Your first lesson? Stop lusting after teacher

State of emergency declared after unprecedented October snowfall

Premier Brian Pallister has declared a state of emergency in response to a massive snowstorm that slammed Manitoba heading into the Thanksgiving weekend.

“I have spoken to Manitoba Hydro and they have officially made a request to declare a state of emergency, which gives them the power to access additional resources, supplies, materials,” Pallister said.

“(This will help) restore power as quick as possible. We’ll be proceeding to grant that request.”

The storm knocked down hundreds of power lines and forced the closure of dozens of highways. More snow fell on Winnipeg than the city has had in all of October in any single year.

Mosque’s restorative justice program helps newcomers find their way

The Masjid Bilal is a chunky grey building just off Logan Avenue surrounded by warehouses and railyards. It looks more like a bunker than a mosque.

But on a Friday afternoon in late June, its green-and-white carpeted interior is humming with activity. Two men in white robes and flat woolen caps are seated on the carpet poring over a copy of the Qur’an. A few young boys dodge through hallways, poking curious noses into open doors. At the back, next to a table piled with prayer mats, two girls in hijabs share schoolyard gossip. In the kitchen, women are cooking up pots of rice and chicken for people who will soon arrive for Friday prayers.

The Masjid Bilal is a community hub for members of Winnipeg’s African diaspora as well as Muslims from many other countries.

It’s also home to the Bilal Community and Family Centre, an innovative, community-centred nonprofit that is meeting vital needs for newcomers in this city.

‘Heartbreaking loss’: Sandy Bay First Nation offers condolences after apparent dog attack.

Leaders with the Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation are offering their condolences after an animal rescue worker died following an apparent dog attack in the community and say the “stray and aggressive” animals are a longstanding issue.

Amanda Nobiss, 37, was volunteering in the community on the shores of Lake Manitoba with K9 Advocacy. Her remains were discovered on Friday morning.

The Manitoba First Nations Police Service said in a news release that it had been contacted by a friend of Amanda’s who was trying to locate her, around 12:45 a.m.

Using her cellphone location, police determined she appeared to be in Sandy Bay, said the release. Resources were dispatched to the area, including a drone, but due to the large radius of the cellphone “ping,” no one was located until 6 a.m.

Jets backup goalie has things to think of other than hockey

The balance David Rittich needed came in a way he least suspected.

Mary Tyler Moore’s passing feels more personal than the rest

This one feels oddly personal.

The past year has been a sombre parade of celebrity deaths, beginning with last January's passing of musicians David Bowie and Glenn Frey and continuing through the late winter and early spring with the deaths of comedian/actor Garry Shandling, record producer Sir George Martin, actress Patty Duke and pop-music icon Prince; summer brought sad farewells to legendary sportsmen Muhammad Ali and Gordie Howe, writer/producer Garry Marshall and actor Gene Wilder, and before 2016 could come to its woeful end we also lost golf pioneer Arnold Palmer, poet/musician Leonard Cohen, actor Alan Thicke, singer George Michael and the mother/daughter tandem of Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher.

All of them were, in their own way, beloved, and the passing of each was followed by tributes and, for some, a few tears. But for several reasons, Wednesday's passing of TV icon Mary Tyler Moore feels like it hits a little bit closer to home.

Moore, who died at age 80, was one of television's most adored, enduring and important figures. She rose to stardom, as co-star of The Dick Van Dyke Show, in 1961, which is right around the time I started watching TV. So as someone who loved television as a kid and somehow grew up to spend most of my adult life watching it for a living, it's fair to say Moore has been a pop-culture presence throughout my entire lifetime.

Penthouse at 390 The River offers breathtaking views and a blank slate for your imagination

Those looking to purchase a distinctive penthouse suite almost always have one issue to contend with: the need to remodel the suite to have it meet their needs and reflect their tastes.

As anyone who’s done that (or any renovation, for that matter) knows, it can be an arduous — and very dusty — process to tear everything out of a sprawling suite and then redo it.

There’s no need to deal with that process with a 2,098 sq. ft. penthouse suite at 390 On The River in the heart of downtown Winnipeg, says Viktoria Fazekas of RE/MAX Executives Realty.

“This is the last penthouse for sale in the complex,” she says. “The best part about it is that it’s in a totally raw state, which means it’s a blank slate. That gives the purchaser the opportunity to have the exact layout and finishes that they want.”