Good morning!
Your forecast: Staff at Head Start headquarters aren’t feeling too chipper this morning. It might be the morning-after blues following a Toronto Blue Jays loss Tuesday night. It could be the near-empty box of Fruit Loops in our cupboard this morning, forcing us to spoon back Puffed Wheat, instead. More likely, it’s that bland weather we woke up to. Oh sure, it’s warm. The temperature at 5:30 a.m. was already 17 C. And we’ll reach about 22 C today. But don’t expect much sunshine and be prepared for a chance of rain. Showers are probable for Thursday, too, with a high of just 16 C. On the plus side, clear skies and warm temperatures return for the weekend, with highs of 21 C Saturday and 22 C Sunday. Those better be bacon-and-egg days.
In case you missed it
CPHailey Dunbar-Blanchette
Devastating loss: The search for little Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette came to a tragic end Tuesday night when RCMP in Alberta found the body of the two-year-old girl in a rural area near her home community of Blairmore. She was taken from her home early Monday and an Amber Alert was issued. Shortly after, her father, Terry Blanchette, was found slain in his home. Police have a 22-year-old man in custody. READ MORE
Keystone Air crash: Six passengers and two pilots were injured Tuesday night when a Keystone Air plane crashed near Thompson just before 7 p.m. The severity of the injures hasn’t been made public, however, the RCMP will release more details this morning. An official with the Transportation Safety Board said the plane had just taken off for Winnipeg but was returning to the Thompson airport when it crashed about three kilometres from the runway. READ MORE
Targeted in bombing case: An 80-year-old man says he was the subject of a police probe in connection to the letter bombing case that seriously injured a city lawyer earlier this summer. He claims his East St. Paul home was raided and his computer seized, and he was questioned at Winnipeg police headquarters for eight hours before being released. Another man, Guido Amsel, remains in custody. Police allege Amsel sent explosive devices through Canada Post to his ex-wife, his ex-wife’s lawyer Maria Mitousis, and his former lawyers at a Stradbrook Avenue office. Mitousis, 38, lost her right hand after the package she opened July 3 detonated. READ MORE
Up next
Sarah Taylor / Winnipeg Free Press FilesThe Merchant Hotel on Selkirk Avenue is coming down today. Earlier this month, over a hundred people vied for the eight positions to work on this project.
Take swing at the Merch: Sledgehammers will swing at the old Merchants Hotel at 541 Selkirk Avenue during the noon hour today. The beverage room that’s been a legendary libations locale for more than 60 years is part of a three-storey building that’s been being transformed into an educational and affordable housing complex. The public is invited to swing a sledgehammer today for a $1 donation. READ MORE
Sweet deal: Today is Slurpee Name Your Price Day, according to the 7-11 store chain. Customers pay whatever they choose for the sugary ice-slush, and 7-11 donates 100% of funds raised today to food banks. Just don’t tell your dentist.
School zone alert: Police and safety officials will be stationed at three Winnipeg school zones today between 7:30 a.m. and 9 a.m., and they’re not there to help patrollers cross the kids. They’re looking for careless drivers who ignore the new 30 km/h speed zones and endanger children. At which three school zones will they be? It’s secret. But, at a press conference at 11 a.m. today, officials will describe the traffic dangers they witnessed at the three intersections.
Around the water cooler
Submitted photoSome of Eva Pip’s heritage tomatoes.
Tom-a-to, tom-ah-to: Do you know your heirlooms? Heirloom tomatoes, that is. University of Winnipeg biology professor and clean-water advocate Eva Pip is also an heirloom tomato enthusiast who grows the fruits on her rural residential lot near Beausejour. How many kinds of tomatoes could there be, you may ask? Well, this year, Pip grew a staggering 83 varieties. That’s a lot of pasta sauce. READ MORE
Cheer up, Manitoba’s cheap: An independent report found that Manitoba is still the most affordable province in the country to live in. A Deloitte LLP report, done for the Selinger government and released today, said Manitobans spend $2,100 less per year compared to the national average on home heating, electricity and Autopac vehicle insurance. However, the report only compares selected utility and car insurance costs, and not provincial taxes. READ MORE
Hot new couple: Little ditty, about Christie and John, two American kids… blah, blah, blah. So, it seems former supermodel Christie Brinkley has been dating musician John Mellencamp. They were spotted recently dining together in NYC. He’s 63. She’s 61. Of course, Brinkley was married to another superstar singer, Billy Joel, from 1985-1994.
Trending now
#RIPHailey: Canadians have joined family, friends and the people of Blairmore, Alta., in mourning the loss of Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette, 2, abducted from her home Monday and found dead Tuesday night. READ MORE
#BadMovieMashups: Twitter followers have been having a blast blending a few of their favourite movie titled into one. Like these classics, for example: The Teen Wolf of Wall Street; The Breakfast Fight Club; Dirty Harry Potter; The Texas Chain Saw Madagascar; and All Reservoir Dogs Go to Heaven.
On this date
On Sept. 16, 1989: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that two anonymous donors saved the Royal Winnipeg Ballet from a half-million-dollar deficit on the eve of its 50th anniversary. The government of Manitoba disclosed the sites where a decade-old PCB spill had leaked, containing 30 times the acceptable levels of the chemical. Deputy mayor Don Mitchelson railed against the political influence of Winnipeg Into the Nineties calling it a fringe group of Liberals and socialists; he said if it nominated candidates for council, it would bring party politics to city hall. Winnipeg movie theatres were showing films such as Licence to Kill, Turner & Hooch, Young Einstein, Batman, Dead Poets Society, When Harry Met Sally, and sex, lies and videotape.
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