Under-fire Olympic composer steps down over past bullying

Statistics, media, and public opinion

Storm left $840M of insured losses across Manitoba, Saskatchewan

Severe weather spanning two days in June — hitting both Manitoba and Saskatchewan — has led to at least $840 million in insured losses.

The June 9 and 10 weather is the latest in an increasing number of “catastrophic” events with major insurance payouts, said Rob de Pruis, the Insurance Bureau of Canada’s national director of consumer and industry relations.

The Insurance Bureau didn’t share a breakdown of insured losses by province. Most of the claims cover hail and flood damage, including sewer backups, de Pruis said.

At the time of the storm, Manitoba saw grapefruit-sized hail, torrential downpours and at least one tornado.

Under-fire Olympic composer steps down over past bullying

Stock surges and setbacks for the week ending July 16, 2021.

Manitoba Open winner overcomes tough week

Theo Humphrey has, admittedly, always been his own worst enemy. Now, at 29, the one-time college golf phenom has the breakthrough victory he’s been desperately seeking.

Humphrey captured the Manitoba Open on Sunday at Breezy Bend, finishing the weather-shortened 36-hole event at 11-under par after rounds of 66 and 65. That was good enough to edge fellow American Peter Knade by a single stroke.

“I certainly didn’t think it would take this long to win a PGA Tour sanctioned event,” said Humphrey, who was born in Chicago, raised in New York, starred at Vanderbilt University and turned pro in 2018 — even qualifying for the U.S. Open that summer.

“I didn’t think it was going to be this hard. Definitely rewarding to know that I’m doing the right things and I’m on the right path. You know, it makes a lot of the struggle worth it.”

Garry and Joyce Powers have kept on food truckin' for the past 25 years

Garry and Joyce Powers, owners of Sis & Me, a food truck currently celebrating its 25th year on Broadway, like to tell the story of how they are married to their job.

Garry got into the then-fledgling food truck biz in 1995. The following year he enlisted Joyce — they were just friends at the time — to give him a hand. Four years later the two of them walked down the aisle as husband and wife. Only in their case the aisle consisted of 10 square feet of floor space wedged between a charbroiler, flat-top grill and pair of deep fryers.

“We married in the truck on Broadway (and) did our own catering,” Joyce says, kidding (we think) that the reason she can’t share any wedding pictures is due to the “preacher, photographer and witnesses ending up in the ER over my cooking.”

The couple, who first met at a social in St. François Xavier, have a great sense of humour, that’s true. But neither one was laughing in late March, the time of year they typically begin mapping out their spring, summer and fall schedule. Owing to COVID-19, events they’d been prebooked around their downtown, lunch-hour itinerary — everything from high school track meets to neighbourhood block parties to rural fairs and festivals — were being postponed or cancelled outright, one after another.

When the going gets tough, the premier gets going… to his country home

When the going gets tough during this pandemic, the premier more often than not lets others handle the tough questions.

That was certainly the scenario last Friday when Premier Brian Pallister failed to appear at the news conference when it was announced that Winnipeg had been elevated to code red in the province's COVID-19 warning system, and a new range of social and economic restrictions were announced.

Officially, his staff said he was at the legislature in his second-floor office when Dr. Brent Roussin, the chief medical officer of health, and Lanette Siragusa, the province's top nurse, were giving everyone the bad news about new pandemic restrictions. Several legislative sources in the Tory party said, however, they did not see Pallister nor did they see his white SUV parked in its regular spot.

If Pallister was not in the building, it would be consistent with his long-standing tradition of leaving Thursday night or Friday morning to spend the weekend in the peace and quiet of his second home, located just a few kilometres east of Portage la Prairie.