Good morning!
Your forecast: Here are a few New Year’s resolutions for you: Quit smoking, give money to charity, do more yoga and soak up the sun and mild temperatures the first week of 2016! Environment Canada is all but guaranteeing us a week of temperatures in the minus single digits. That’s pretty sweet for the middle of a usually harsh prairie winter. Today, expect periods of snow and high of -7 C, while the overnight low for New Year’s Eve is -10 C. Then, it’s a nice, long stretch of mostly sunny days, with temperatures ranging from -5 C on Friday – New Year’s Day – to -9 C Saturday, -8 C Sunday and -8 C Monday. Expect overnight lows around -13 C through the weekend and into early next week.
In case you missed it
KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSFormer Manitoba Premier Howard Pawley
Mourning loss of former premier: Howard Pawley, Manitoba’s NDP premier from 1981 to 1988, died Wednesday at age 81. Pawley, who became the provincial NDP leader in 1979, is remembered as the founder of provincial automobile insurance. A lawyer and recipient of the Orders of Manitoba and Canada, Pawley went on to teach law and politics at the University of Windsor. READ MORE
Oxford House fire kills three: The bodies of three adults were discovered in the rubble of a home destroyed by fire early Tuesday morning at Bunibonibee Cree Nation in northern Manitoba. A council member said the community’s pumper truck couldn’t keep up with the flames ravaging the old, brittle wooden home. The tragedy is drawing attention to the need for proper fire protection in First Nations communities. READ MORE
Terrifying flight: Passengers called an Air Canada flight from Shanghai to Toronto a terrifying roller-coaster ride after it went through wild turbulence and had to divert to Calgary on Wednesday. Twenty-one people, including three children, suffered injuries ranging from minor sprains to serious chest and neck trauma. However, no one suffered life-threatening injuries. With about two hours left in the flight from Shanghai, the pilot warned they were entering an area of turbulence. But no one was prepared for the jolt which sent the Boeing 777 into sudden descent. “It was the flight from hell,” said passenger Connie Gelber, who described how the passenger beside her “was thrown right out of her seat down the aisle. Everyone was injured. We thought we were dying.” READ MORE
Up next
Doug Thomas PhotoNew Year’s Eve fireworks at The Forks.
Fun at the Forks: Free horse-drawn wagon rides begin at 3 p.m., live music and family activities at Centre Court at 5 p.m. and (boom!) fireworks at 8 p.m., all for New Year’s Eve. Also, in a unique twist, the skating rink under the canopy will be changed into a collage of New Year’s resolutions people have submitted online. READ MORE
Safe ride home: Three transportation options for New Year’s Eve: 1) Call a cab; 2) Call Operation Red Nose at 204-947-6673; 3) Take a bus; all Winnipeg Transit service is free today after 7 p.m.
Lace ‘em up: The Riley Family Duck Pond in Assiniboine Park opens for skating today at noon. And after their feet are sore, skaters can take off the blades and enjoy a holiday display in the Conservatory.
Around the water cooler
JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSWinnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele was skating with the team in no contact orange today at practice at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg.
Orange you glad Scheif getting better: Winnipeg Jets’ centre Mark Scheifele, wearing the orange, no-contact jersey, appeared at practice Wednesday prior to the team starting a five-game road trip tonight in Glendale against the Arizona Coyotes. Scheifele, 22, suffered a concussion after a collision with captain Andrew Ladd during last Saturday’s practice. He is on the injured-reserve list until at least this weekend and is progressing through the return-to-play protocol. READ MORE
Philanthropic Fontaine family: Marie and Kirby Fontaine came to Winnipeg on Wednesday to hand out cheques to a number of charitable organizations. The Fontaines, who won a $50-million lottery jackpot in 2009, surprised the Christmas Cheer Board, Rossbrook House and Winnipeg Harvest each with $100,000 cheques as well as a cheque of an undisclosed amount to Siloam Mission. Though the donations have become an annual event for the past few years, the Fontaines always arrive unannounced. READ MORE
MPI’s list of shame: This year’s Top-5 list of fraud attempts, released Wednesday by Manitoba Public Insurance, includes allegations of arson, outright lying and criminal charges. One incident involved a claimant who investigators found had deliberately set his vehicle on fire as they discovered hay and dried grass stuffed into the engine compartment and an accelerant spread throughout the interior. READ MORE
Trending now
Jordan Strauss / Invision / The Associated PressCarrie Fisher at the world première of ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ in Los Angeles.
Carrie Fisher: The actress and writer best known for playing Princess Leia in four Star Wars movies struck back, first at online trolls who said she “hadn’t aged well” yet didn’t make the same criticism of her co-stars Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford, and then at New York Post writer Kyle Smith who said if she didn’t like being judged for her looks she should quit acting. Fisher responded via Twitter: “OK, I quit acting, NOW, can I not like being judged for my looks? Tell me what to do and who to be, oh wise New York post columnist. You GENIUS.”
#ImAlwaysMixingUp: What are you typically confused about the differences between? Don’t worry, you’re in good company. Twitter users show they’re always mixing up “actual exercise with a Netflix marathon,” “my Legos, so I don’t need anyone else touching them,” or “Ted Cruz and Grandpa Munster.”
On this date
On Dec. 31, 1900: The Manitoba Free Press reported that British forces in South Africa had lost the fort at Helvetia, during which fifty British were killed and 200 taken prisoner, according to Lord Kitchener. Brandon trooper S.J. McGregor of the Canadian Mounted Rifles returned home from service in South Africa. In St. Joseph, Mo., a Chicago electrician, N. Shetlinger, demonstrated the power of electricity by sending a current through a cat until it apparently died, and “when, after the heart of the feline had long since ceased to beat Mr. Shetlinger reversed the current of electricity and the shock restored the heart beats although they were very feeble at first.”
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