Connecting Winnipeg with Hal Anderson

We're joined by Luke Bentham and Kyle Fisher, two of the three members of "The Dirty Nil", a rock band from Dundas, ONT. They're opening for Billy Talent and Monster Truck tonight (Thurs) at MTS Centre. Brett is particularly amused by their previous adventures in pyromania. 

Men's Depression is a mental health issue that often gets swept off to the side. We discuss that with Tara Brousseau-Snider, executive director for the Mood Disorders Association of Manitoba, as well as mental health advocate John Melnick. We also discuss the 2017 In the Mood Gala, happening this Saturday, February 25th, in support of the Association.

It's Pregnancy & Exercise Awareness Month -- we discuss it with Natalie Kulczycki, owner and instructor at Fit 4 Two (Winnipeg East), which specializes in pre and postnatal fitness. 

We're joined by Krista Michie, who is showing Manitoba's Muslim community support by wearing a button that reads "Free Hugs For Muslims". The Events & Facilities Coordinator at Red River College tells us what inspired her to act.

We're joined by Rhonda Thompson from the Black History Month Celebration Committee, who tells us there are seven more events to come in Winnipeg in what has been an extremely busy month so far with 13 events in total. 

Carolyn Klassen, therapist with Conexus Counselling, recently sat in with her husband in what she calls "The Widower's Club". Her husband lost his previous spouse to breast cancer, and now meets with a handful of men who have also lost their spouses. She discovered that men can, and do, have meaningful conversations -- and wants other men to know that it's ok to talk to other guys about your feeli...

The HSC Foundation is holding a great event coming up at the Convention Centre called "Savour Canada -- Wine & Food Experience". It's happening March 4th, and here to tell us about is Monique Levesque-Pharaoh, manager of sponsorship & events at the Health Sciences Centre Foundation.

On Wednesday, Winnipeg basketball legend Todd MacCulloch told us there's a new pinball league in the city. We checked it out and found the Manitoba Pinball League, which just held its first event on February 12th. We speak with the man who started the league, David Morris.

We're joined by Eva Kovacs from Global TV to tee up Festival du Voyageur, which starts on Friday with Plaid Shirt Day -- if you're going to Festival on Friday, wear a plaid shirt! And use the hashtags #GlobalVoyageur & #HeHo2017.

We kicked off the show today with Winnipeg-native Todd MacCullouch, who is going to be inducted into the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame this spring. The seven-footer played high school ball at Shaftesbury, then in Division I in the NCAA with the Washington Huskies, and in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets.

It's Teacher / Staff Appreciation Week, so to talk about it we are joined by Norm Gould, president of the Manitoba Teachers' Society; Nadia Cantafio, a Grade 4/5 teacher at Lakewood School; and Naomi Kruse, executive director of the Manitoba Association of Parent Councils.

We're joined by Sarah Sytnyk, Scott Coubrough, Luc Edmond and Samantha Wood, Youth Ambassadors for the Mood Disorders Association of Manitoba. We discuss a number of issues, including 'coming out', IE revealing you are mentally unwwell. We also talk about the anxiety surrounding Valentine's Day. 

The Canadian Diabetes Association has relaunched as Diabetes Canada, and we're joined by the Regional Director for Manitoba & Nunavut, Andrea Kwasnicki, as well as a Diabetes Canada account manager, Kevin Young. 

We speak with Marion Cooper, executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association, about schizophrenia and a number of mental health issues.

We're joined by Charlotte Sytnyk, director of development at the Mood Disorders Association of Manitoba, and Kirsten, a volunteer at the association. Both Charlotte and Kirsten have daughters who required stays in residential treatment centres -- in the U.S. -- because they could not get the help they needed in Canada.

We are joined by Richard Neufeld, general manager at Blue Sky Opportunities in Altona, an agency that supports adults with intellectual disabilities. They make crokinole boards in their Occupational Training Centre, and sell them wholesale. Website www.blueskyop.com

We speak with Canadian sci-fi author Robert J. Sawyer, whose book "Quantum Night" is now available in paperback. In the book, which is set in Winnipeg, a "far-right psychopath comes from out of nowhere to become the American president".

We speak with one of the organizers of 'FanQuest', Dan Vadeboncoeur.

A change is coming the world-famous Winnipeg burger joint -- Blondie's. After running it for 26 years, Sandy Doyle wants to sell her business. She tells us about her love/hate relationship with her restaurant, located at 1969 Main St.

We're joined by Ginny Collins, a Winnipeg-based playwright, to describe her latest work -- "The Flats", is set to debut Wednesday, January 25th at Prairie Theatre Exchange. It's described as "a quirky mystery about what brings people to the edge of the world". After it completes its run at PTE on February 12th, it will be presented in French at Le Theatre Cercle Moliere, from March 2nd to March 18...

We speak with Ryan Shore, the conductor of Soundtracks Live, being performed Jan 20th-22nd at the Centennial Concert Hall with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra...

We're joined by Mark Satov, founder and leader of Satov Consultants in Toronto, to talk about why Canadian malls are thriving, and American malls are struggling.