/h wind, gusting to 50, before becoming light early this afternoon. High 21 C. It will clear this evening. On Friday, it should be sunny early in the day and then become partly cloudy later in the afternoon. Expect a high of 25.
In case you missed it
THE ASSOCIATED PRESSThis still image taken from video shows the center of Amatrice, central Italy, where a 6.1 earthquake struck just after 3:30 a.m., Wednesday. The quake was felt across a broad section of central Italy, including the capital Rome.
Deadly quake: Rescue crews raced against time, looking for survivors from the earthquake that levelled three towns in central Italy, but the death toll rose to 247. Another 264 persons were hospitalized. Worst affected by the quake were the tiny towns of Amatrice and Accumoli near Rieti, 100 kilometres northeast of Rome, and Pescara del Tronto, 25 kilometres further east. READ MORE
Price is right: Former game show host Bob Barker, a longtime animal rights activist, has donated $50,000 to a rehab facility for orphaned bear cubs on private land in the RM of Rockwood, north of Winnipeg. ”I love all animals and I help animals around the world of all kinds,” Barker said of his gift. READ MORE
Sprucing up downtown: Work by local artists is transforming some downtown eyesores into eye candy. The Downtown Winnipeg Business Improvement Zone unveiled Urban Wallpaper, the installation of art in some vacant ground-level building and storefront windows, on Wednesday. The project is aimed at transforming vacant properties and construction sites in the centre of the city. READ MORE
Up next
Postal disruption feared: It appears contract talks at Canada Post have stalled as a strike mandate for more than 51,000 members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers is set to expire. The postal agency’s biggest union has until midnight tonight to serve the Crown corporation with a 72-hour strike notice.
Night steps: A fundraiser is being held at The Forks Market Plaza this evening in support of services for those who are blind or partially sighted. CNIB Night Steps is described as a fun and easy fundraising five-kilometre walk under the stars that brings families, friends and neighbours together for a “glow in the dark celebration.” The event begins at 6:30 p.m.
Around the water cooler
WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSScott Fielding, Minister of Families and MLA for Kirkfield Park.
Boy a danger: Families Minister Scott Fielding says the province will work on a plan to keep the public safe from a 10-year-old Winnipeg boy who is chronically violent. Police have cautioned the boy at least 22 times since 2013 but cannot criminally charge him because of his age. The most serious incident was a stabbing last year in which the child’s victim was critically injured. READ MORE
Ecological liability: A spokesperson for Tolko Industries promised that the company will meet all environmental responsibilities as it ceases operating its pulp-and-paper mill operation in The Pas in early December. That means decommissioning up to 2,000 kilometres of logging roads overseen by Tolko since the mill was purchased by the Vernon, B.C.-based company in 1997. Environmentalists worry that if all-weather roads built over vast stretches of the north are abandoned it will negatively impact wildlife, such as moose and woodland caribou, leaving them easy prey for wolves and hunters. READ MORE
Finding his rhythm: Blue Bombers running back Andrew Harris is finding his rhythm as he gets more opportunities to carry the ball. He’s averaged close to 100 yards rushing and a touchdown in wins over the Edmonton Eskimos, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts in recent weeks. “When the team is calling on you to take over 18 carries a game, you got to lean on that challenge,” Harris said. READ MORE
Trending now
#PutPoetsInThings: What isn’t better with a little poetry? Or, at the very least, more poet? Consider “The Great British Blake Off,” “Where’s Ralph Waldo Emerson?” or “My Milkshakespeare brings all the boys to the Bard.”
On this date
On Aug. 25, 1975: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that Winnipeggers were driven indoors by a storm that included hailstones as large as two inches in diameter. In Saskatoon, protesters opposed to the federal government’s stand on the abolition of capital punishment disrupted a picnic organized by Justice Minister Otto Lang. The price of a quart of milk in Winnipeg was set to rise to 51 cents, a rise of three cents and 14 cents higher than it had been the previous September. In Ann Arbor, Mich., a rash of respiratory failures at the Veterans Hospital were acts of murder or attempted murder, according to a top hospital official. READ MORE
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