Gatorade, inventor of the sports drink, is getting a rebrand targeting non-athletes

Sixty years after it invented sports drinks, Gatorade is making a surprising pivot: It’s no longer focusing primarily on athletes.

PepsiCo, Gatorade’s parent company, said Thursday that the brand wants to broaden its reach to non-athletes who are looking for ways to hydrate, whether they’re on a long flight, going for a walk or nursing a hangover. New packaging highlights the specific ways Gatorade’s various drinks and powders work and the research behind them.

The change reflects U.S. consumers’ booming interest in beverages with perceived health benefits. Jack Doggett, a food and drink analyst with the consulting firm Mintel, said his research indicates 60% of consumers who buy sports drinks aren’t athletes but want the functional ingredients those drinks provide, like electrolytes for hydration and carbohydrates for energy.

“People are using these drinks more for wellness and daily maintenance,” Doggett said. “It’s easy to say that the wellness consumer is the young consumer, but older generations are also drinking these drinks for hydration.”

Pragmatic plots

Our climate is changing rapidly, and our garden plans need to adapt accordingly.

“We need a planting design that functions as a resilient, self-sustaining ecosystem suited to our climate,” says Nik Friesen-Hughes, landscape designer and owner of Dogwood Landscape Design Build. “We’re already seeing warmer temperatures overall in winter and summer and a longer growing season. In a climate such as Winnipeg’s, plants must handle extreme cold, heavy spring moisture and drought. So, we want to design a garden that’s resilient to all these things.”

Managing landscape water efficiently is a good starting point.

“Resilient landscapes don’t just use less water, they manage the water where it is,” says Friesen-Hughes. What if you could charge up your soil profile in spring with the extra moisture in the snow to help plants withstand hot, dry conditions that occur later on?

Artemis II astronauts channel Apollo 8 with a striking Earthset photo

HOUSTON (AP) — The Artemis II astronauts are now forever intertwined with Apollo 8.

A day after the historic lunar flyaround, NASA on Tuesday released striking new photos taken by the U.S.-Canadian crew.

The four astronauts channeled Apollo 8’s famous Earthrise shot from 1968 with their own: Earthset, showing our planet setting behind the gray, pockmarked moon. Another photo captures the total solar eclipse that occurred when the moon blocked the sun from the crew’s perspective.

The three Americans and one Canadian are now headed home, with a splashdown in the Pacific set for Friday. In the meantime, scientists at Houston's Mission Control are poring over the stream of moon photos beaming down.

Baby black bears orphaned after mother killed

Manitoba Conservation is investigating the killing of a mother bear who was illegally shot this week.

The location of a bear’s den north of Balmoral was posted to social media a few weeks ago, according to Judy Stearns, who co-owns Black Bear Rescue Manitoba with her husband.

Stearns warned the online audience not to disclose the co-ordinates out of fear something bad could happen.

“I did a post on our Facebook page to get the word out that people shouldn’t be doing this,” she said Wednesday.

Canada’s Jeremy Hansen rockets toward the moon with Artemis II after engine burn

CAPE CANAVERAL - Canadian Jeremy Hansen is headed toward the moon as part of the Artemis II lunar mission after a nearly six-minute engine burn to bust out of orbit Thursday evening.

Hansen, serving as mission specialist for Artemis II, is the first non-American to travel beyond low Earth orbit.

Also on board the Orion spacecraft, named Integrity by the crew, are veteran NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch.

After the spacecraft successfully completed a manoeuvre known as a translunar injection, Hansen had a message for the people of Earth.

Construction work officially begins on $3-billion wind farm northeast of Quebec City

BEAUPRÉ - Construction on a major wind farm northeast of Quebec City has been officially launched, with an investment of $3 billion.

The first two phases of the Des Neiges wind farm — the southern sector and the Charlevoix sector — will comprise a total of 114 turbines and generate 800 Megawatts of wind energy, enough to power 140,000 homes.

The project by Quebec's hydro utility, Boralex, and Énergir — the largest natural gas distributor in the province — is to be located on the grounds of the Séminaire de Québec in the Charlevoix region.

The third phase, if completed, will bring the farm's output to 1,200 Megawatts and contribute Hydro-Québec's goal of adding 10,000 MW of wind power to its current portfolio of 4,000 MW by 2035.

Harmony Aesthetics banks on cryogenic storage, preservation, future utilization of hair follicle stem cells

Staff members at Harmony Aesthetics invite you to put yourself on ice.

The boutique clinic in Winnipeg’s Charleswood neighbourhood, which specializes in skincare and aesthetic treatments, now offers stem cell banking. Clients who have their stem cells collected can use them for skincare treatments at the clinic and keep them preserved for future cell-based treatments.

Brian Foster and Rukhsana Foster, the husband-and-wife duo who lead Harmony, say they’re the first clinic in Manitoba to offer this form of stem cell banking. They partnered with Acorn Biolabs, a bio-technology company in Toronto, to offer the service.

“It’s so exciting to me to have your stem cells on file permanently, cryogenically preserved … because I will never be younger and healthier than I was yesterday,” said Brian Foster. “So having that yesterday version of me on file can be incredibly beneficial in the future when new technologies are developed.”

Environmental groups give NDP budget a ‘near failing grade’

The Manitoba government has made big promises to protect and prioritize the environment as it works to boost economic development and become a “have province.”

But climate groups say the latest provincial budget, released Tuesday, has failed to deliver.

A coalition of environmental organizations including the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Manitoba Eco-Network and Climate Action Team Manitoba gave the province “a near failing grade for its lack of meaningful investment in climate action and environmental protection,” according to a Friday release.

“Manitoba’s 2026 budget and the past two budgets before it have been extremely disappointing for climate and nature,” Ron Thiessen, executive director of CPAWS Manitoba, said in an interview.

Parents warned about measles risk over spring break, religious celebrations

Manitoba Health is urging parents to consider the risk of measles while travelling or attending large gatherings over spring break or upcoming holidays, in a bid to slow down Canada’s worst active outbreak.

Records shattered as summer heat hits Southwest in March; ‘This is what climate change looks like’

WASHINGTON (AP) — The dangerous heat wave shattering March records all over the U.S. Southwest is more than just another extreme weather blip. It’s the latest next-level weather wildness that is occurring ever more frequently as Earth’s warming builds.

Experts said unprecedented and deadly weather extremes that sometimes strike at abnormal times and in unusual places are putting more people in danger. For example, the Southwest is used to coping with deadly heat, but not months ahead of schedule, including a 112 degrees Fahrenheit (44.4 degrees Celsius) reading in two Arizona communities on Friday that smashed the highest March temperature recorded in the U.S. Two places in Southern California also hit that same temperature. All four spots are clustered within about 50 miles (80.5 kilometers) of each other.

“This is what climate change looks like in real time: extremes pushing beyond the bounds we once thought possible,” said University of Victoria climate scientist Andrew Weaver. “What used to be unprecedented events are now recurring features of a warming world.”

March's heat would have been virtually impossible without human-caused climate change, according to a report Friday by World Weather Attribution, an international group of scientists who study the causes of extreme weather events.

Winnipeg and ground squirrels

In a move shocking to many local animal lovers, the City of Winnipeg has opted to go ahead with its plan to kill ground squirrels at nine city parks and fields via methods that animal advocates say will cause prolonged pain and suffering.

Unusual atmospheric river will impact B.C. for days, even after it ends, says expert

VANCOUVER - Emergency officials say residents stranded by an early morning mudslide in Coquitlam, B.C., on Thursday have been safely extracted by helicopter, but a meteorologist warns such slides remain a possibility as an atmospheric river continues to drench the province.

RCMP say they were called to a rural area near the Upper Coquitlam River just after 5:30 a.m. following reports of a mudslide north of the Upper Coquitlam River Park. Coquitlam Search and Rescue said in a social media post that its crews started to rescue residents, who were stranded on the north end of Pipeline Road, just before 10 a.m.

The post said all eight residents, two dogs and one cat living in the area were extracted by a helicopter by 2:45 p.m.

BC Hydro said the slide knocked down a power line, temporarily leaving some 5,000 people without power. The utility expected power to be restored to all affected customers late Thursday or early Friday, but noted crews were having difficulty accessing the damage due to the unstable ground.

David Suzuki is turning 90. Environmentalists may have ‘lost, big time,’ but he still has hope

David Suzuki admits defeat — at least in some respects.

The geneticist-turned-environmentalist, who is days away from his 90th birthday, reflected on his legacy as he prepared to release his latest book, "Lessons from a Lifetime," which compiles photos and stories from his life, as well as testimonials written by those he inspired.

"To me, the important legacy that I want to tell my grandchildren is, look, I tried. I love you. I did the best I could for you. And I tried," he said on a video call last month.

"The measure of a person is not whether they succeeded — because we've lost, environmentalists have lost, big time — but that we tried."

Years of training keep Artemis II crew mission-ready, researcher says

MONTREAL - Despite the delays for NASA's Artemis II mission around the moon and back, a space medicine researcher says the crew, which includes Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, are physically ready for when the time comes to launch.

"They've been preparing for years, so what is a few more months," said Dr. Farhan Asrar, a physician, space medicine researcher and associate dean at Toronto Metropolitan University's School of Medicine.

"One thing that I've always kind of appreciated and respected in the life of astronauts … is it's always expecting the unexpected and how do you best prepare for that?"

NASA has targeted an April 1 launch for Artemis II, with a six-day launch window running through April 6 announced last week.

Pioneering scientist Suzuki reflects on his life’s work

It is hard to believe that Vancouver’s David Suzuki, an internationally renowned geneticist and environmental activist best-known in Canada for his popular television series The Nature of Things with David Suzuki, turns 90 years old on March 24.

No time for stolen hours

I’m a time zone and time change veteran.

I spent almost two years living in Saskatchewan, where the clocks never change from Central Standard Time, and you just learn to live with it.

I also spent many years living in a province knocked askew from the top of the clock, where, when everyone else was celebrating New Year’s at midnight, we were already at 12:30 a.m.

I’ve lived in the Newfoundland time zone, along with Atlantic, Eastern, Central and Mountain zones, along with every one of their spring-forward, fall-back time changes.

First Nations awaiting Hydro consults

With licences for two major Manitoba Hydro projects set to expire later this year, affected First Nations await consultation — and want to see change.

Licences for the Churchill River Diversion and Lake Winnipeg Regulation projects, first issued in the 1970s, expire Sept. 1 and Aug. 1, respectively.

The diversion directs water to five stations accounting for roughly 75 per cent of Manitoba’s power generation. The latter project allows Hydro to generate power by manipulating Lake Winnipeg’s water levels.

There is no timeline for the licence renewals, said Environment Minister Mike Moyes. He said that would be dependent on consultations with impacted First Nations.

Family embraces challenges, rewards of launching a fruit orchard

Growing up on a farm near Boissevain taught Kelvin Hildebrandt many things. But becoming an orchardist has meant taking a comprehensive and strategic approach to acquiring a whole new set of skills.

In the process, Hildebrandt has consulted with local orchardists, including well-known growers like Betty Kehler and Bob Pizey who ran Plum Ridge Farm, a popular u-pick orchard located in the Interlake region near Teulon.

“They taught me a great deal,” says Hildebrandt.

Hildebrandt has also been influenced by Jean Spencer who owned a 150-tree apple orchard near Miami. “Jean was very welcoming and let me take care of her trees for a while,” he says.

The delicate art of pressing flowers

When early explorers travelled the four corners of the world in search of botanical treasures and plant knowledge, they faced many challenges collecting and transporting live plant material. In the 19th century, the development of the Wardian case — a glazed box that held soil and water — enhanced the survival rate of live plants on long sea journeys.

But highly detailed botanical illustrations also served as a visual record for early botanists and scientists to study plants from distant parts of the world. The technique of pressing and drying all the parts of individual plants on paper made it possible to preserve plant specimens.

Today, herbariums around the world, including those at Manitoba Museum and the University of Manitoba, house extensive collections of pressed, dried plants stored in specialized, climate-controlled conditions. Scientists use these specimens to determine the rarity of species and understand environmental changes.

Enduring art form

U of M partners with firm behind proposed sand mine to study Manitoba groundwater

University of Manitoba researchers will soon have a new, non-invasive tool to study the province’s vast groundwater resources after inking a partnership with Alberta-based mining company Sio Silica.

“If the technology works … it’s going to provide a mechanism to do real-time monitoring of changes in groundwater,” Ricardo Mantilla, an associate professor in the university’s civil engineering department and lead researcher for the project, said in an interview.

The emerging technology — called absolute quantum gravimetry — can measure changes in gravity caused by changes in groundwater levels, allowing researchers to better understand the flow and storage of underground water resources without the need for “expensive and disruptive” drilling, he said.

“That obviously has applications for (Sio Silica), but it can have very important implications for how we understand groundwater in aquifers in our province.”

City sewage plant megaproject progresses amid need for more funding

The finishing touches are being put on four massive fibreglass sewage pipes inside a two-and-a-half metre thick concrete tunnel 20 metres underground.

When the work is done, they’ll start pumping out millions of litres of raw sewage per day.

The building that houses them may look modest, but it was made with as much concrete as half of the Canada Life Centre, with still some to go.

“We’ve got at least double that in the balance of the facility in other areas,” said Rob Black, the project director for the upgrade of the North End sewage treatment plant on Main Street North.

Clear Lake group withdraws review against Parks Canada

Fairness for Clear Lake has decided to withdraw its judicial review against Parks Canada following a court delay that pushed the 2025 boat ban hearing to May.

Agricultural innovation takes hit in federal cuts

Everyone knew cuts to federal programs and jobs were coming.

Something must give if elected officials are to make good on promises to address what many characterized as Canada’s bloated bureaucracy and ballooning deficits, while boosting its military defence systems and protecting the economy from a neighbour gone rogue.

And while the Canadian effort to shrink the cost of governing is a little less dramatic than that in the U.S. a year ago, the application of across-the-board cuts has been anything but surgical.

Farmers and unions, who rarely agree on anything, are united in opposition to news Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is closing three research facilities and four research farms, and cutting around 650 positions. The cuts include a host of programs, including those focused on organic farming, regenerative agriculture and climate adaptation.