Winnipeg in 2018: A year-end news crossword puzzle

Manitoba workplaces becoming increasingly violent

A middle school student file documenting more than 40 violent outbursts in a single year.

A gun kept under the pillow of a home-care patient who has dementia.

A drug-fuelled rage during which a man suffering from a contagious disease spat on and wrapped his hands around the throat of a first responder.

These are among the hazards that front-line employees in health care, education and other public sector positions are navigating when they clock in for a shift.

Record label operated out of Winnipeg in the 1960s provided home for Western Canada acts devoted to Ukrainian wheatfield soul

Record label operated out of Winnipeg in the 1960s provided home Western Canada acts devoted to Ukrainian wheatfield soul

‘Cautious optimism’ in Brandon as river crests

Water levels on the Assiniboine River, which have threatened Manitoba’s second-largest city over the past week, crested overnight, Brandon officials said Monday.

The river reached 1,179.46 feet, “indicating the river level has stabilized and reached its peak,” the city’s website stated.

The level had been 1,179.23 feet Sunday morning after rising 1.63 feet from Saturday. Officials had expected it to climb by as much as another foot before cresting. Overall, the river rose by about 7.5 feet in the past week.

Despite the crest, residents are still being urged to stay prepared as conditions could change.

Toys ‘R’ Us closing Polo Park store

Embattled toy retailer Toys “R” Us is closing its store in Winnipeg’s Polo Park area.

Staff hung signs sharing the news — and advertising liquidation pricing — on Friday. The signage does not indicate when the store, located at 1445 St. Matthews Ave., will close for good.

A store manager declined to comment on Monday, directing a reporter to Toys “R” Us Canada Ltd.’s head office. The company did not respond to interview requests.

Toys “R” Us announced in January it would close its Polo Park location, but reversed course a few weeks later. The Canada-wide company has been in creditor protection since February.

Winnipeggers try to cool off as heat wave persists

Mark Boissoneault woke up Monday to dozens of calls from Winnipeggers desperate for their air conditioning units to be fixed.

The owner of Tradesman Heating and Air Conditioning said the 30 air conditioning repairs they’ve done daily since a heat wave hit the city is triple the number they do on a regular summer day.

“We actually can’t keep up,” he said.

The mercury hit 35.3 C in Winnipeg Sunday, according to Environment Canada. The humidex made it feel like 48.

Vaping: a clear and present danger

The numbers are startling. According to a recent Free Press story, nearly one-fifth (18.4 per cent) of Manitoba teens in grades 7 to 12 reported using ‘vapes’, known more formally as e-cigarettes, within the month prior to answering a Health Canada survey in 2023-24.

For the unaware, vaping refers to the practise of using a battery-powered device to heat a nicotine-infused liquid (a.k.a. ‘juice’), which turns it into a vapour that can be inhaled. Vape juices are often flavoured to taste like candy and local health and education officials say vaping has become the go-to nicotine delivery system for teens and young adults in Manitoba.

That’s scary, especially since Canadians under 18 have been banned from purchasing vaping products since 2018, and the promotion and marketing of vaping to youth is prohibited.

Regardless, it is obvious our kids are getting hold of vaping devices and juices in ever-increasing numbers. And now school officials, medical professionals and health advocates alike are sounding the alarm.