The Week's News: Air Tindi crash update with Herc jump video
Also: flu hits the NWT hard, hockey helps mend 2023's wounds
Hello! It’s Ollie. If you’re opening this email for NWT updates, exciting news: I’m now hosting a show each weekday on Cabin Radio, 12-3pm.
You can listen live to Cabin Radio here. We already have great shows like Mornings at the Cabin (daily podcast here), two hours of live northern-focused chat and awesome music each morning.
What you’ll now get from 12-3pm each weekday is interviews with the people making headlines in the North, in between non-stop unbeatable music spanning the best rock, pop and indie from 1960 to 2024.
For example, today’s show included interviews with the man who captained the Hercules that came to the rescue of a crashed Air Tindi Twin Otter last week, one of the technicians who jumped from that Hercules to the crash site, and Air Tindi’s president explaining in more detail what happened.
On Monday, we’ll have expert analysis of how badly this winter’s flu virus is hitting the NWT’s residents and its healthcare system. On Tuesday, we’ll tell you more about Yellowknife’s first Birth and Baby Expo, which is coming up on January 20.
I hope you’ll join me. You can check out the rest of the schedule here – there’s a lot more on offer, and we’re seeing record numbers of people tuning in.
OK. On with this week’s round-up of our best reporting.
Stories to catch up on
Air Tindi plane hit hill in ‘basically a whiteout’
If you weren’t listening to this afternoon’s interviews on Cabin Radio, catch up here. Air Tindi president Chris Reynolds provides more information about what happened to the Twin Otter last week, and two of the Hercules rescue crew describe what they say is one of the most challenging jumps they’ll have to do.
Plus there’s footage you can watch – shot inside the Hercules – of the moment the rescuers leap out into the wind and snow to drop to the crash site.
Longer Stanton wait times, few beds as flu season hits NWT hard
This flu season in the Northwest Territories is more than twice as bad as last year's by some measures – and Yellowknife's hospital is feeling the impact.
Northern communities skate through the holidays together
"It's a big party." In Fort Smith, a year-end hockey tourney brought together residents after a hard year. In Fort Simpson, the sport's broadening horizons.
Fuel leak damage still being assessed in YK government building
Work is ongoing to assess the damage caused by a fuel leak at a downtown Yellowknife government building. Staff who work there have no timeline for a return.
GNWT casuals can appeal their pay, arbitrator rules
Casual workers at the NWT government have as much right as indeterminate employees to formally appeal the pay they receive, an arbitrator decided.
In pictures: The NWT’s people and places in 1984
Go back 40 years and explore NWT Archives photos of the Northwest Territories' communities and residents as they appeared in 1984. See anyone you know?
Air North scraps winter Whitehorse-YK-Toronto flights
Air North cancelled its Whitehorse-Yellowknife-Toronto route between February 13 and May 1, blaming "extremely challenging" market conditions.
Ron Barlas and Łútsël K’é Dene First Nation enter mediation
Ron Barlas, accused by the Łútsël K'é Dene First Nation of taking millions of dollars through "blatant self-dealing," is entering mediation with his accusers.
After a warm December, what’s happening to the Dettah ice road?
Dettah's in the deep freeze this week, but December was warm enough that some residents wonder how it'll affect the ice road to Yellowknife. Here's the latest.
Writing the life of Pi, a 97-year-old NWT icon
Patti-Kay Hamilton spent years with Pi Kennedy, documenting his life trapping and mushing in the NWT wilderness since the 1920s. Here's what she learned.
January hearing for never-ending Hay River power franchise argument
Almost eight years after Hay River's council voted for the town's power to come from NTPC, not Northland Utilities, the transfer is heading to a public hearing.
Reports of rain round off Yellowknife’s warmest-ever year
Residents reported rain falling on New Year's Eve in Yellowknife, a bizarre event that wrapped up the city's warmest year on record.
Watch: A taste of northern postal history with Kevin O’Reilly
There's more to the mail than meets the eye. Explore some highlights from the postal history of the North with Kevin O'Reilly, who's an expert in the field.
Whatì-Behchokǫ̀ snowmobile trip ‘preserves a tradition’
It's about more than snowmobiles. To Shaun Moosenose, organizing a festive Whatì-Behchokǫ̀ ride called back to an era when Tłı̨chǫ peoples bonded over travel.
Miss our holiday reading?
Between Christmas and January 1, we published a series of articles rounding up the events of 2023. Here’s one more chance to enjoy them.
Ollie’s 2023 Cabin Radio news quiz of the year
Try 20 questions that test your knowledge of 2023 in the Northwest Territories. Were you really paying attention?
Remembering people the Northwest Territories lost in 2023
We remember Northwest Territories residents who passed away in 2023. Read excerpts from NWT eulogies and obituaries.
In pictures: NWT photos of the year, 2023 edition
There was no shortage of striking visuals in the Northwest Territories last year. Look back at our selection from the thousands of images we published.
Read some of Cabin Radio’s best work from 2023
It wasn't all wildfires. Browse our selection of important Cabin Radio journalism about the Northwest Territories published in 2023.