Good morning!
Your forecast: This was supposed to be the lone blemish on an otherwise perfect summer week. Since Monday, Environment Canada had been calling for a hot, muggy Thursday with a good chance of a thunderstorm. OK, so that day has finally arrived, and the risk of rain remains very real. But fear not. We can get through this, Winnipeg. We can endure, because we know even better days are ahead. Like Friday, Saturday and Sunday – collectively, a picture-perfect weekend with clear skies, lots of sunshine and temperatures touching 30 C.
In case you missed it
PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSLiberal Leader Justin Trudeau banters with participants at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival Wednesday afternoon.
Trudeau takes aim at Harper: During a visit to Winnipeg on Wednesday, federal Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau had plenty to say about Canada’s prime minister – and none of it complimentary. During a rally at the Main Street campaign office of Kildonan-St. Paul candidate MaryAnn Mihychuk, Trudeau said the federal Conservative Party’s plan is Harper’s plan alone because the PM “doesn’t listen to anyone else.” Trudeau also delighted in pointing out Canadians learned Wednesday the Tories might not balance the budget. READ MORE
High worker turnover at dam project: While the construction of Manitoba Hydro’s Keeyask mega-dam is generating more jobs for indigenous people than ever before, Hydro is also seeing a higher turnover rate for aboriginal workers. An official with Hydro said the turnover rate for aboriginal staff is 14 per cent just one year into the project to build the province’s newest generation station. The turnover rate for non-aboriginal staff is nine per cent. Hydro says no specific reasons have been identified. Former and current workers say the most common reason for the higher turnover at Keeyask is workers’ reluctance to be away from family for an extended period.
Vigilante justice gone wrong: Enraged after seeing his brother seriously assaulted, a Manitoba man decided to dole out the punishment himself — with deadly consequences. Cody Schmidt, 23, was sentenced to five years in prison for using a rifle to shoot at a moving vehicle, killing one man and seriously injuring another in January 2013 at Long Plain First Nation. Dean Unrau, 24, died from a gunshot wound to the head, while his 18-year-old brother, Michael, survived a bullet to the head. Three other men escape injury, although the vehicle the five men were in burst into flames when a bullet hit the gas tank.
Up next
Mark Tewksbury
Golden moment for the CMHR: One of Canada’s true legends of the pool, swimmer Mark Tewksbury, will present his Olympic gold medal to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights today at 1 p.m. The 47-year-old native of Calgary won gold in the 100-metre backstroke event at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, but has stated he did not feel safe coming out publicly as a gay man until 1998. Since then, he’s been an advocate for the rights of athletes of all sexual orientations and gender identities. The medal will be part of the CMHR’s new exhibit on sports and human rights for the Year of Sport in Canada (2015).
Curtain to fall on Les Misérables: The nearly three-week run at Rainbow Stage is almost over for the epic musical. Les Misérables wraps up production at the dome in Kildonan Park on Friday with an 8 p.m. performance. The next Rainbow Stage show, Sister Act, kicks off Aug. 13.
Schade steps into spotlight: Elmhurst golfer Devon Schade takes a commanding nine-stroke lead into the final round of the 2015 Manitoba Men’s Amateur Championship at Bridges Golf Course today. Schade fired a two-over-par 74 on Wednesday, a day after carding a sizzling 11-under 61 on Tuesday. Tied for second place are Niakwa’s Bryce Barr and Teulon’s Ryan Sholdice. The three players tee off in the final group of the day at 11:09 a.m.
Around the water cooler
Julio Cortez / The Associated Press FilesArgentina’s Georgina Klug, left, and Ana Gallay celebrate after beating Cuba in the women’s beach volleyball gold medal match at the Pan Am Games in Toronto.
Come for the outfits, stay for the skill: Women’s beach volleyball has become a popular spectator sport. Yes, it’s always exciting to watch elite, agile athletes compete –but these elite, agile athletes also happen to compete in bikinis. Female beach volleyball athletes cite the outfit’s functionality, but is it really a choice? Or is it a choice with an asterisk? After all, the men compete in shorts and tank tops, not shirtless and in Speedos. READ MORE
Sour response to Apple Watch: While the tech giant hasn’t released official sales figures just yet, it’s believed the Apple Watch isn’t quite the hit some thought it would be. Sure, it shows incoming texts and emails, and tracks things like heart rate during exercise, but is it really worth the US$350 sticker price? Many people are holding off on the big purchase, waiting for the kinks to be worked out.
Trending now
Melissa Phillip / Houston Chronicle via The Associated PressProtesters prayer at rally outside the Waller County Courthouse after a march from the Waller County Jail in Hempstead, Texas, to protest the death of Sandra Bland, who was found dead in the jail.
#JusticeForSandraBland: The young professional’s death in police custody after being pulled over has sparked an outcry over the way predominantly white police forces in the U.S. treat black citizens.
#SharkMovies: You’ll need a bigger boat – and probably a chainsaw – to deal with the the predators of the deep swimming through pop culture at the moment, from Shark Week to Sharknado 3. (Yes, they made a third one.)
On this date
On July 23, 1973: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that the French had detonated a nuclear device at the Mururoa Atoll. The Russians had launched an unmanned spacecraft to Mars. Closer to home, the Morris Stampede drew a record attendance of 75,000. The body of Carl Wass was retrieved from Island Lake, seven miles from Savage Island, where his family had been stranded for six days; they were found unharmed. Mr. Wass apparently drowned after his boat was swamped when he was pulling in fishing nets.
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