THE sad fate that awaits Frosty every year also awaits the Assiniboine and the Red.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

And while their melting means a glorious spring is that much closer, shed a tear for the imminent demise of the River Trail.

The Forks will make a decision today whether to close the Assiniboine River skating trail permanently for this year, chief operating officer Paul Jordan said Sunday, and a decision on the Red likely won't be too far behind.

"Right now, the Assiniboine portion is closed. We'll make a full assessment (today) to see if it is permanent," Jordan said.

Crews moved warming huts from the Assiniboine to the Red Sunday, including the hut at Hugo Avenue, which is three kilometres from The Forks.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/happy-trails-coming-to-an-end-192967221.html

Manitoba is banning peat mining in provincial parks as well as in a region east of Lake Winnipeg that's been nominated as a UNESCO world heritage site.

The ban means Sun Gro Horticulture Canada, which had applied to extract peat in Hecla/Grindstone Provincial Park, will be prohibited from developing its long-held leases in the park.

On Friday, the province issued licences to Sun Gro and Berger Peat Moss Ltd. to extract peat at two different sites near Riverton. Both applications had been under review for some time.

As of Monday, though, the government will suspend any new Environment Act licence applications and approvals for peat mining in Manitoba until it completes a comprehensive peatland stewardship strategy, Conservation and Water Stewardship Minister Gord Mackintosh said in an interview Friday. (The only exception will be an application in the Interlake by Sunterra, which is currently undergoing an environmental review.)

As well, the province will extend a moratorium on 137 pending peat-mine leases beyond this coming June until its peatland strategy is in place.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/no-peat-mines-in-provincial-parks-192667461.html

Complete: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Winnipeg, MB – February 23, 2013 – The Winnipeg Art Gallery is thrilled to announce that its annual fundraising event Birchwood BMW Art & Soul is sold out for the third year in a row! Taking place on Saturday, February 23, the 2013 installment of this jumping party is themed to the Gallery’s 100^th anniversary, celebrating the most memorable moments, iconic personalities, and scandalous events of the past century.

New this year, Art & Soul included a fabulous online auction which raised $2,000! The auction closed Friday at 4pm.  Winning packages included an escape on an ultimate weekend getaway with a luxurious BMW and one-night stay at the Lakeview Resort Hecla; a Winnipeg Jets game with an executive town car, dinner at 529 Wellington, and a Jets jersey signed by the entire team; a catered backyard Appleton's Rum party and Coors Light fridge, and packages from Chic Nails, Hot Yoga Winnipeg, and the Diamond Gallery. 

Birchwood BMW Art & Soul: One Hundred brings together an eclectic and vibrant mix of eras, old and new. A century of musical mashups by live DJs on all four levels of the Gallery is only the beginning. The event features performances by Cash Grab, DJ Hunnicutt, DJ Hipnotic, DJ Co-Op, André Bisseck, Oxide, and Dave Rad. Get inspired by BMW luxury exhibits and step back in time in EQ3’s modernist lounge. From a zeppelin in the sky to disco vibes in the Skylight Gallery, the décor genius will amaze and delight. Have a cocktail with Andy Warhol, let your hair down with Nicki Minaj, and keep an eye out for Coco Chanel – anything is possible at the costume event of the year! 

“Art & Soul is helping the Winnipeg Art Gallery mark its centennial anniversary with a fun and creative party, allowing us to connect with our community and showcasing all the Gallery has to offer,” says Dr. Stephen Borys, WAG Executive Director. “Thanks to a fantastic team of committed volunteers and staff, this sellout success adds to the momentum of our 100^th year, and is once again guaranteed to impress. On top of all the festivities, guests will have the opportunity to view the art on display, including our world-renowned collection of contemporary Inuit art, and Janet Cardiff’s award-winning sound sculpture, Forty-Part Motet.” 

Birchwood BMW Art & Soul: One Hundred Co-Chair Jennifer Nixon continues, “Art & Soul 2013 is the hottest ticket in town and party-goers will be blown away by this year’s extravaganza. The Art & Soul committee and sponsors have come together to deliver an unforgettable event that builds awareness and support for the Winnipeg Art Gallery.” 

Birchwood BMW Art & Soul: One Hundred is hosted from 8:00 p.m. until 2:00 a.m. at the WAG. For more information visit artandsoul.wag.ca or wag.ca. Keep up-to-date with Art & Soul news and announcements on Facebook and Twitter.

The 2013 Art & Soul: One Hundred committee consists of Chad Falk (Co-Chair), Paulo Fernandes (Co-Chair), Jennifer Nixon (Co-Chair), Eric Au, Lana Bakun, Jenna Boholij, Kayla Dickin, James Eichele, David Lewis, Dan Lussier, Alan McGreevy, Catherine Maksymiuk, Jacques de Muelenaere, Kevin Parsons, Johnny Picklyk, Jessica Rempel, Karly Sullivan and Laura Wittig.

The Festival du Voyageur got a double dose of good news during its final day -- mild weather that brought out thousands of visitors and a six-figure cheque from the federal government.

St. Boniface MP Shelly Glover was on hand to announce a $123,750 grant earmarked to repair Fort Gibraltar, the centrepiece of the 10-day event.

"We want to create jobs and long-term economic growth. Festival has attracted tens of thousands of people every year, and it's a tremendous opportunity to put Winnipeg on the world stage because of this world-class event," Glover said.

The financial support from the Western Economic Diversification Community Infrastructure Improvement Fund will be disbursed over two years. It's part of a nearly $300,000 capital project that will replace virtually all the wood -- except Fort Gibraltar's pillars -- as well as three of its cabins.

Ginette Lavack Walters, the festival's executive director, said there's no question the fort is in need of repair. Built in 1979, the replica of the historic North West Company fort originally located at The Forks is the longest-standing version.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/weather-cash-bless-festival-192967321.html

WASHINGTON - Lengthy lineups at the Canada-U.S. border. Long flight delays. A loss of lucrative American business contracts. The much-heralded Beyond the Border initiatives placed on the back burner indefinitely.

Canada will feel the sting if U.S. Congress fails this week to avert what's known as sequestration, an array of massive, mandated spending cuts to a host of federal departments and agencies aimed at slashing America's $16 trillion national debt.

On Thursday, $85 billion in cuts for this fiscal year alone are slated to kick in. All told, sequestration would amount to $1.2 trillion in budget reductions by 2021.

For Canadians, that means quick shopping trips to nearby border communities will almost immediately become a hassle as they're confronted with waits of several hours at busier entry points. They'll also feel the long hand of sequestration when they fly given there will be a ripple effect across North America as U.S. officials cancel flights and shutter some control towers and airports.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/canadian-travellers-and-businesses-to-feel-the-pain-from-us-sequestration-192877831.html

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Variously known as an adult playground and Disneyland for grown-ups, Las Vegas brands itself as a place where tourists can enjoy a sense of edginess with no real danger.

But a series of high-profile episodes of random violence amid the throngs of tourists is threatening Sin City's reputation as a padded room of a town where people can cut loose with no fear of consequences.

A car-to-car shooting and fiery crash that killed two bystanders and an aspiring rapper Thursday followed a bizarre elevator stabbing and a movie theatre parking lot shooting.

Though crime has been falling on the glitzy stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard that houses most of the city's major casinos, tourism officials worry that vacationers and convention planners could begin to steer clear of the town because of a perception of mayhem.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/world/car-to-car-shooting-latest-violent-incident-to-brand-vegas-as-dangerous-even-as-crime-drops-192712931.html

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The towering giant sequoias at Yosemite National Park would go unprotected from visitors who might trample their shallow roots. At Cape Cod National Seashore, large sections of the Great Beach would close to keep eggs from being destroyed if natural resource managers are cut.

Gettysburg would decrease by one-fifth the numbers of school children who learn about the historic Pennsylvania battle that was a turning point in the Civil War.

As America's financial clock ticks toward forced spending cuts to countless government agencies, The Associated Press has obtained a National Park Service memo that compiles a list of potential effects at the nation's most beautiful and historic places just as spring vacation season begins.

"We're planning for this to happen and hoping that it doesn't," said Park Service spokesman Jeffrey Olson, who confirmed that the list is authentic and represents cuts the department is considering.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/travel/memo-details-decreased-operations-at-national-parks-expected-from-budget-cuts-192591821.html

CHICAGO -- Getting stranded at an airport once meant enduring hours of boredom in a kind of travel purgatory with nothing to eat but fast food.

But these days, it can seem more like passing through the gates of Shangri-la to find spas, yoga studios, luxury shopping and restaurant menus crafted by celebrity chefs in terminals with calming, sleek design.

Stung by airline bankruptcies and mergers, more North American airports are hunting for alternative revenue streams by hiring top design firms to transform once chaotic and dreary way stations into places of Zen-like tranquillity and luxury where people actually want to get stuck -- and spend money.

"It's classy, it's very classy... It makes you feel good about the layover," said Marty Rapp, 70, who was getting rosy-cheeked with the help of a large glass of merlot under ice-crystal chandeliers at Chicago-O'Hare's Ice Bar, whose white and softly reflective decor gives the feeling of being secluded in an igloo -- where everyone is drinking and merry.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/travel/us-airports-offer-high-end-shopping-dining-192665891.html

(A complete article published originally in the WFP, Feb.  '53)

Possibility of a major ski area being developed in the Riding Mountain national park by the winter of 1954 was foreseen Tuesday.

According to latest reports the proposed development may provide overnight accommodation for 150 persons at the site of the ski hills, approximately 165 miles by road from Winnipeg.

A Winnipeg promoter is prepared to put in facilities costing more than $30,000 providing the necessary agreements can be made with the dominion government, the Free Press learned.

Hills and slopes that would be developed are located close to the eastern boundary of the national park.

The area now under investigation is roughly 10 miles west of the town of McCreary. Man.

Construction of a road about four miles in length within the park boundary, plus grading of a one-mile section of existing road allowance outside the park, would be necessary to make the area accessible.

Proposed facilities at the site would include ski-dormitory accommodation for 150 persons, a combination restaurant and recreation hall, a parking lot, a T-bar ski tow and two rope ski tows.

A dominion government national parks engineer and ski expert spent most of last week surveying the hills in the area, it was learned.

It is understood that his report on the possibilities for development of slopes will be very favorable.  One informant quoted him as saying that the Riding Mountain hills, if properly cleared, would be superior to the bottom section of the Mount Norquay ski slopes at Banff.

One possible run has a vertical drop of 600 feet, almost three times the vertical height of any existing ski hills in the province.

Other slopes and trails would average 350 vertical feet.  Average slope of the hills in the area is 30 degrees.

About 20 acres of ground would have to be cleared to open up the runs, it is estimated.

It is believed that slope clearing and road building within the park will be carried out by the dominion government.

Officials of the provincial government, along with the Manitoba Ski Zone, have been interested in promoting the development of the ski area for some time.

Besides the initial clearing, experts believe it will be necessary to take special measures to prevent erosion oh the slopes.  A special type of grass may be planted to help hold the topsoil.

Due to the amount of work needed on the slopes it is believed doubtful that the area could be ready for skiers before the winter of 1954-1955.