Good morning!
Your forecast: What a difference 24 hours makes! The city is now blanketed by snow and Environment Canada is advising us today about the wind chill factor, something we haven’t given much thought to since February. Expect periods of snow and blowing snow today, with another two centimetres expected, winds at 40 km/h gusting to 60 and the temperature falling to -12 C this afternoon. Tonight, it drops to -15 C but a strong breeze will make it feel like -26. On Friday, the forecast calls for a chance of flurries in the morning, winds northwest at 30 km/h, a daytime temperature of -13 C and a wind chill factor of -26.
In case you missed it
Wayne Glowacki / Winnipeg Free PressJames Perih created the Know Your Zone app for both Apple and Android devices: it will tell you the zone you’re currently in or you can put in a location and it will identify the zone.
He’s got an app for that: Amid the rampant criticism that the city’s Know Your Zone map on its website is too cumbersome for the average person to figure out their snow-plowing zone, it took James Perih a weekend to develop an app for that. The app works on BlackBerry, iPhone and Android devices telling users what zone they are in based on where they are with their phone. It also describes parking bans and which zones are being plowed. READ MORE
No parking zone: The province’s workplace safety agency is investigating claims by the Winnipeg Police Association that a lack of parking around the new downtown police headquarters could lead to more attacks on officers. The new cops HQ doesn’t have surface parking lots dedicated for officers’ personal vehicles — and officers, who work shift work, will have to park in public lots where there’s no security. READ MORE
Lots of rental space: Local developers continue to build new rental apartments at a rapid pace. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation data shows 1,401 new units were added to the Winnipeg region’s rental market from October 2014 to October 2015. Only the 12-month period from October 2013 to October 2014 had more units built in the last 23 years. READ MORE
Up next
Photo courtesy Lucasfilm / TNSJohn Boyega in ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens.’
In a galaxy far, far away: Unless you’ve been living on a planet other than Earth, you’ve heard there’s a new Star Wars film. The Force Awakens opens today in Winnipeg theatres, some screenings of which require advance tickets. Free Press reviewer Randall King saw the movie and offers his opinion. READ MORE
Shoal Lake road: The federal Indigenous Affairs Minister, Carolyn Bennett, is scheduled to be in Winnipeg today to join Premier Greg Selinger for a 10:30 a.m. press conference announcing the Shoal Lake 40 band will finally get funding for a road that links it to the mainland. The First Nations community, near the Ontario/Manitoba border, was cut off a century ago when Winnipeg’s aqueduct was built. READ MORE
Around the water cooler
Submitted photo
Doggone calming: Winnipeg’s airport hasn’t gone to the dogs, but a therapy dog program that will begin there on Friday is expected to create a more relaxed and calm atmosphere for travelers. A partnership between St. John Ambulance and the Winnipeg Airports Authority, the therapy dog program will invite travellers to approach the dogs to interact with them and have conversations with their handlers to help reduce some of the stress associated with travelling. READ MORE
New name for burger: The Donald Trump name is off the menu at Nuburger on Stradbrook Avenue and a contest is on to re-name the mighty $11.55 burger. Nuburger owner Kyle Matheson said whoever comes up with the best new name for the Nuburger burger, featuring truffle aioli, balsamic onions and veggies, will win a $50 gift card. The contest runs on Nuburger’s Facebook page until Dec. 19. READ MORE
Trio struggling: The Winnipeg Jets’ line of centre Bryan Little and wingers Andrew Ladd and Blake Wheeler has managed to score just one goal in its last four games — and the club lost three of them. Winnipeg is 14-15-2 and at the bottom of the Central Division standings for the first time this season. The Jets dropped a 4-3 decision to St. Louis on Tuesday but can rebound Friday when they host the New York Rangers. READ MORE
Trending now
Darrin Bush / The Associated Press FilesCheap Trick, from left: Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander, Tom Petersson and Bun E. Carlos.
#RockandRollHallofFame: The 2016 inductees include Cheap Trick, Chicago, Deep Purple, N.W.A and Steve Miller.
#mbstorm: The snow started falling Wednesday morning… and it’s still falling. Now, the wind is picking up, too. Tough going on roads and highways.
On this date
On Dec. 17, 1948: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that Winnipeg and much of southern Manitoba were recovering from a major blizzard, with 28 plows spread out over the province to clear highways; by noon on Dec. 17 they had made passable two-thirds of the affected highways. Winnipeg faced a severe shortage of Souris stoker coal due to a strike in Saskatchewan. Winnipeg’s new symphony orchestra made its debut in the civic auditorium. Applause for the orchestra and the new conductor Walter Kaufmann was deafening, according to the Free Press report on the evening.
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