1. Investors Group Field opens for Bombers’ first game
The $200-million Investors Group Field saw its first CFL game yesterday when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers hosted the Toronto Argonauts in the league’s first preseason game of the 2013 season. The stadium was originally set to open for the 2012 season but due to construction delays, the opening was pushed back an entire year. Getting into the stadium presented a challenge for many fans, as long traffic delays and buses running behind schedule caused many fans to be late to the game. [Winnipeg Free Press]
2. Alberta Health Minister fires entire Health Service Board
Alberta Health Minister Fred Horne has fired the entire 10-member board of Alberta Health Services due to their refusal to cancel $3.2 million in bonuses to 99 executives. Alberta Health Services was created five years ago to oversee daily health-care operations with policy decisions left to the health minister and the health department. Horne said he intends to start fresh with a new board. [Huffington Post]
3. Safeway Canada sold to Sobeys for $5.8-billion
The Nova Scotia-based parent company of Sobeys Inc., Empire Co. Ltd., has acquired Canada Safeway Ltd. For $5.8-billion in a move that will make Sobeys a major retail player in Western Canada. The purchase includes 213 Safeway stores, 199 in-store pharmacies and 62 gas stations on Safeway properties. [Globe and Mail]
4. Polo Park area to receive $20-million in upgrades from province
Road construction will begin in 2014 now that the City of Winnipeg and the Province of Manitoba have each pledged $20-million for road improvements in the Polo Park area. In 2012, St. James Street was chosen as the province’s worst road in CAA Manitoba’s Worst Roads contest while this year, the street finished second to Brandon’s Victoria Avenue. [Winnipeg Free Press]
5. 2013 Winnipeg Jazz Festival begins tonight
The TD Winnipeg International Jazz Festival officially begins tonight at 7:00 p.m. at Old Market Square to mark the start of the Free Opening Weekend. The festival will run for 10 days, until June 23, and will feature more than 200 artists. The festival will be concentrated near Old Market Square due to audience feedback regarding the distance between venues. [Jazz Winnipeg]