Free Press Leader for April 16 – Winnipeg Free Press

Your guess

Cloudy, 60% chance of rain. Wind blowing from the east at a speed of 30 km/h. High 14 C, UV index 2 or lower.

What's happening today?

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will present the federal budget in the House of Commons on Tuesday afternoon, outlining how the government plans to win back support from disgruntled Canadians worried about the cost of living.

The Liberal government has unveiled key budget plans over the past few weeks during a campaign-style pre-budget tour aimed at focusing on their agenda. The Canadian Press reports on this.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland (Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press files)

Winnipeg poet Chimevemwe Undi, who is on the verge of receiving a University of Manitoba Alumni Honors Award, is releasing her debut poetry collection.

In 2022, Undi (who is also a lawyer) won the John Hirsch Emerging Writer Award from the Manitoba Book Awards and published his collection. Scientific wonder tonight at 7 p.m. at McNally Robinson Booksellers' Grant Park location, where she will be speaking with Winnipeg International Writers Festival Director Charlene Diehl. Read Ariel Gordon's personal conversation with Undi here.

Chimvemwe Undi (Photo by Imalka Nilmalgoda)

Must read today

The suicide of a Winnipeg firefighter – who will be remembered as a devoted and loving husband and father – has sparked calls for support for mental health in Manitoba.

The province's firefighters are rallying for the family of Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Preston Heinbigner, who died April 9.

“When one member gets hurt at a time like this, we all get hurt,” said Tom Bilus, president of the United Firefighters of Winnipeg, which represents more than 1,000 active firefighters working in the city. “It's a time to be there for the member and their family.” Chris Kitching has the story.

Paramedic Preston Heinbigner, his wife Shaida and their son Oslo. (GOFUNDME)

On the bright side

Coffee in the morning? Its age is 600,000 years.

Using genes from coffee plants around the world, researchers have created a family tree for the world's most popular type of coffee, known to scientists as Coffea arabica and simply “arabica” to coffee lovers.

Hoping to learn more about the plants in order to better protect them from pests and climate change, researchers discovered that the species originated around 600,000 years ago through the natural hybridization of two other types of coffee. This is reported by the Associated Press.

Arabica coffee beans in Ciudad Vieja, Guatemala. (Moises Castillo/The Associated Press files)

On this day

On April 16, 1948: The Winnipeg Free Press According to an Arab military spokesman, 5,000 Arab troops entered Palestine from Trans-Jordan to participate in the campaign against Jewish forces known as the 1948 Palestine War. In Manitoba, Lawrence Deacon, 36, who was convicted of murdering taxi driver Johann Johnson, was hanged at Headingley Prison. Read the rest of today's article here. Find more information here.

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