Sweatier summers may call for fresh approach

Get out and exercise your franchise

Are there any compelling arguments left that will convince Manitobans to vote in this province’s municipal elections on Wednesday, Oct. 28?

For years — nay, decades — this newspaper has urged people to exercise their right to vote. Our arguments have grown increasingly adamant, yet voter turnout has continued to decline.

This has created a meaningful threat to democracy itself.

Without engagement from voters, we leave ourselves open to being led by those who are, at best, ill-suited, or at worse, are emboldened to grab the levers of government power and then abuse democratic institutions.

NHL shuffling toward resumption of play

Did you hear the one about the hockey players who walked into a bar?

Unfortunately, this isn't the beginning of a corny joke, but rather a real-life reminder that COVID-19 is no laughing matter despite far too many treating it as such. And the best-laid plans of the NHL and NHLPA to return to play this summer — spelled out in an tentative agreement following weeks of around-the-clock negotiations — could quickly come undone if the participants can't help themselves and get out of their own way.

Take the Stanley Cup-champion St. Louis Blues, who had to shutter their voluntary team skates last weekend after a trip to a local watering hole was linked to four unnamed players and a coach testing positive for the virus.

Nice going, guys. Was that swill you call beer really worth it? They join a growing list of players to become infected that now stands at 35 (23 who are participating in Phase 2 skates in their home markets and 12 who have been working out independently). According to the league's own numbers, that's an infection rate of about 5.5 per cent, which is significant. (Manitoba's is 0.2 per cent, while the national rate is 0.8)

Wesmen volleyball legend Mike Stephens does the unthinkable and joins Bisons coaching staff

It's something Mike Stephens never thought he'd do.

One of the greatest volleyball players to come out of the University of Winnipeg now represents the other side. Last week, crosstown rival Manitoba Bisons men's volleyball team named Stephens their new assistant coach.

"If you would've asked me 35 years ago, I would've said it would never happen... I've never worn brown until now," Stephens recently told the Free Press.

"It's different, but it's cool."

Marathon racer Diver, 44, picked for Australian Olympic team

Canadian golfer uses her length to her advantage during a six-birdie day.

Manitoba expands vaccine eligibility

What is shaping up to be a lengthy and laboured campaign to immunize Manitobans against COVID-19 could be moving much faster if vaccines become plentiful.

So says the medical lead for the province's vaccine implementation task force in response to a growing wave of questions and concerns about the effort falling behind those elsewhere in the country.

“We already have a large enough number of people that have been hired that we could ramp up substantially with our vaccine rollout,” Dr. Joss Reimer told a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

“With a substantial expansion, and with the existing applications we’ve received, we could expand to the point of reaching all Manitobans by the end of April.”

Processing potential long way from reality

There are times in life when you want to be wrong — like when you walk into the doctor’s office believing your ailment will be the death of you.

It’s the same sort of feeling I get wading through the pile of newly released reports extolling the unrealized “potential” for more value-added processing in Canadian agriculture. There’s this little voice inside my head saying: “I’m from Manitoba. Show me.”

There are jaw-dropping numbers bandied about in various reports from Food and Beverage Canada, the Canadian Chambers of Commerce/PwC and the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute. For example, more processing could add $75 billion on top of the $188 billion the sector already generates, create hundreds of thousands more jobs and a bigger domestic market for farmers. The list goes on.

Not to discount the solid analysis behind these efforts. Overall, it all sounds great, although notably missing is any mention of the growing concerns over ultra-processed foods and how that might affect future market growth.