Good morning!
Another leadership run?: We begin the day with hints from Niki Ashton, MP for Churchill-Keewatinook, that she might be up for the challenge of leading the federal New Democrats. The party is seeking a new leader after Thomas Mulcair failed to achieve enough support during a review vote in Edmonton earlier this month. Ashton, 33, is pondering whether to jump into the race to captain the party. She finished seventh among leadership hopefuls in 2012.
Your forecast: The future’s so bright, we gotta wear shades. We can thank 1980s one-hit-wonder Timbuk 3 for that line, which is most appropriate for Winnipeg’s sunny and warm weather forecast. Expect to see a lot of that enormous sphere of burning gases in the sky the next week or so, beginning today when our temperature hits a high of 15 C. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, things are slightly cooler at 11 C. But we should hit 14 C Sunday followed by a couple of mighty fine days in the low 20s.
In case you missed it
WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSWinnipeg police collect evidence on Nairn Avenue near Chester Street Tuesday morning after a cyclist was struck by a vehicle.
Cycling fatality: Winnipeg police have not released the name of the 38-year-old male cyclist killed in a hit-and-run collision on Nairn Avenue early Tuesday morning. Investigators were on the scene at Nairn and Kent Road for hours, but as of early today had not announced an arrest. Police were looking for the driver of a dark-coloured Subaru with damage on the passenger side. The cyclist who died was biking with another cyclist at about 12:55 a.m. Tuesday when the collision occurred. An average of two Manitoba cyclist die each year in collisions and another 144 others are injured. READ MORE
Arrest in 2012 slaying: An arrest has been made in a case involving one of Winnipeg’s missing and murdered indigenous women. The body of Simone Sanderson, 23, was discovered in a vacant lot at the corner of Burrows Avenue and Main Street in September 2012. Police have charged Kyllan Ellis, 28, with second-degree murder. Investigators believe the accused picked up Sanderson, and got into a confrontation that escalated to the point where she was killed by blunt-force trauma. READ MORE
Water-rate hikes: Those tired of water-rate hikes include some city councillors, judging by what went on at City Hall on Tuesday. A number of them want to postpone yet another hefty hike on sewer and water rates by punting the mess over to the Public Utilities Board. PUB regulates hydro, auto insurance and gas rates in Manitoba and water rates outside the city of Winnipeg. READ MORE
Up next
Brian Pallister
Pallister’s busy morning: Manitoba’s premier-elect has a couple of morning events planned. Brian Pallister will provide greetings from the province to the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) Manitoba’s annual general meeting at 8 a.m. at the Norwood Hotel. He then leads the first full caucus meeting of a new Progressive Conservative government at 9 a.m. in Room 254 of the Manitoba Legislature.
Visiting Provencher riding: Federal Conservative interim leader Rona Ambrose and Provencher MP Ted Talk will tour WS Steel in Steinbach this afternoon to get a first-hand look at how the company manufactures the new CX-6 SMART Seeder. The “smart” seeding machine combines software with precision seeding technology for farmers. The machines began rolling off the assembly line on April 5. The politicians will tour the plant at 1:30 p.m. with Joe Waldner, president and CEO of WS Steel, and Graeme Lempriere, president and CEO of Clean Seed Capital.
Wheat Kings cut down: The Brandon Wheat Kings and Red Deer Rebels battle again tonight in the Alberta city in Game 4 of the Western Hockey League’s Eastern Conference final series. On Tuesday night, the Rebels roared to a 5-0 lead and then cruised to a 6-2 victory over Brandon in Game 3. The Wheaties still lead the junior hockey series 2-1.
Around the water cooler
PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSA runner works her way down the steep part of Westview Park’s “Garbage Hill” adjacent to the area barracaded because of erosion from cyclists and runners sprinting up the grassy slope.
There goes Garbage Hill: Weekend warriors are going to have to find another place to train. For years, the city’s former garbage dump has served athletes as one of the only places to train on a hill, but the city will fence off the south side Thursday. A generation of runners and cyclists have cut deep ruts into the pathway, and debris from the old dump, including shards of glass, now poke through the earthen overlay. The city plans to resurface the slope. READ MORE
Above the rest: Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative leader and premier-designate is tall, very tall. At six-foot-eight, it turns out Brian Pallister really is taller than all of Canada’s other premiers. The National Post recently compared his height with the other premiers and only one came close. Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil is an inch shorter. Guess they’ll see “eye-to-eye” on many issues. READ MORE
Game 7 intensity: Seven of the NHL’s eight first-round playoff series are done, but the Anaheim Ducks and the Nashville Predators still have a score to settle. The clubs face off tonight at 9 p.m. CDT in Game 7 in Anaheim. Meanwhile, down in Tampa Bay, the Lightning host the New York Islanders to kick off that second-round Eastern Conference series tonight at 6 p.m. CDT. READ MORE
Trending now
#ObitYourself: Not nearly as morbid as you might think. Consider these self-epitaphs: “It was a freak Nerf Gun accident”; “She said she was dying for a cup of coffee and she wasn’t kidding, for once”; or “She just died in his arms tonight. It must have been something he said.”
#MakeAMovieSick: These film titles will make you ill: “The Good Dino Psoriasis,” “One Flu Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” “The Green Bile,” and “Dude, Where’s My Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?”
On this date
On April 27, 1998: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that the Filmon government was urged to invest heavily in infrastructure, according to a confidential report that said millions more must be spent annually on deteriorating roads before the cost to rebuild becomes too steep. Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien visited Cuba and met with President Fidel Castro. In Churchill, a rocket was being launched for the first time in ten years.
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