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Decade since destruction: Ten years ago this week, the most powerful tornado ever recorded in Canada touched down in Elie, destroying four homes. Remarkably, no one was killed or seriously injured in what was later classified as an F5 tornado — the strongest possible —on the Fujita scale. Kevin Rollason reports. READ MORE
Your forecast: It will be cloudy with some rain today, the first day of summer, with a high of 22 C and wind from the south at 40 km/h gusting to 60 in the early afternoon. There is a 30 per cent chance of showers this morning, a few showers starting early in the afternoon and a risk of an afternoon thunderstorm.
In case you missed it
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Images of the Hudson Bay Railway from Thompson to Churchill, captured by motorcyclist Steve Green and timestamped June 14 tell a very different story from those provided by Omnitrax.
Pictures tell a story: Photographs taken by Steve Green, an American adventure-seeker, as he rode a dirtbike along the shut-down rail line to Churchill reveal a different situation than the dire description offered by Omnitrax Canada. As recently as Friday, Omnitrax claimed some parts of the line, which was shut down because of damage caused by spring flooding, were still covered with water and that the company might not be able to do any significant repair work until the ground begins to freeze in the fall. Dan Lett reports. READ MORE
Bright idea: WiseUp Winnipeg, a grassroots activist group fighting the photo-enforcement program, is calling on the city to install flashing lights in school zones to alert drivers to the reduced speed limit. The City of Winnipeg says it’s not interested, and anti-ticket crusader Todd Dube is threatening to install the lights himself, regardless of the legal consequences. Ryan Thorpe reports. READ MORE
So much more to mustard: Carly Minish first started messing around with mustard while making homemade Christmas gifts. She has since started a small-batch mustard company, Smak Dab, and is producing six flavours, plus some seasonal specialties. In the process, she’s learned a lot about the condiment’s history. “The funny thing about mustard is that most people think it was created to put on hamburgers and hotdogs, and it’s just not the case,” Minish says. Wendy King reports. READ MORE
Up next
Chris Young / The Canadian Press files
Kevin Cheveldayoff, general manager of Winnipeg Jets: ‘Not everyone’s a Patrik Laine or a Nikolaj Ehlers or a Jacob Trouba that plays at 18 or 19’
Golden opportunity: The Vegas Golden Knights will reveal which players they selected through the expansion draft tonight during the NHL’s annual awards ceremony. Some of the Winnipeg Jets left unprotected include forward Marko Dano and defenceman Toby Enstrom. The awards are being televised live starting at 7 p.m. CT. Meanwhile, Jason Bell looks at who the Jets might choose with the 13th overall pick in the NHL entry draft Friday night. READ MORE
“Ridiculous” rules: Janice Lukes wants to have reports published four business days before city council meetings. Under the current rules, agendas and reports are released publicly 96 hours before meetings, including weekends. Lukes says that’s not always enough time for councillors to make informed decisions. “This is simply a ridiculous way to run the city,” she says. Her motion will be debated at today’s council meeting. Aldo Santin reports. READ MORE
Around the water cooler
MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Kelvin Goertzen the Health, Seniors and Active Living Minister
Minister’s view on hospital vote: Provincial Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen spoke to reporters Tuesday for the first time since news of the recent controversy at St. Boniface Hospital broke. Its board was stacked to reverse a decision related to assisted dying and keep with the health-care facility’s Catholic roots. The “process may not be what anybody would consider to be ideal,” Goertzen said, “but they have followed their rules.” Jane Gerster reports. READ MORE
Trending now
BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES
Winnipeg Centre MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette: ‘We’re afraid, that getting so close to this goal of giving someone their birthright back… might never come to realization’
#NationalAboriginalDay: Winnipeg is one of many cities across Canada celebrating National Aboriginal Day, honouring indigenous peoples, their cultures and their histories. The discussion of indigenous identity and rights will be all the sharper today, as the Senate and Parliament spar over a proposal to extend Indian status to roughly 35,000 people who lost their lineage from 1951 onwards. Winnipeg MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette says it’s time for action on this issue. READ MORE
On this date
On June 21, 1932: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that in St. Bees, Cumberland, England, a faulty fuse prevented a bomb from killing the former lord high commissioner for Egypt, the Bishop of Carlysle and up to 20 others; the plot behind the discovered bomb was under investigation. In Manitoba, an illicit liquor still was thought to be behind a murder-suicide in East Kildonan. In the United States, all roads leading into Washington, D.C. from Maryland were under police watch as authorities were alerted that an automobile filled with gunpowder was headed for the White House. READ MORE
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