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Listed below are all the school divisions which have cancelled classes today.

Red River Valley, Hanover, Sunrise, Seine River, Pine Creek, Evergreen, Interlake and Lord Selkirk.

All bus service to Wpg. schools is cancelled today.  That affects the following divisions….Pembina Trails, Winnipeg One, River East-Transcona, St. James, 7 Oaks, Louis Riel.  Schools are OPEN, but no buses are running.

Highway one west from Winnipeg to Saskatchewan is closed.  Travel is not recommended on any highways in southern Manitoba this morning.  If you want up to date info, call department of highways at 945-3704.

Well we’re certainly off to a better start today, than yesterday.  The freezing rain has pretty much stopped, and streets and highways are mostly just wet this morning.  Yesterday’s quick ice storm caused all kinds of havoc around southern Manitoba….flights were cancelled, roads were closed, garbage and recycling pickup was suspended.  Today’s temperatures are scheduled to stay above freezing, so, things should stay simply wet. 

If city councilor Grand Nordman has his way, mixed martial arts fighting will be banned in Winnipeg.  His call for that ban comes after an 18 year old fighter was badly hurt during a bout last week.  Nordman also called people who watch the fights, “ghouls.”  So far, as you would expect, his comments have sparked some pretty big outrage from Winnipeg’s mixed martial arts community.

Climate change is getting the blame again.  A study set to be released today, finds that more than half of the 305 bird species in North America are spending the winter an average of 55 kilometers farther north than they did 40 years ago.  Researchers say the only explanation for why……global warming.

Her publicist says the mother of world’s longest living octuplets gets 490 dollars a month in food stamps, along with child disability payments to help feed and care for her 6 other children.  But apparently, Nadya Suleman doesn’t see that assistance as welfare.  Suleman gave birth last month to 8 more babies…..and, she’s now scouting book and reality t.v. show offers as a way to make ends meet.

School Division closings are as follows……….

 Sunrise, Seine River, Lord Selkirk, Evergreen, Hanover, Red River Valley, Interlake, Pine Creek and Borderland.  All of those divisions have cancelled classes today.

 In the River East Transcona division, schools are open, but there is NO bus service.

 All bus service for metro Winnipeg schools, is cancelled today.  Schools are open, but, no buses will run.

 Beaver Bus Lines has cancelled bus service from Winnipeg to Selkirk.

 A number of highways are shut as well……75 from Winnipeg to U.S. border.

                                                                          Highway one west from Wpg. to Sask border.

Department of highways phone number……….945-3704.

The son of former premier, Ed Schreyer has been accused of trying to burn down a house in Winnipeg, owned by his father.  33 year old Toban Schreyer is charged with arson in the November blaze that heavily damaged the house.  Ed Schreyer says his son will plead not guilty, and adds that Toban suffers from schizophrenia.

Members of the Red River Co-op will have some extra jingle in their jeans.  The Winnipeg based co-op is sending out rebate cheques to its 166 thousand members next week.  The cheques will average 212 dollars, up from the 200 dollar average last year. 

A Canadian soldier has been seriously injured by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan.  A 2^nd soldier was also wounded, but, suffered only minor injuries.  The 2 were in an armoured vehicle yesterday when they hit the bomb just north of Kandahar. 

Barack Obama seems to like his new ride, but what’s not to like about Air Force One?  Obama had his first flight as president aboard the super customized 7-47 yesterday.  He called the jet “spiffy” and then proudly showed off his new crew jacket to reporters, which had his name on it.

U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to our country on February 19^th, will be all business.  Forget about fancy balls or speeches to parliament.  The President and Prime Minister will chat for a mere 6 hours, mostly about the economy.  Prime Minister Harper had hoped for a longer stay, but Obama is determined to make his 1^st foreign trip a short working visit.

And, you had to wonder if this would happen.  The Kellogg company is dumping 8 time Olympic gold medalist, Michael Phelps as a pitchman.  It’s all because of that infamous photo of Phelps using a bong to smoke pot at a party last fall.  Kellogg, which put Phelps on boxes of Frosted Flakes and Corn Flakes, says it’s not an image it wants to be associated with.

Manitoba’s fire commissioner has got a warning today about space heaters.  Doug Popowich says they can be extremely dangerous if they’re not used properly.  He says the heaters are only supposed to be used temporarily, and, shouldn’t be left on for hours at a time. 

The 3 Prairie premiers have delivered a positive trade message to American audiences.  Premier Gary Doer along with Brad Wall from Saskatchewan, and Ed Stelmach from Alberta, spent yesterday down in Texas, part of a trip to sell cross border trade.  All 3 men say President Obama’s bid to soften up his new buy American bill, is good news.

A decade of lottery wins in Ontario have gone under the microscope.  And, an auditor’s verdict is that the Ontario gaming commission paid out more insider winnings in the last 13 years, than first thought.  The OLG thought it paid out 106 million to insiders.  But accountants say that number is actually closer to 200 million.

Well if you fly the friendly skies a lot…..you will not like this news.  Higher costs could be on the horizon for airline passengers, thanks to a cut in funding aimed at beefing up post 9-11 airport security.  Apparently, last week’s federal budget has a plan to phase out a 33 million dollar airport subsidy.  That means Toronto’s Pearson airport for example will lose over 3 million dollars….a loss that could very well get passed on to airlines, and ultimately travelers.

Another day, another bunch of items have been added to the country’s growing list of recalled peanut products.  The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says the recall now affects a number of snack bar products.  That now brings the total number of recalled products to 126.

This news is just a little scary.  Federal veterinarians say a big public health risk could be destined for Canadian dinner tables.  They’ve filed a legal complaint against the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, as they try to stop new rules that allow slaughterhouses to inspect themselves.  Currently, food safety monitoring duties are carried out by independent vets the agency hires.

A Winnipeg man wants his pregnant purebred Chihuahua back.  Joe D’Andrea says the dog was taken Monday after thieves broke into his house.  D’Andrea says Peanut only weighs about 3 pounds and is ready to give birth any day.  He says his worst fear is that Peanut will go into labour and whoever has her, won’t know what to do.

Saskatchewan Roughrider fans are in shock this morning, after finding out the team’s G.M. is charged with sexually assaulting a 16 year old girl.  Eric Tillman, a married father of two, has been placed on paid leave.  Tillman wouldn’t discuss details of the charges, but police say the incident happened in August of last year.

It’ll be watched like a hawk, but the Harper government’s big spending budget passed its first test in the House of Commons last night.  As expected, both the NDP and Bloc Quebecois voted against it, but, the Liberals supported it, letting it pass.  But the Liberals do warn that they may defeat the budget in the future should progress reports show it’s not working as intended.

The last of 3 big winners of last month’s 44 million dollar lotto 6-49 jackpot has come forward to pick up his cheque.  Roger Booker says, while he plans to keep working at his Toronto hydro job, his wife will now retire.  All 3 winning ticketholders were in Ontario, each getting just under 15 million a piece.

Unbelievably tragic story out of Orange County, California.  Authorities say a 4 year old girl died after she climbed into a washing machine that was then turned on by her little brother.  Police say the girl climbed into the front loading washer on Monday, and her 15 month old brother managed to start the device with a simple push button.  The girl was in the water filled tub for at least 2 minutes before her mother found her.  Her death has been ruled accidental.

A house fire in the city has taken at least one life.  The blaze broke out last night in a home where 3 people lived.  So far, it’s not known what caused the fire.

An investigation has been launched into the operations of SkyNorth Air.  It comes after 3 of the airline’s planes had incidents in less than 3 months.  Back in November, a SkyNorth twin engine plane crashed in dense bush near God’s Lake Narrows.  Earlier this month, a SkyNorth plane got stranded on a runway at Winnipeg’s airport when its landing gear failed.  And a couple of weeks ago, another twin engine plane clipped at least one tree after aborting a landing at Island Lake.

City police say the 2 young men found stabbed to death on the weekend, were linked to the city’s gang and drug subculture.  23 year old Dennis Baptiste and Jessie Henderson, also 23, were found by cops after a nearby resident found one of the men lying in a pool of blood.  So far, no arrests have been made, and police continue to investigate.

That Winnipeg woman who financed her gambling sprees by ripping off a credit union where she worked, has been slapped with a year behind bars.  35 year old Eleanor Slipetz stole more than 200 grand from the Vantis Credit Union.  She apparently used the cash to gamble, by gifts and life the high life.

And the list keeps growing.  The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has added 17 new American made peanut products to its growing list of now nearly 100 recalled items.  The list contains products that have been made at a Georgia peanut plant behind a salmonella outbreak.  Newly recalled items include Ocean Spray cranberry and nut trail mix.

It was murders number 5 and 6 of 2009, in the city this weekend.  More details expected today on the double homicide that happened on Saturday.  Police found 2 men suffering from stab wounds when emergency crews responded to a minor house fire.  The men were taken to hospital where they were pronounced dead.  Police say so far, they have no suspects in custody.

Dozens of cars littered the ditches of the Trans-Canada between Winnipeg and Portage yesterday, after a winter storm blew through the area.  A 12 vehicle crash near St. Eustache left several people injured.  Police think the pileup was triggered by a pair of semis that jackknifed, setting off a chain reaction.

A couple of Manitoba kids credit their lives to the sun, a compass and a cellphone…along with the safety rules their father taught them.  But, their Dad isn’t with them anymore to share his pride.  50 year old Richard Borlase collapsed while snowmobiling with his kids on Saturday on Lake Winnipeg.  His 14 year old son and 11 year old daughter set out for help on their snowmobile, but it got stuck.  8 snowmobilers took to the lake to find them, and thanks to the kids use of the sun, a compass and a cellphone, they were found just minutes before dark.

So will they, or won’t they?  All eyes will be on a couple of towns in Nova Scotia and Ontario this morning to see if groundhogs Shubenacadie Sam and Wiarton Willie, see their shadows.  It’s February 2^nd, which means it’s Groundhog Day.  Remember if either hog sees his shadow, we’ve got another 6 weeks of winter.

And the Liam Neeson thriller, “Taken” has taken the place of “Paul Blart:Mall Cop” atop the weekend box office.  The movie raked in about 24 million U.S. this weekend.