Our City, Our Podcast

Morgan Glasgow is the Supervisor of Traffic Signals Systems within the Public Works Department. [3:21] Morgan begins by explaining how Winnipeg’s lack of freeways creates a unique challenge for signals timing. [5:54] He explains how the City balances traffic flow with safety for drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, and transit users. [10:20] Morgan shares how signals technology has changed over the pas...

Lissie Rappaport is the Manager of the Housing Accelerator Fund. She talks about housing in Winnipeg and how it impacts everyone. The episode explores the city’s housing choices and how they’ve changed over time. [8:52] Lissie discusses aging in place. We hear how housing options allow residents to stay in their neighbourhoods long-term. [10:20] Lissie defines terms like affordable housing, deeply...

Jeremy Greshuk is the Branch Head of Land Drainage & Flood Protection within the Water & Waste Department. Land drainage starts at the development stage. As the city changes, drainage systems must be updated to handle more water and protect people and property. Spring melt and summer storms cause water levels to rise. Jeremy talks about how drains, ditches, retention ponds, and pumping sta...

Marika Olynyk is the Curator of Living Prairie Museum within the Public Works department. Located in the northwest area of Winnipeg, Living Prairie Museum is a nature preserve. It is home to tall grasses, wildflowers, medicinal and edible plants, birds, and insects. Milkweeds, important for endangered monarch butterflies, can also be found there in the summer. Marika describes the prairie as a pla...

Jennifer Bodnarchuk is a Senior Data Scientist within the Innovation & Technology department. She shares how data science supports City of Winnipeg decision-making and public transparency. There are three core areas of work. They are project-based analysis, organization-wide tools, and open data for residents. [3:23] Jennifer highlights a transportation project. Her team used data to find patt...

Linda McCusker and Lana Obach are engineers in the Water & Waste department. They are working on a team of hundreds who are upgrading the City’s North End Wastewater Treatment Plant . It is one of the largest and most complex infrastructure projects underway in North America. There are three projects to the upgrades each with its own budget, timeline, project team, and labourers. Add to that t...

Sherwood Armbruster is the City’s Senior Election Official and Manager of Strategic Initiatives. He explains how Winnipeg runs safe, fair civic elections. [08:14] In October 2026, we will be back at the polls to vote for one Mayor, 15 Councillors, and 52 School Trustees. Planning starts a year ahead for the city’s biggest one‑day event. Everyone in the City Clerk's office has a role to play on Ele...

Grant Heather is the Manager of Vehicles for Hire within the Winnipeg Parking Authority. He introduces us to Winnipeg’s vehicle-for-hire market by the numbers. There are about 2,800 rideshare vehicles and 600 taxis licensed by the City. Where annual trips totalled 4.5 million in 2018, those increased to 10.3 million in 2024. And that number is still growing with about 12 million trips expected thi...

Brett Shenback is the Cemeteries Administrator within the Planning, Property & Development department. He began his career in urban planning and city building for those living in Winnipeg. One path led to another, and now he plans for those no longer with us. There are three cemeteries that he and his team manage: St. Vital, Transcona, and Brookside. While they all hold significance, Brookside...

Doug Sinclair is the Public Education Coordinator for Fire within the Fire Paramedic Service. He started his career with the City 27 years ago as a firefighter. Eight years ago he was introduced to the world of public education and hasn’t looked back. It's the best of both worlds. He works with his firefighter colleagues and connects with different groups around the city. There are many programs t...

Tyler Kroeker and Paul Beckta are Senior Economists within the Chief Administrative Offices. Paul looks at big-picture trends like trade and the economy. Tyler focuses on smaller scale issues like roads and land use. Together they provide data to elected officials and the public service to inform their decision-making. While they dream about ideal data sets, they also discuss why it’s hard to meas...

Ben Fey and Dave Comaskey work together at Golf Services. Ben is the General Manager and Dave is the Golf Operations Coordinator. They love golf and share personal stories about how they got into the sport. Golf is enjoying a post-pandemic resurgence and rounds played are up at City courses. Ben and Dave address public concerns about funding municipal golf courses. They speak to sustainability ini...

Jenn Sarna is the manager of Recreation Services in the Community Services department. She didn’t know it then, but her career started as a teenager. At age 16, she first worked for the City of Winnipeg as a play leader. Now she manages recreational facilities and programming year-round. Her focus is ensuring fun and accessible experiences for all residents. Jenn has enjoyed watching recreation se...

Inspector Helen Peters is the Divisional Commander of the Central District for the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS). She has loved the problem solving part of police work since she was growing up in rural England. Before getting hired, she dreamed of being part of the WPS for ten years. Today, as a leader in downtown safety, she works hard so people can be proud of where they live. Inspector Peters s...

Martha Barwinsky is the City Forester in the Public Works Department. Known in many circles as the Tree Lady, Martha and her team manage 300,000 trees in parks and on boulevards. In this episode, she covers the benefits of Winnipeg’s tree canopy, tree health, tree inspections, and tree pests. Looking to the future, she focuses on the need to diversify our trees by species, ages, and lifecycles. Ma...

Kenny from Film & Special Events  Kenny Boyce is the manager of Film & Special Events. It’s hard to say if he was first drawn to show business when his uncle won a colour TV and gave it to his family. Or if it was watching movies at the Highland Theatre on Main. Or sitting outside the Winnipeg Stadium listening to concerts. Whether it's a film shooting in the Exchange District, a sporting...

Chris Baker is the Senior Active Transportation Planner in the Public Works Department. From the first bylaws establishing bike paths in 1898 to the micro-mobility of today, we cover a lot of ground in this episode. It’s important for the City of Winnipeg to evolve and provide transportation choices for people of all ages and abilities. People, bikes, and vehicles can co-exist and Chris highlights...

Todd Demers is a Talent Acquisition Specialist in the Human Resource Services Department. He has been with the City of Winnipeg for 15 years in various roles and different departments. Maybe you’ve already met him. Todd meets a lot of people. In his current role, he attends career fairs, employment presentations, and networking sessions. He provides practical tips on applying for jobs with the Cit...

Sarah Ramsden is the Senior Archivist in the City Clerk’s Department. She likes solving little mysteries that come up, like, "Does a key to the city come with any specific rights?" It doesn't, but there's a story there. Thanks to diligent employees like Sarah, the City of Winnipeg has one of the most complete collections of municipal records in Canada. These records, as well as photographs, maps,...

Derek Resch, AKA Mr. Christmas, is the Supervisor of Public Service Operations. With a title like that, you know Derek has a wide range of responsibilities. His team prepares the holiday light displays, which is a year-long undertaking. It starts with cleaning, testing, and repairing, and peaks with the official lighting. It is a coordinated operation to have the tree at City Hall light up at the...

Michael Cantor is the Manager of Streets Maintenance with Public Works. In his current role, Michael and his team are either planning for snow or chasing potholes. As a newcomer, he finds it a fitting welcome that he arrived in Winnipeg during a snowstorm. He defines the snow clearing priority system for us. Fifteen new sidewalk snow plowing machines will help this season with clearing all sidewal...

Rebecca Peterniak is the Road Safety Management Engineer with Public Works. While her position within the City of Winnipeg is new, Rebecca's relationship with road safety is not. It started, as it does for many of us, with learning to cross the road safely. Add in an engineering degree and years of professional experience. Rebecca and her team are helping the City meet its road safety goals. Come...

Murray Peterson is the Heritage Officer with Planning, Property and Development. Armed with a degree in history and a manual typewriter, Murray's career with the City began in 1987. According to City policy, if Murray's career was a building, it would nearly qualify for heritage designation. It's not quite 40 years old, but it is rare with defining characteristics. As Murray describes the building...

Mike Olczyk is the Emergency Management Coordinator in the Fire Paramedic Service’s Office of Emergency Management. Mike is a fan of disaster movies and often points out teachable moments. He provides examples of preparing for, mitigating, responding to, and recovering from emergencies. While Winnipeggers are a resilient bunch, one can never be too prepared. Mike lists items needed for an emergenc...

Kevin Sturgeon is the Senior Transit Planner with Winnipeg Transit. From ox cart paths to Union Station, he takes us on a quick ride through our transit system's history. Kevin highlights the Winnipeg Transit Master Plan and what led to redesigning the entire system. Have you ever heard of the 'Winnipeg wiggles?' This is what Kevin calls our road system. He explains this and reveals what sets Winn...