Museum diorama detailing marshland, rye farm decommissioned owing to pest infestation

What was designed as a triumph of taxidermy has instead become a buffet for pests.

Manitoba Museum has been forced to decommission the Delta Marsh and Rye Farm two-part diorama in the Parklands Gallery after discovering the extent of the devastation wrought by mice, clothes moths and beetle larvae. The open-air exhibition, completed in 2003, represents the province’s most important wetlands and the challenges faced by early farmers, including Ukrainian immigrants in the 1920s.

“Pests are a major issue,” says Amelia Fay, the museum’s director of research, collections and exhibitions. “All museums have pests and use discreet pest-management systems, but this specific diorama was particularly vulnerable because of how authentically it was constructed, using real plant materials and organic elements that various types of critters like to consume.”

Pests can enter the museum when the doors open; clothes moths drift in with foot traffic, mice can get in through tiny gaps and dermestid beetles can hitch a ride with visitors or via tiny cracks, laying eggs in areas close to food sources for future larvae.

Manitoba doctors support provincial government’s proposed social media ban

WINNIPEG - The negative effects social media has on children and youth's mental and physical health is outweighing other health concerns like substance use and injuries prompting some Manitoba doctors to support a ban on these sites, a new report has found.

Doctors Manitoba, the organization representing roughly 5,000 physicians and students in the province, surveyed its members and found that social media and excessive screen time pose significant risks to the mental health, sleep and robust development in children and youth.

Of the 242 physicians who completed the survey, 90 per cent supported a ban on social media sites and artificial intelligence chatbots for children.

"The findings are quite clear. Doctors believe social media, screen time and chat bots are among the top risks to children's health and well-being, ranking higher than even smoking, drinking, injuries and sedentary lifestyles," Dr. Alon Altman, president of Doctors Manitoba, told reporters on Monday.

Logistics expert guides the way — for nearly 30 years

Melissa Lopushniuk has been a member of Girl Guides Canada for nearly 30 years.

She started at age six and worked her way through all five branches of the program — from Sparks to Embers to Guides to Pathfinders to Rangers. She became a volunteer adult guider when she turned 18.

Her first role as an adult volunteer was with a Spark and Ember unit comprising elementary school-aged children.

It was there when Lopushniuk’s leadership skills came to the forefront: organizing activities for weekly meetings and planning events and excursions for the younger guides.

Jensen’s Nursery & Garden Centre celebrates 60 years of sowing community connections

RURAL MUNICIPALITY OF MACDONALD — It’s been 60 years since the seeds that became Jensen’s Nursery & Garden Centre were planted — and 10 years since its owners faced one of their biggest challenges.

At around 8 p.m. one day in July 2016, a thunderstorm hit the family-run garden centre and gift shop at 2550 McGillivray Blvd., beyond the southwest edge of Winnipeg. Susan Jensen Stubbe and Susan MacPherson, two members of the company’s ownership group, watched as it did major damage over the next 30 minutes.

The storm destroyed the main greenhouse, tore the tops off a few smaller greenhouses and damaged part of the gift shop’s roof.

“These windows were actually bowing in from the pressure of the rain,” Jensen Stubbe recalls as she sits at a table in the gift shop, recounting the storm.

Experts explain how Indigenous rights are a major hurdle for Alberta secession

EDMONTON - Political scientists say Indigenous treaty rights represent a significant legal hurdle for separatists in Alberta, and have brought the debate on secession in Canada into unchartered territory.

"This is a new dynamic ... It's creating a lot of uncertainty," said Andrew McDougall, a lawyer and professor in the University of Toronto's political science department, in an interview Saturday.

"There needs to be consultation with Indigenous peoples, the extent to which is unclear," said Andre Lecours, a University of Ottawa professor.

Premier Danielle Smith announced in a televised address on Thursday that an Oct. 19 referendum question will ask Albertans if they want to remain in Canada or start the process to hold a binding referendum on separation.

Linking Hope creates nonprofit connections to build a better future

Standing atop a plastic chair in a bustling warehouse on the edge of downtown Winnipeg, Breena Courchaine projects her voice to coordinate dozens of volunteers and thank them for the day’s work.

The morning has been a frenzy of piling clothes atop tables, moving donations around the room and finding permanent homes for things at Linking Hope’s new, permanent home.

By 12:30 p.m. Saturday, more than 100 volunteers had moved Linking Hope’s inventory into its new home at 323 Edwin St., across the road from its former space at 190 Disraeli Fwy., and the team was well ahead of schedule — a testament to the organization's support, staff say.

“We literally could not do this without our volunteers,” Courchaine said. “Every idea that has made this place better is mostly coming from the volunteers.”

Proponents of solar power push for provincial infrastructure investment to boost grid resilience

In the early 1970s, licence plates were stamped with the slogan “Sunny Manitoba” — a nod to long summer days, crisp blue winter skies and frequent sun dogs reflecting off of blinding white snow. While the slogan later changed, Manitoba’s ranking as Canada’s second-sunniest province has not.

Despite that sunlit reputation, solar power — one of the most-developed renewable energy sources — makes up just a small fraction of the province’s electricity grid.

“It’s extremely marginal, especially when you compare to other jurisdictions like Alberta and Saskatchewan,” said James Wilt, policy development manager at Climate Action Team Manitoba.

Manitoba boasts a predominantly emissions-free grid, with 97 per cent of its power generated by a network of hydroelectric dams. But the provincial utility, Manitoba Hydro, has forecasted that its once-abundant renewable energy source will soon fall short. There is growing demand for power amid the electrification of sectors like transportation and heating, and the rapidly growing interest in developing electricity-hungry data centres. Combined with more unpredictable water levels owing to climate factors like extreme drought, it’s all prompted the utility to warn that capacity could run out as soon as 2030.

Expressive power, emotional encounters: A closer look at Rothko’s Brown and Blacks in Reds

WHAT IT IS: Brown and Blacks in Reds, a 1957 painting by American artist Mark Rothko.

This work recently sold for US$85.8 million during a record-setting evening at Sotheby’s auction house, raising vexing questions about what we mean when we talk about the value of art.

WHAT IT’S ABOUT: Brown and Blacks in Reds offers a sombre example of Rothko’s most immediately recognizable period, with stacked blocks of colour vibrating against an intense ground. It is usually classified as a colour field painting, part of the larger abstract-expressionist movement of the 1940s and ’50s. (Rothko himself famously disliked both these terms.)

Mad Men fans might recall a Season 2 episode in which eccentric senior partner Bert Cooper acquires a Rothko painting something like this. (“I heard it cost $10,000,” Sal says.) Some of the younger employees sneak into Cooper’s office to look at it.

Banning YouTube removes tools from schools

It’s been a long time since the norm for audio-visual presentations in classrooms took the form of a slide projector, or a TV cart with a VHS player and a small cathode-ray tube set.

But Manitoba’s premier is asking himself something lately: are the modern equivalents good for schools?

Premier Wab Kinew said during a recent CBC interview that he does not think YouTube, the popular video-streaming site, should be used in classrooms. He made the comment during a discussion on his broader effort to keep kids aged 15 and younger from accessing YouTube and other social media apps.

The comments have caused some consternation among educators who, while recognizing YouTube in general is not a great source of information for young people, believe it nevertheless offers access to a solid repository of educational video content provided by reputable sources.

La grande histoire d’un petit village

Le village de Sainte-Agathe, qui borde les rives de la rivière Rouge et de la rivière aux Rats, à près de 40 kilomètres au sud de Winnipeg, fêtera ce 28 mai son 150e anniversaire.

Alors 150 ans, ça fait beaucoup de bougies, certainement trop pour toutes les faire tenir sur un gâteau, mais ça ne veut pas dire qu’on laisse tomber les célébrations.

Ce 28 mai, l’évènement se tiendra près du quai de Sainte-Agathe, où un bateau transportait les voitures d’un côté à l’autre de la rivière, à l’époque où il n’existait pas de pont.

Joel Lemoine, conseiller municipal pour Sainte-Agathe détaille la nature des célébrations.

Manitoba’s newspapers portrayed province as rife with untamed potential — to the detriment of the Indigenous community

Historian Howard Zinn once compared the historian’s perspective to that of the mapmaker. We have the human tendency to see the world from our point of view, regardless of our best intentions and feigned attempts at objectivity.

Such is the same for newspapers, both historically and in their present form. Newspapers carry with them a certain perspective — a leaning of sorts that is inherent and molded in the perspective of owners, editorial boards and journalists themselves.

You can’t be neutral on a moving train, as Zinn would argue.

In the 19th century, however, newspapers notoriously and explicitly saw the world and tried to shape it from the perspective and agenda of its owners. George Brown’s Globe in Upper Canada, for example, was a classic example of a partisan media that used its platform to undermine rivals, the French and various governments.

Pappas Greek Food and Steak closes after three decades of serving Winnipeg

Customers at Pappas Greek Food and Steak were served a side of gratitude with their meals on Friday, as the long-running Winnipeg restaurant marked its last day in business.

Owners Bob and Maria Papasotiriou are retiring after more than 30 years of operating the eatery, located at the corner of Roblin Boulevard and Elmhurst Road in the Charleswood neighbourhood.

“People walked in, they celebrated around our tables — birthdays, special occasions — and memories were created. So it’s not like a business anymore. This is home,” Maria said before lunch service.

“I want to express our deep appreciation for everybody who came through our doors and made our dream a success. They filled our hearts with a lot of joy.”

Combat in the classroom: Many Manitoba public school teachers are concerned violence is making their jobs more difficult

The majority of teachers in a new Probe Research study reported both the prevalence of violence and severity of incidents has increased since they joined the profession. Early years and veteran teachers, along with those working in Winnipeg, were the most likely to report worsening conditions.

Vast marine conservation reserve, bigger than P.E.I., to protect B.C. central coast

An enormous national marine conservation reserve is being established on British Columbia's central coast, spanning an area larger than Prince Edward Island.

The protected area, named Mia-yaltwa Ha’lidzogm hoon, is the result of an agreement between six coastal First Nations and the provincial and federal governments.

An official says the area is around 6700 sq. km and will be operated by Parks Canada along with its Indigenous and federal partners.

The reserve is within the Great Bear Sea, a diverse marine ecosystem that covers more than half of B.C.'s coast and includes glass sponge reefs, salmon, killer whales and migrating humpbacks.

A round of a-paws for ‘La Perra,’ winner of the Palm Dog award at Cannes

CANNES, France (AP) — A round of a-paws for “La Perra,” winner of this year’s Palm Dog award at the Cannes Film Festival. The Chilean movie took the top canine prize Friday, a day before the festival's official awards ceremony.

The quirky tradition on the Cannes beachfront was a celebratory affair, packed with journalists, dog lovers and, of course, plenty of dogs. The sound of barking was interspersed with the clink of wine glasses as eager pups posed for the cameras and socialized with their canine pals. It was bone appetit for the animal guests as they were served gourmet doggie snacks and look-alike local pooches stood in for their famous peers to collect awards.

Screening in the Directors' Fortnight sidebar, “La Perra” (Spanish for female dog) follows a solitary woman and her bond with an abandoned puppy, Yuri — named after the famous Mexican pop star.

When director, Dominga Sotomayor, collected the coveted dog collar, she explained that she rescued two very special dogs to play Yuri, from puppy to adulthood.

Theatre Projects Manitoba offers double the theatrics in ambitious new play

A city-based theatre company that’s devoted itself to new Prairie works since 1990 is doubling down on humankind.

Firewood, the emerald ash borer and you

Turning Winnipeg into a quarantine zone in 2018 with the first EAB discovery may well have helped protect the province’s ash trees from the spread of the borer.

Adverse weather slows pace of seeding to below 5-year average

High winds and a cool spring have caused a lag in Manitoba’s crop-planting season.

At this time last year, more than half of crops — at least 57 per cent — had been seeded, according to reports. By Tuesday, just 37 per cent of 2026 seeding was complete.

The pace falls behind the five-year average: 43 per cent of seeding is usually done by May 19.

A crop report from the Manitoba government points to “extremely high winds” and rainfall slowing progress.

As permafrost thaws, some headwaters in Canada’s North turn orange and toxic: study

Ancient bedrock exposed by disappearing permafrost is releasing toxic metals into Canada's northern rivers, a new study says, with once-pristine subarctic streams now comparable in some cases to highly acidic, contaminated mining sites.

The findings out of Yukon point to an "unfolding environmental disaster," one co-author said, and adds to alarm over the rapid climate-fuelled changes in the North.

"We don't know the end point, but there's nothing about this that gives me any feeling of like, 'oh, we're going to be OK'," said co-author Sean Carey, a professor at McMaster University.

"I'm not even a gloomy person. This looks pretty gloomy."

Her Sports Fest hopes to reconnect women to recreational sports and activity

TORONTO - More than a year ago, Sherry Lamb woke up from a dream with a fully formed idea for a multi-sport event where women of different ages and backgrounds could get together and try them all out.

She collaborated with longtime friend Carolyn Jeffs to develop and program Her Sports Fest, a three-day event that will open Friday evening at The Hangar Sport and Events Centre in Toronto's north end. Both Lamb and Jeffs hope it will help girls and women reconnect with or maintain their love of sports.

"I saw the event in my head. I could just see the whole thing, the entire event, and the idea wouldn't let me go," said Lamb. "So I called my friend Carolyn and said, 'What are we both passionate about?' and without missing a beat, she said, 'women's sports,' and I said, 'Well, I have a bit of an idea for you.'

"Since then, we've registered as a non-profit and, 15 months later, we're here, we're ready to go."

Louis Riel division hires province’s first Indigenous woman superintendent

The new leader of the Louis Riel School Division is a Métis teacher who has — not unlike the founder of Manitoba — dedicated much of her life to supporting Indigenous families.

Jackie Connell has been named the incoming superintendent and chief executive officer of the St. Vital-based board office in charge of educating 17,000 students.

The board of trustees announced her historic appointment, which begins Aug. 4, late Tuesday.

“I feel Indigenous women are inherently built to lead. I don’t know that education systems always see or honour that leadership,” Connell said in an interview Wednesday.

Infielder Matsubara playing big role in UBC’s historic run

Jill Matsubara has been on the road for the last two weeks, but she’s not itching to return home.

If things go her way, she’ll happily continue to live out of her suitcase.

You see, the Winnipeg-born sophomore infielder is in the midst of a historic run with the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, who are preparing for their first appearance in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Softball World Series in Columbus, Ga., this week.

It took a few timely hits and some good fortune for the Thunderbirds to reach the national championship tournament, but for Matsubara, this was the inevitable next step for the program after reaching the NAIA Championship Opening Round tournament — which precedes the World Series — for the first time last year.

Time for change? Province launches survey to review clock changes

The provincial government has asked Manitobans to weigh in on whether to end the seasonal time change.