GIMLI - Misty Lake Lodge has become a safe haven for flood evacuees from Little Saskatchewan First Nation.

Major spring flooding forced the evacuation of residents from the reserve in 2011.

Owner Michael Bruneau has been footing the entire bill for lodging and food for 18 of the evacuees, who have relocated from Winnipeg hotel rooms to his facility near Gimli.

Kathleen Pruden and her two adult children were one of the families that moved to Misty Lake Lodge and Conference Centre from Winnipeg. She says staff have helped with the adjustments.

She said she never slept at night in the Winnipeg hotel, and her car was vandalized. Her children have flourished since coming to the Lodge, she said.

http://www.winnipegsun.com/2012/10/20/misty-lake-lodge-near-gimli-a-safe-haven-for-flood-evacuees

WFP Editorial: The Canadian Museum of Civilization is getting a new name and a fresh mandate to educate Canadians about their history and national identity.

The Canadian Museum of History, as the institution in Gatineau, Que., will now be known, will be more sharply focused on the country's past, with stories that explain how a land that was once dismissed as "a few acres of ice" developed into a unique, wealthy and influential country.

The previous title was vague, as was the museum's mission, which seemed to include multiple trajectories and themes, everything from postal history to natural science and exhibits on butterflies....         ...The goal of the latest initiative is to develop partnerships with museums across Canada, including the Manitoba Museum, so provincial exhibits can be displayed in Ottawa and national treasures can tour the country.

It's a laudable goal, but it doesn't appear to come with a budget.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/editorials/canadas-history-museum-175192941.html

FARGO, N.D. - Ask folks in Fargo what they first thought about the 1996 movie that made their city famous, and some will tell you they were not fans. Some residents initially didn't appreciate the Coen brothers' dark humour or were offended by the extreme violence and depiction of Scandinavian culture. Not to mention those heavy accents on "you betcha" and "ya sure."

But the fame and cash it brought Fargo eventually brought the city around. Now, 16 years later, Fargo awaits the debut of a new cable television show by the same name, and many residents here are less apprehensive about how their hometown will be portrayed this time around...         ...Sixteen years later, travellers looking to see the real Fargo still swing through, with many flocking to take a picture next to the iconic wood chipper, autographed on the chute by the Coen brothers and displayed at the city's main tourism centre. Tourism staff hand out ear-flap hats to tourists and take pictures of them stuffing the leg of a mannequin into the Yard Shark.

"A good majority of people come in here just looking for the wood chipper," said Jayne Rieth, who works at the tourism centre. She didn't like the movie on the big screen, but watched it at home recently so she could be better informed at work. And the tourism centre and shops around town sell plenty of wood chipper T-shirts, shot glasses, koozies, mugs and — of course — ice scrapers.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/TV/you-betcha-fargo-residents-await-upcoming-tv-version-of-movie-that-made-their-city-famous-175153681.html

GULFPORT, Miss. - A Mississippi man stranded in the Hawaiian islands after being told he was on the FBI's no-fly list has returned to California.

The Sun-Herald reports (http://bit.ly/ORCBNS ) that Wade E. Hicks Jr., of Gulfport, was cleared to board and reached an air base near San Francisco on a military airplane.

After his plane touched down Friday evening, he said he felt "great."

Hicks, 34, was travelling to visit his wife, a U.S. Navy lieutenant stationed on Okinawa. He hitched a ride on a scheduled military flight, as military dependents are allowed to do when there's room.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/travel/man-stranded-in-hawaii-by-no-fly-list-gets-ok-and-flies-to-san-francisco-friday-175231741.html

(A complete article published originally in the WFP, Oct.  '75)

Winnipeg's proposed height bylaw drew strong criticism Tuesday from some city businessmen. A public hearing called by Winnipeg civic environment committee gave the men a chance to voice their displeasure over a proposed amendment to a bylaw which would limit the height of buildings near the Legislative Building. Environment commissioner D. G. Henderson said the city needs the amendment to stop high - rise structures from encroaching upon the view and general esthetics of the Legislative Building. City council has given first reading to the bylaw. Public hearings by environment committee are being held before the proposed bylaw goes back to city council for second reading. The next hearing is set for Nov. 17. Representatives of property owners in the area called the proposed amendment to a zoning bylaw arbitrary and discriminatory. All buildings within a radius of 1,650 feet of the Legislative Building would have to be 250 feet or less in height. The area affected is bordered roughly by Colony and Carlton streets, St. Mary Avenue and Roslyn Road, across the Assiniboine River. I a n Justin, representing Great West Life Assurance Co., called the bylaw "unreasonable, unwarranted and unjustified." Great West Life owns two pieces of property just west of the Legislative Building He said restricting the heights of any buildings to be constructed on the properties to 110 and 160 feet was "running the risk of severely depreciating the value of the sites." He said the city planning department took "less than a scientific approach ... there's no rhyme or reason, no orderly design for a specific purpose." …        …S. I. Schwartz, representing Lakeview Properties Ltd., said the bylaw was the "most arbitrary form of legislation you could get." Lakeview, along with The Hudson's Bay Co., and Cadillac Fairview Investments own two sites on St. Mary Avenue between Vaughan and Edmonton streets. The imposition of a 220-foot height restriction on the two sites was inconsistent, Mr. Schwartz said. Within the same radius, the range of limits goes from 110 feet to 250 feet. He said his company obviously had selfish motives, but requested that Lakeview be excluded from the height controls. Ashley Brown, of Leon A. Brown Ltd., said his company has owned a piece of land at Assiniboine Avenue and Kennedy Street for 21 years, and bought additional land last year for a high-rise development, "If the city wants to go ahead and enact the bylaw, we look to them for compensation/' he said. Ron Lazar, of Inter-Struct Ltd. said restricting the 'height of buildings will make them more squat, and not make it any easier for people to see the Legislative Building.