Walk back your harsh words for a happier holiday

Health minister won’t remove WRHA board chair for travelling during pandemic

Health Minister Heather Stefanson said the province has no plans to rescind the appointment of the chairman of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority board of directors after he travelled to Arizona earlier this month.

Stefanson neither directly criticized nor defended the actions of Wayne McWhirter at a press conference Wednesday.

Instead, she said that chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin, Premier Brian Pallister and others have "been very clear that now is not the time for non-essential travel" and that McWhirter would be expected to "properly isolate" on his return home.

"At this time we are not looking to rescind his appointment, no," Stefanson said when asked by the Free Press.

Rock musical Rent's themes of acceptance and hope prove timeless

When you work in show business, you know one thing’s for sure: no matter what happens, the show must go on.

There’s perhaps no better illustration of this than the musical Rent when, on the morning of its first preview, its composer Jonathan Larson died at the age of 35 of an aortic aneurysm.

What followed has become a theatre legend. With the permission of Larson’s parents, the grieving cast performed a staged reading that evening — but by the end of Act I, they couldn’t contain their energy. They rose to their feet and continued with a full performance. At the end of the curtain call, a voice rang out over the applause, shouting, “Thank you, Jonathan Larson.”

A re-imagining of Giacomo Puccini’s opera La Bohème, Rent follows a year in the lives of seven young people as they struggle to follow their dreams in New York City’s East Village during the height of the AIDS epidemic. While the specifics of the show may not be relatable to everyone, the underlying themes of hope and love have proven to be timeless and universal.

Downtown outage caused by construction mishap: Bell MTS

Some customers in downtown Winnipeg are experiencing a Bell MTS service interruption after telecommunications infrastructure was damaged Tuesday.

Bell MTS said on social media that a third-party construction crew accidentally cut a copper cable, causing the outage.

Contractors drilled through multiple underground ducts, causing significant damage to several cables and requiring extensive repairs.

A small number of buildings, mainly concentrated on Fort Street, Garry Street and York Avenue, may be experiencing landline or internet issues because of the damage, said Bell spokesperson Elise von Scheel.

Rural residents ‘outraged’ property owner charged after shots fired during confrontation with alleged thieves: MLA

A rural Manitoba MLA says he has heard from constituents who are “shocked and outraged” that a 66-year-old man is facing charges after he fired shots at a group of people accused of stealing from his property.

“This isn’t vigilante justice. This isn’t about someone going out and trying to settle scores,” Josh Guenter, the Progressive Conservative MLA for Borderland, said Thursday.

“This is about Manitobans who have crime perpetrated on them, and what they’re able to do in that moment, to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their property.”

Officers were sent to property in the Rural Municipality of Dufferin, located about 95 kilometres southwest of Winnipeg, on Saturday after a report of a theft in progress. RCMP said four people who had been on the property earlier in the day returned that evening, driving two vehicles stolen from Watrous, Sask.

No timeline to reopen city-owned fitness facility in North Kildonan after mould discovery

A city-run fitness centre that suddenly closed for repairs last October lacks a set date to reopen, while an investigation on how best to fix it is underway.

Peguis Trail Health and Fitness Centre in North Kildonan was first expected to welcome visitors back within a few weeks when it shut down due to plumbing problems on Oct. 28.

But in February, the city’s website noted a much later reopening date of Oct. 2 after mould was discovered when crews attempted to upgrade the floors.

The city has since hired a consultant to assess the site’s condition, determine what repairs must be done and estimate how much the work would cost, including mould abatement.

Beijing behind the scenes: On women’s hockey’s biggest stage, it’s not just the players under pressure

Alex Clarke of Weyburn, Sask., is a Canadian linesperson who isn’t part of Team Canada at the Olympics.