Swedish researchers who specialize in studying friction and wear in industrial systems have uncovered the secret to why a curling rock curls. The globally popular sport gets its name from the slightly curved or “curl” path the stones take when released by the player towards the target area nearly 30 metres away. As soon as [...]
Category Archives Country Crossroads
Harvest Moon expands food initiative
The project shortens the distance from farmer to consumer
The six-year-old initiative connects consumers and farmers through buying clubs and pickup sites. Customers place and pay for the orders online and later pickup their order at a site set up by the buying club in that area. Last year, there were four sites in Winnipeg and one in Starbuck. But organizers are now adding [...]
Name your fish Manitoba
Fish aren’t just for catching and eating. They’re for naming too. The government is asking for help selecting a fish species to represent the province as Manitoba’s official fish. Conservation and Water Stewardship Minister Gord Mackintosh announced the contest May 10, a day before fishing season opened. “Selecting a provincial fish recognizes the important role [...]
Crocus blooms late — but on time for May 4 festival
This is the latest spring showing of the crocus anyone around here can recall, say festival organizers
The star of the show at Arden’s Crocus Festival was late this year — April 27 — the latest anyone recalls for that first appearance of crocus around here. The good news was they were blooming in abundance on the actual day of an annual festival — May 4 — to celebrate their arrival. Normally, [...]
Young drivers need more instruction on country roads
Manitoba Women’s Institute says beginning drivers should be given hands-on practice on unpaved roads
Do young drivers get enough instruction on how to safely drive country roads? The Manitoba Women’s Institute doesn’t think so, and wants hands-on practice on unpaved surfaces to be part of drivers’ education. Beginning drivers should be required to spend a specified amount of time driving on gravel and other unpaved surfaces, said Justina Hop, [...]
Manitoba’s agriculture history started long before the sodbusters arrived
Researchers say plants such as lamb’s quarters aren’t here by accident, and growing corn goes back more than a millennium
Does it ever seem that unrelenting weeds such as lamb’s quarters and amaranth were somehow bred to thrive on the Canadian Prairie? In fact, they were. But if you think corn is a new crop in this part of the world, think again — Aboriginal farmers were growing it more than a millennium ago. Technology [...]
Merger saved money, sped up decision-making, says mayor
The voluntary merger that created the Municipality of Shoal Lake saves taxpayers $60,000 annually and improved local government efficiency
Don Yanick is getting a lot of calls from municipal officials across the province these days about the hot-button issue of amalgamation. And when asked if it was worth it, the mayor of the Municipality of Shoal Lake points to $60,000 in annual savings and a much more efficient local government. “Right off the top, [...]
Putting the clock in the cock-a-doodle-do
Roosters really do know what time of day it is
Of course, roosters crow with the dawn. But are they simply reacting to the environment, or do they really know what time of day it is? Researchers reporting in a recent Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, have evidence that puts the clock in “cock-a-doodle-doo.” “‘Cock-a-doodle-doo’ symbolizes the break of dawn in many countries,” says [...]
Steinbach mom develops gluten-free recipes
Readers occasionally request gluten-free recipes, so I’d like to tell you about Jeanine Friesen this week. The Steinbach mother of two was diagnosed five years ago with Celiac disease, an autoimmune disease that makes the body unable to absorb gluten, affecting about one in every 100 to 200 people in Canada. The only treatment is to [...]
Guns and fast horses make for exciting new sport
Manitoba’s fledgling mounted shooting association saddles up for six-gun fun Riding fast horses is a rush and shooting handguns is a blast. Combining both into a a double-barrelled adrenalin fix is the idea behind mounted shooting, the newest sport to hit Manitoba’s equestrian scene. “It’s every kid’s dream — you get to shoot guns [...]