Good morning!
Moving on up: We begin the day with a wonderful local success story. Winnipeg resident Lee Meagher is working her way up the list of the nation’s top female entrepreneurs. In 2014, Meagher, the founder of Scootaround Personal Transportation Solutions, was in 50th spot on Canada’s Top 100 Female Entrepreneurs list. Two years later, she’s now climbed to 39th spot. Scootaround supplies scooters, wheelchairs, walkers and other types of mobility equipment to travellers on vacation or attending conferences, conventions or a host of other big events in Canada and the United States. Another Manitoban, Jan Regehr, owner and founder of Pineridge Hollow, a successful restaurant/retail/catering business near Oakbank, snagged the 84th spot. READ MORE
Your forecast: Manitoba is locked in for wall-to-wall sunshine the next six days, with temperatures ranging from 21 C today to a balmy 32 C on Sunday. There could be a bit of cloud cover Wednesday, but it won’t last, while Thursday, Friday and Saturday feature plenty of blue sky and temperatures in the mid-20s. The mercury will shoot up on Sunday, but rain is in the forecast for the holiday Monday.
In case you missed it
Cannon fire and carbon pricing: Manitoba’s newest and tallest premier ever, Brian Pallister, tabled one of the shortest throne speeches ever. It took Lt. Gov. Janice Filmon just 15 minutes to read the five-page speech Monday. While it reiterated many of Pallister’s campaign pledges — including a commitment to conduct a value-for-money review across government, a new Premier’s Enterprise Team to boost the economy and a promise to join the New West Partnership Trade Agreement with Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia — it also contained a new element. Carbon pricing isn’t defined yet, but it’s there. Expect more later. READ MORE
Wildfire, the sequel: Alberta’s wildfires aren’t done, yet. Barely a breath after the wildfire that almost took out Fort McMurray, Alberta fire officials issued a new alert Monday. Some 4,000 oil workers were ordered evacuated from camps north of Fort McMurray, as another wildfire razed the boreal forest there. READ MORE
Doc pleads guilty: In a case that sounds like it was lifted from a supermarket tabloid, a Manitoba doctor pleaded guilty in a Manitoba court Monday. Randy Allan admitted prescribing OxyContin to two drug-addicted women he met in a massage parlour. The criminal case rose out of a misconduct ruling that saw Allen suspended for 18 months back in 2012. He’s free on bail and set to be sentenced in October. READ MORE
Up next
Walking for Fort McMurray: Stanley Barkman, 26, from Sachigo Lake First Nation in Ontario, is walking 2,080 kilometres from Sioux Lookout, Ont., to Fort McMurray, Alta., to raise awareness and funds for those affected by Fort McMurray’s devastating wildfire. A week after starting, he arrived in Winnipeg on Monday. Today, a meet-and-greet event with Barkman has been organized for 1 p.m. at the Indian and Metis Friendship Centre, 45 Robinson St., before he hits the road again. Donations are graciously accepted.
Celebrating Indigenous artists: People wandering past downtown storefronts in Winnipeg this summer are in for a very special treat. A new project sponsored by the Downtown Biz will feature the works of Indigenous artists for all to see. A press conference is slated for today at 11:30 a.m. at Bison Books, 424 Graham Ave., to announce details of the exciting initiative.
Cottagers can return: Residents and cottagers in Whiteshell Provincial Park and northwestern Ontario who were evacuated because of wildfires will be able to return to their properties this morning. They’ll be allowed access starting at 8 a.m., but must carry identification and proof of ownership to the property to be allowed entry. READ MORE
Around the water cooler
BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILESCoun. Russ Wyatt said Tuesday he thinks the city’s public-works department could approve more street work to be conducted this summer because other tenders have come in under budget.
Light rails, not buses: This item falls under the category of the more things change, the more they stay the same. City councillor Russ Wyatt criticized the city’s decision to stick with rapid transit, saying buses are part of the past and rail is the future. Wyatt is convinced the city is selling itself short with a proposal that calls for an east-west link across the city that relies on buses instead of electric light trains, known as LRT. READ MORE
Scheifele shining: Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele is having himself quite a World Hockey Championship. The 23-year-old from Kitchener, Ont., scored a goal and was named his club’s player of the game Monday as Canada blanked France 4-0. He now has three goals and three assists in five games. Scheifele will get a closer look at a potential Jets teammate today when Canada battles young sniper Patrik Laine and the rest of the Finnish squad. The game is at noon on TSN. READ MORE
Genital transplant: Called a groundbreaking operation that could help accident victims and soldiers maimed in roadside bombings, not to mention a new frontier in reconstructive surgery, doctors at the Massachusetts General Hospital are hopeful the transplanted penis will function like a real penis in all respects. The patient was a 64-year-old with penile cancer whose genitals had to be amputated. READ MORE
Trending now
Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques speaks to reporters after Industry Minister James Moore announced Canada’s commitment to fly two Canadian astronauts to space by 2024 during a news conference in Ottawa Tuesday June 2, 2015. Quebec engineer and doctor Saint-Jacques will be the next Canadian to work in space aboard the International Space Station. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand
David Saint-Jacques: Saint-Jacques will be the next Canadian to go into space, according to the Canadian Space Agency. Originally from Quebec City, Saint-Jacques is an engineer, astrophysicist and medical doctor, and will spend six months aboard the International Space Station starting in 2018. READ MORE
Netherlands: Up to 20 new Hudson’s Bay Company stores will open in the Netherlands as part of the company’s big plans to expand in Europe. The first locations will open in the summer of 2017 under the Hudson’s Bay and Saks Off 5th brands.
On this date
On May 17, 1948: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that Winnipeg’s $2-million improvement plan, double the amount of work of the previous year, had begun. Flood levels on the Assiniboine River from Portage la Prairie to Headingley dropped, but farmers in The Pas region prepared to fight increased spring floods. Winnipeg’s Children’s Hospital won praise from a doctor in Boston. The Winnipeg Free Press building flew a Norwegian flag all day in honour of Norway’s national holiday.
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