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MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Nexom founder Martin Hildebrand with the new Cyclor Turbo wastewater treatment technology at the East St. Paul Wastewater Treatment Facility on Thursday, April 16, 2026. For Aaron story. Free Press 2026

Manitoba company Nexom puts East St. Paul treatment technology demonstration facility in international spotlight

Aaron Epp 6 minute read Yesterday at 6:00 AM CDT

Rural Municipality of East St. Paul — If Martin Hildebrand has anything to do with it, people from across the continent who are exploring wastewater treatment options will soon be visiting East St. Paul.

Last week, the founder of Manitoba water solutions company Nexom and other stakeholders celebrated the opening of North America’s first full-scale Cyclor Turbo wastewater treatment demonstration facility.

The project showcases a compact, chemical-free treatment technology that delivers phosphorus and nitrogen removal while significantly reducing infrastructure footprint.

It’s a project that has generated “a huge amount of interest” across North America, said Hildebrand, whose company brought the technology to the community.

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Inflation jumps on Iran war shock but few signs yet of spreading price hikes

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview

Inflation jumps on Iran war shock but few signs yet of spreading price hikes

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 3:42 PM CDT

OTTAWA - Statistics Canada reported a jump in the headline inflation rate for March but economists parsing the latest data argue there are few signs so far that the price shock from the Iran war is spreading beyond the pumps.

The agency reported Monday that the annual rate of inflation accelerated to 2.4 per cent last month, an increase of 0.6 percentage points from February.

It said higher gas prices tied to the war in the Middle East were the main reason for the jump. But economists had expected a slightly larger increase in the headline inflation rate and pointed to signs of easing elsewhere in the consumer basket.

"I would say, apart from those fuel-related inflation spikes, the report was fairly benign," said TD Bank senior economist Leslie Preston.

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Updated: Yesterday at 3:42 PM CDT

A woman gasses up at a gas station in Mississauga, Ont., Tuesday, February 13, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov
A woman gasses up at a gas station in Mississauga, Ont., Tuesday, February 13, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

The Latest: Doubt surrounds Iran-US talks as ceasefire is set to expire

The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

The Latest: Doubt surrounds Iran-US talks as ceasefire is set to expire

The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: 1:38 AM CDT

The prospect of a second round of talks was uncertain Tuesday after Iran’s chief negotiator said Iran would not negotiate in the face of threats while U.S. President Donald Trump offered mixed messages about the path ahead for the U.S. war against Iran, declaring that he was in no rush to end the conflict.

Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf, Iran’s chief negotiator and parliament speaker, wrote in a post on X early Tuesday that “We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats,” and the Islamic Republic has been preparing “to reveal new cards on the battlefield.”

Trump indicated that he still expects to dispatch his negotiating team, led by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, to Pakistan’s capital of Islamabad for talks, even as Iran insisted it would not take part until the U.S. leader dialed back his demands. Trump said he’s “highly unlikely” to renew the ceasefire before it expires Wednesday.

Since the war started, fighting has killed at least 3,375 people in Iran and more than 2,290 in Lebanon. Additionally, 23 people have died in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 U.S. service members throughout the region have been killed.

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Updated: 1:38 AM CDT

A man mourns over the coffin of a Hezbollah fighter who was killed in the war between Hezbollah and Israel during a mass funeral in Bazouriyeh village, south Lebanon, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
A man mourns over the coffin of a Hezbollah fighter who was killed in the war between Hezbollah and Israel during a mass funeral in Bazouriyeh village, south Lebanon, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

After facing the death of its dominant newspaper, Pittsburgh’s media has a surprising turnaround

David Bauder, The Associated Press 8 minute read Preview

After facing the death of its dominant newspaper, Pittsburgh’s media has a surprising turnaround

David Bauder, The Associated Press 8 minute read Yesterday at 11:13 PM CDT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — In the space of a couple of weeks this spring, Pittsburgh media has lived through a near-death experience and a resurrection.

Owners of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last week announced the newspaper's sale to a nonprofit foundation that said it was committed to keeping it open. A news outlet that predates the U.S. Constitution was due to close on May 3, which would have made the Steel City the nation's largest community without a city-based paper.

Weeks earlier, the alternative Pittsburgh City Paper, whose staff learned on New Year's Day that it was closing after 34 years, roared back to life under new ownership.

They were rare positive developments for a local news industry that has seen its share of the opposite over the past two decades — newsrooms shuttered or thinned out, journalists thrown out of work, consumers drifting away. No one is pretending that a true turnaround will be easy in Pittsburgh. One thing that may help is that the city faced a news abyss and was forced to prepare for it.

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Yesterday at 11:13 PM CDT

The printed edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette sits in a newspaper rack, Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
The printed edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette sits in a newspaper rack, Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Provinces on track to allow cross-border alcohol sales by next month, Ottawa says

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press 1 minute read Preview

Provinces on track to allow cross-border alcohol sales by next month, Ottawa says

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press 1 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 3:12 PM CDT

OTTAWA - The federal government says 10 provinces and the Yukon are on track to allow consumers to buy Canadian alcohol directly from producers by next month.

Pierre-Alain Bujold, a spokesperson for the Privy Council Office, says provinces and territories are continuing to work toward the May 2026 deadline.

He says each participating province and territory will decide how to implement the policy within their jurisdictions.

All 10 provinces and the Yukon signed an agreement last year to allow consumers to order Canadian wine, spirits, beer and other alcoholic beverages for personal consumption directly from producers.

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Updated: Yesterday at 3:12 PM CDT

Bottles of British Columbia wine are displayed at a liquor store in Cremona, Alta., on Feb. 7, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Bottles of British Columbia wine are displayed at a liquor store in Cremona, Alta., on Feb. 7, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
MIKE THIESSEN / FREE PRESS

Sentinel journey, sentimental memories

Wooden elevator reduced to rubble after towering over Austin for 75 years

Ben Waldman 6 minute read Friday, Apr. 17, 2026

OpenText names James McGourlay as president, chief client officer

The Canadian Press 1 minute read Preview

OpenText names James McGourlay as president, chief client officer

The Canadian Press 1 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 10:16 AM CDT

TORONTO - Open Text Corp. has named James McGourlay as its new president, chief client officer.

McGourlay will report to Ayman Antoun, who officially took over the chief executive job at the company on Monday.

McGourlay had been served as interim chief executive since August last year when the board abruptly replaced Mark Barrenechea in the top job.

OpenText had said McGourlay would be moving to another role within the executive leadership team at the company when it announced in January that Antoun, a former IBM executive, would become chief executive.

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Updated: Yesterday at 10:16 AM CDT

The logo for OpenText is shown in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - OpenText (Mandatory Credit)
The logo for OpenText is shown in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - OpenText (Mandatory Credit)

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ESG, ru OK?

Joel Schlesinger 6 minute read Preview

ESG, ru OK?

Joel Schlesinger 6 minute read Saturday, Apr. 18, 2026

It’s been a rough year, depending on your viewpoint, for the world.

That’s especially true for folks who believe in climate change science, as they watch the largest economic power in the world make statements like: “We are driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion.”

That’s a March 2025 statement by Lee Zeldin, head of the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States.

Since then, the Trump administration hasn’t just embraced climate scepticism, it’s seemingly tried to accelerate climate change, repealing protections while rapidly expanding oil and gas, and even coal development.

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Saturday, Apr. 18, 2026

Freepik
Freepik

Two Southwest Airlines planes came dangerously close in Nashville and had to take evasive action

Josh Funk, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Two Southwest Airlines planes came dangerously close in Nashville and had to take evasive action

Josh Funk, The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 3:13 PM CDT

Two Southwest Airlines planes had to take evasive action to avoid colliding Saturday in Nashville, Tennessee, after an air traffic controller directed one pilot to turn into the path of the other plane.

Last year, an American Airlines jet collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Washington, D.C., killing all 67 people aboard both aircraft. That crash on Jan. 29, 2025, put the spotlight on midair collisions, which are rare in commercial flights where the planes are equipped with systems to alert pilots about a potential collision.

Most of the close calls that happen every year involve small planes that don’t have those systems, but the Federal Aviation Administration couldn’t immediately provide a number for how many happen annually. There are typically several collisions involving small planes every year like the one that happened in February 2025 in Arizona that killed two people.

Both of the Southwest pilots involved in this incident over the weekend told the air traffic controller that they received alarms from their collision avoidance systems that directed them to take action with one plane climbing while the other descended to avoid the potential midair collision, according to audio posted by www.LiveATC.net.

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Updated: Yesterday at 3:13 PM CDT

Southwest Airlines grounds crew refuel an aircraft at Hollywood Burbank Airport in Burbank, Calif., Friday, April 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Southwest Airlines grounds crew refuel an aircraft at Hollywood Burbank Airport in Burbank, Calif., Friday, April 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

BlackBerry stock up 13 per cent on expanded partnership with Nvidia

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press 1 minute read Preview

BlackBerry stock up 13 per cent on expanded partnership with Nvidia

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press 1 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 3:40 PM CDT

BlackBerry Ltd.'s share price popped by 13 per cent as the firm deepened its ties to tech giant Nvidia.

The Waterloo, Ont.-based software developer's share price closed the trading day at $7.50.

The rise came after BlackBerry announced it has expanded a partnership that will allow its developers to build and deploy AI systems for Nvidias' IGX Thor platform.

Nvidia's IGX Thor is meant to be used in regulated environments for things like autonomous, humanoid and surgical robotics, medical imaging and industrial automation.

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Updated: Yesterday at 3:40 PM CDT

The BlackBerry logo located in the lobby of the company's B building in Waterloo, Ont. on Tuesday, May 29, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Ryan
The BlackBerry logo located in the lobby of the company's B building in Waterloo, Ont. on Tuesday, May 29, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Ryan

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