The Wrap: MPI changes, LERA on Ste. Anne doctor case, cutting the cord, Cindy Cain, and… ECTOPLASM!

Good evening. Here’s a look at what our newsroom has been working on today:

'It’s time for a change'

Justice Minister Matt Wiebe, who is also minister responsible for Manitoba Public Insurance, unveiled a new board for the Crown auto insurer Friday, including the appointment of Carmen Nedohin as new chairwoman.

Danielle Da Silva:

NDP changes MPI’s board; getting Crown insurer’s 1,700 workers off picket line ‘top priority’

The Kinew government has run Manitoba Public Insurance’s Tory-appointed board off the road, replacing all but one of its directors in an effort to get the Crown corporation’s 1,700 employees — on stri... Read More

Savour Manitoba Spring issue cover featuring colourful mixed drinks on a table.

'General procedures are lacking'

The findings from a Law Enforcement Review Agency investigation, obtained by the Free Press, shed light on what happened prior to the abrupt collapse of the first of three trials for Ste. Anne physician Arcel Bissonnette, who was charged with 22 counts of sexual assault.

Katrina Clarke:

Prosecutor voiced fears about Ste. Anne police before MD’s sex assault case disintegrated, probe found

A Crown prosecutor privately raised concerns with his superiors about a rural police department’s ability to handle a “difficult” high-profile sexual assault case, according to the findings of a Law E... Read More

'It’s an amazing experience'

Country singer Cindi Cain has received plenty of accolades during a career now spanning five decades.

But if you’re asking her, few of her many accomplishments compare to the personal satisfaction she’s been getting out of her current “gig,” volunteering her time singing for patients in the palliative care ward at St. Boniface Hospital.

“People often say ‘oh, that must be all doom and gloom,’ except that often isn’t the case at all,” she says.

David Sanderson:

Compassionate crooner

A life on stage prepared singer Cindi Cain for a special new gig — bringing a tune to the bedside of palliative care patients Read More

'I’ve heard tell of life beyond the glow of the screen'

Arts writer Denise Duguay has read about TV, cried about TV, shouted at TV and talked about TV. She’s been paid to watch TV — all TV, any TV — and report back with recommendations and warnings.

And now, she’s cutting the cord. (Sort of.) And she’s inviting you to join her.

Denise Duguay:

A trial separation

A longtime TV-dependant watcher and critic prepares for a four-week elimination diet Read More

'This is not the only show on supernatural art'

The images of psychic phenomena recorded between 1918 and 1945 by Winnipeg doctor and politician Thomas Glendenning (T.G.) Hamilton and his wife Lillian are being given new consideration.

Conducted under conditions of a controlled ‘laboratory’ in their Henderson Highway home, the Hamiltons’ investigations resulted in hundreds of photographs of paranormal phenomena including telekinesis, ectoplasm, seances and more.

A new book and art exhibition examines the impact the images have had on the world in the century since they were captured.

Kittie Wong:

Ectoplasmic echoes

100 years on, the paranormal experimentation of a Winnipeg couple has come full-circle, garnering renewed attention in another era of pandemic and uncertainty Read More