Considering how you will recruit your summer help this year?  MTEC is excited to announce that will hold Job Fair at the Winnipeg Convention Centre from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Thursday April 11, 2013. Click below for more details.

http://www.mtec.mb.ca/

Save some room on your calendars in late February or early March of 2016, hockey fans, for it’s all but a given the NHL’s Heritage Classic is coming to Winnipeg and Investors Group Field.

"I don’t see anything getting in the way, I really don’t," said Jets co-owner and True North chairman Mark Chipman Thursday during a media session outlining the NHL’s new realignment. "The conversations I’ve had with (NHL deputy commissioner) Bill (Daly) have been very positive. I think we’ve got a fantastic venue for it now I understand it has the capability of putting in additional seats to get a 40,000-seat venue. I think it would be spectacular to do something in late February, early March when the weather’s nice.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/Chipman-talks-Heritage-Classic-198371121.html

Complete: When the city’s economic development officer flies WestJet, she makes sure to introduce herself and let the airline’s employees — who are also part owners — know that Brandon needs air service.

“I shake their hand — whether it’s the pilot, the agent at the desk or the stewardess — and let them know the demand in Brandon for air service,” Sandy Trudel said.

Trudel encourages everyone from Westman boarding a WestJet plane to do the same.

“When our people that are flying all over the place can attest to the fact that they are behind this it speaks volumes to the business plan that we have put forward,” Trudel said.

In February, WestJet’s new Encore service announced it won’t be making stops in the Wheat City, electing instead to fly to Fort St. John and Nanaimo, B.C. While the news isn’t what travellers were hoping for, Trudel remains optimistic that the business case for Brandon is very competitive with the other 30 remaining communities making pitches for air service.

“We maintain regular contact with WestJet in a meaningful way,” Trudel said, adding that they keep WestJet’s front office informed of new and expanding businesses that could put Brandon over the top.

“They (WestJet) have a plan and a strategy, so our goal is to keep Brandon and Westman top of mind so they understand the market potential here.”

Trudel said ultimately WestJet’s decision will be based on the business case the city and region can present the airline, but she also said it’s important to stay in the forefront.

Gimmicks such as last year’s April Fool’s Day prank where the city announced WestJet was coming to Brandon or the Valentine from the city to WestJet are designed to do just that.

“WestJet has an amazing corporate culture and we like to take every opportunity to show them how Brandon’s culture is aligned with their culture,” Trudel said.

A petition created last year is still garnering signatures too, Trudel said — an indication of how desperate people in the area want regional air service in Brandon.

“It’s great to see the demand being driven from the grassroots,” Trudel said.

Council continues to make payments to the airport improvement plan reserve, according to Trudel, as the airport will need significant upgrades if WestJet were to come.

“The council annually make allocation to the reserve and if we get the green light then that capital plan will have to be advanced, but council have demonstrated that they are very responsive to opportunities,” Trudel said.

WestJet expects to make at least one more announcement before the end of 2013, with more to follow, said a spokesman with the airline.

“WestJet has firm orders for 20 Bombardier Q400 NextGen aircraft, as well as options on another 45 between now and the end of 2018,” WestJet media relations advisor Brie Ogle said. “The reason we announced two communities initially is due to our delivery schedule, since we will have only three aircraft by the end of the summer.”

Ogle said there are many communities asking questions about the future of the new planes.

“There are many factors considered when selecting communities including population of the city itself as well as the outlying trading area, the health and nature of the local economy, airport infrastructure, prior history of air carriers in the market, the propensity of the population to travel, and the breakdown of business and leisure travellers within the community,” Ogle said. “We have not yet established a firm timetable for future announcements.”

http://www.brandonsun.com/local/city-stays-in-contact-with-westjet-in-bid-for-air-service-198430941.html

A Natural Resources Officer with Manitoba Conservation says there's been a tremendous increase in ice fishing in the past six or seven years. Andre Desrosiers says, for example, you can see a couple of thousand fishers at the south end of Lake Winnipeg on a good day.

"And I think that is directly attributable to the portable fishing shelters(below) that have come out. They are so handy, so efficient. You just fold them up and put them in your car and off you go. Then of course there are power augers and now there's also a kind of new sonar. They're called 'flashers.' They show you where your hook is and where the fish is and when the two meet maybe you've
got yourself a fish on your line."

He adds anglers report they've had good luck catching plenty of fish this winter.

http://www.steinbachonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=35429&Itemid=100413

Travel Manitoba is getting the word out about all the great things our province has to offer by sponsoring NHL games in other cities.

The ad campaigns sometimes include free tickets for fans in places like Toronto and Ottawa.

When the Winnipeg Jets and the Toronto Maple Leafs face off this Saturday in Toronto, the game is dubbed "Travel Manitoba Night".

The ad campaign package, paid for by the Crown Corporation, includes in arena signage, a commercial on the jumbotron at Air Canada Centre, online ads and tweets sent out by the Maple Leafs that mention this province.

Ten tickets are also being given away to fans in Toronto.

http://www.globalwinnipeg.com/hockey+promotion+gives+away+jets+tickets+in+other+cities/6442828637/story.html

Visitors to Mennonite Heritage Village in Steinbach will notice a cooler museum this summer. That's because the museum has received federal funding in order to install air conditioning in the auditorium.

Member of Parliament Vic Toews announced $17,080 in funding under the Harper Government's Community Infrastructure Improvement Fund (CIIF). Museum Executive Director Barry Dyck says for years they've been working on having air conditioning installed. "The auditorium is used by many organizations and individuals for banquets, for concerts, for meetings, all kinds of things," notes Dyck. "And it's the only part of this complex that isn't air conditioned."

Dyck says everything came together this year thanks in large part to seed money provided by Steinbach Credit Union. He notes that seed money allowed them to apply for a grant. "We're delighted to receive the support from the community and from the federal government," he says.

http://www.steinbachonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=35428&Itemid=100413

CHARLOTTETOWN - P.E.I.'s tourism minister says four provincially run golf courses are faring better than expected, but the government still wants to get out of operating the money-losing properties.

Robert Henderson says the government remains in talks to lease or sell the Links at Crowbush Cove, Rodd Brudenell River Resort, Dundarave Golf Course and Mill River Golf Course.

He says the government wants the best deal for taxpayers and doesn't want to rush into an agreement. Without deals in place to take over ownership or management of the courses, Henderson says the government will continue operating them this coming season.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/golf/pei-still-looking-to-off-load-golf-courses-despite-improved-performance-198279501.html

TOKYO - Boeing said Friday it sees commercial flights of its grounded 787 jets resuming "within weeks" even though it has not pinpointed the cause of battery overheating.

Boeing Co. Chief Project Engineer Michael Sinnett outlined a fix centred on a new design for the lithium-ion battery system that has many layers of safeguards to prevent overheating. It also has measures to contain any problems if malfunctions do occur.

"We could be back up and going in weeks and not months," Sinnett told reporters at a Tokyo hotel. A third of safety tests have already been completed. A Japanese official said it was possible flights could resume next month.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/boeing-says-787-commercial-flights-will-resume-in-weeks-not-months-a-third-of-tests-done-198387581.html

The election of Pope Francis may be a blessing for recession-hit Rome as pilgrims and curious visitors flock to the eternal city to pray and catch a glimpse of the new pontiff.

Since the surprise announcement of Benedict XVI’s resignation, visitors to the Italian capital have provided an unanticipated boost in the low season for tourists, and more may arrive for the new Pope’s inauguration mass next week and Easter celebrations. More than 1 million people are expected to attend the inauguration, Giuseppe Pecoraro, prefect of Rome, said today, according to news agency Ansa.

“We expect a 10 percent additional presence this month,” Giuseppe Roscioli, head of the Rome division of the hoteliers association Federalberghi, said in a phone interview.

The Pope’s election and installment may bring as much as 55 million euros ($71 million) in additional revenue to the capital’s economy in March, Roscioli said. The amount includes hotels, restaurants and museums and may prompt an increase of about 10 percent in temporary hotel hirings at a time when the country’s unemployment rate is at its highest in more than 20 years, he said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-15/pope-blessing-for-rome-as-tourism-gains-may-ease-recession.html

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - A fast-food burrito chain in Albuquerque has become an international tourist attraction as people come from all over the world to see the spot where a fictional drug trafficker runs his organization. A pastry shop sells doughnuts topped with blue candy designed to resemble crystal meth. A beauty store has a similar product — crystal blue bathing salts.

As "Breaking Bad" finishes filming its fifth and final season in Albuquerque, the popularity of the show is providing a boost to the economy and creating a dilemma for local tourism officials as they walk the fine line of profiting from a show that centres around drug trafficking, addiction and violence. "Breaking Bad" follows the fictional character Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher turned meth lord.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/travel/from-meth-themed-doughnuts-to-limo-tours-breaking-bad-brings-visitors-money-to-albuquerque-198404141.html

(A complete article published originally in the WFP, Mar.  '39)

Flushing of geese with automobiles and hunting of all game before i a.m. or after 7.30 p.m. will be irohibited by amendments to the Game and Fisheries act, approved Tuesday in law amendments committee of the legislature. The committee recommended that both these amendments be added to a bill sponsored by Hon. J. S. Mc- Diarmid, minister of mines and natural resources, which also proposes other amendments. 'The bill was reported favorably, and will now go oack to the house for final reading. Mr. McDiarmid's amendments reduces the minimum penalty for unlawful killing o£ migratory wild fowl and upland game birds from $25 to ?10; requires the sex to be shown in dressed big game (only male game may be killed under the act); prohibits the use of night lights of any description in trapping or taking big game; prohibits nonresidents from obtaining a resident license to hunt any game, and extends the sunset-to-sunrise restriction on hunting of all game instead of only to game birds. Under the present law, only flushing of geese by aircraft is prohibited. The addition of automobiles was added to the bill on motion of Col. R; H. Webb, and Gen. H. B. D. Ketchen, Conservative members for Winnipeg. E. B. Pitblado, of the Manitoba Game and Fisheries association, suggested that magistrates be given discretion in the confiscation of guns for minor offences. Seizure and confiscation are now obligatory. J. S. 'Lament CGovt., Iber ville) supported the suggestion, but no action was taken.