Good morning!
Jets training camp: The Winnipeg Jets training camp starts today with team physicals before on-ice sessions begin Friday. Sportswriter Jeff Hamilton has a thorough guide to training camp, including how fans can get a peek at Finnish sensation Patrik Laine, the second-overall prize the Jets won in June’s NHL draft. READ MORE
Your forecast: Today’s weather can be summed up in two words: meteorological doppelganger. The forecast today is the same as the forecast for Wednesday: a mix of sun and cloud, with a high of 18 C. Tonight will be clear, with a low of 4.
In case you missed it
JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILESMPI is seeking a five per cent increase in rates on top of the two per cent requested in June.
MPI rate shock: The initials MPI could stand for Monstrous Payment Increase when the Crown corporation meets with the Public Utilities Board in October and asks for a rate increase of up to (gulp!) seven per cent. Talking to reporter Kristin Annable, MPI blames climate change and an “unprecedented year” for non-collision claims payouts. READ MORE
Billion-dollar mistake?: A review of a hydroelectric project in Manitoba says the project includes a billion-dollar mistake, but it’s too late to change. The review, done by Manitoba Hydro’s board of directors, says the decision by the former NDP government to have the transmission line built on a longer route through western Manitoba has added $1 billion to the cost. But it says 95 per cent of the contracts have been awarded, so changing the route to eastern Manitoba is no longer an option. Reporter Nick Martin has reaction to the review. READ MORE
Up next
John Woods / The Canadian PressWinnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols leans into a throw Saturday afternoon at Investors Group Field. No matter what page of the playbook Nichols has been asked to open, he never starts a kitchen fire.
Tale of two QBs: Matt Nichols and Bo Levi Mitchell had a 30-minute phone call Wednesday? Say what? That’s hard to believe, considering Nichols, Blue Bombers quarterback, and Mitchell, Calgary Stampeders quarterback, will exhort their teams to pummel each other with maximum ferocity when their two squads clash on Saturday. Turns out the two quarterbacks, who are now opponents, were friends before they came to the Canadian Football League. Sportswriter Scott Billeck explains. READ MORE
Don the tuques: The 20 delegates for the Association of Manitoba Municipalities Cities Caucus might want to bring gloves and hats for the fall meeting that begins today in Thompson. The weather forecast for Thompson this morning is 1 C, and it will feel like -2 C with the wind. It will climb to 12 today, but drop to 0 tonight.
Thinking about liquor: Booze will be on the agenda for a 10:30 a.m. press conference today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Public finance economist Greg Flanagan will present a report titled Balancing Convenience with Social Responsibility: Liquor Regulation in Manitoba. READ MORE
Around the water cooler
JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILESThere are more people in custody awaiting trial in Manitoba than anywhere else in Canada — an average of 125 people per 1,000 crimes.
We’re worst: Manitoba is ranked worst among all Canadian provinces in terms of high violent-crime rates, rocketing public safety costs, slow court processes and “dismal” public perception of police. Reporter Katie May probes the glum statistics that are outlined in a public policy think-tank’s new report card. READ MORE
Smells like a snub: The union representing workers from the Port of Churchill flew in to Winnipeg only to discover Omnitrax’s chief operating officer would teleconference in. The first bargaining meeting with the Denver-based railway company after the Port’s closure was moved to Winnipeg on Wednesday to accommodate the Omnitrax executive’s schedule, but COO Hubert Gasser didn’t show up in person. The teleconference is expected to continue today. READ MORE
Trending now
#FirstDayofFall: Get outside and walk through some fallen leaves (or get raking them), have a pumpkin-spiced something-or-other, or start decorating for Halloween. Just kidding! Die-hard Halloween fans started decorating in August.
On this date
On Sept. 22, 1999: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that the NDP under leader Gary Doer had won the Manitoba election, taking 31 seats to form government. Progressive Conservative leader Gary Filmon, who had been premier since 1988, stepped down in the wake of his party’s defeat, though he planned to stay on as an MLA. The Liberals fell from three seats to one, that held by party leader Jon Gerrard. READ MORE
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