The Week's News: Funky water, ferries and Folk on the Rocks
Plus jump out of a plane with one of our interns
Hello readers, this is Emily, Cabin Radio’s assistant editor.
It’s been another hot week here in the Northwest Territories. Hopefully you’re all finding ways to keep cool.
We’re coming up on one of the territory’s most exciting music events of the year.
Folk on the Rocks, which began in Yellowknife in 1980, features dozens of musical acts across five stages on the sandy shore of Frame Lake. This year, Bedouin Soundclash is headlining the festival alongside other artists from the North and across Canada.
We will be at the festival all weekend long, broadcasting live by the Cabin Radio stage. If you’re at the festival, come say hi and watch some amazing acts perform. You can also tune into our coverage on our website or through the Cabin Radio app.
Alongside preparing for the festival, it’s been a busy news week here at the Cabin Radio office.
Water in Yellowknife tasted a little dirty for a few days as the city switched its water source from Great Slave Lake back to the Yellowknife River. After the municipality said the problem should be resolved, the complaints kept flooding in so Cabin Radio did a little blind taste test to investigate. We also explored broader issues with the city’s water infrastructure.
Other communities have also been experiencing water issues. Sambaa K’e is under a boil-water advisory following a failure at the community’s water treatment plant, while people in Nahanni Butte are being warned about high levels of manganese in their drinking water. Leaders in the community say swift action is being taken to address the issue.
In other news, three of the territory’s four ferries, which provide key crossings to communities without all-season roads, have been temporarily shut down this summer due to unscheduled emergency work. We spoke with the infrastructure minister to learn more.
Also, one of our interns jumped out of a plane (and lived to tell the tale), public art is adding colour to Yellowknife, and Wekweètì has a new mini golf. Read on for more.
IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
Our most important stories
View Yellowknife from the air
What we’re reading
Stories to catch up on
The Yellowknife Wolverines are in a league of their own
Yellowknife's girls' softball team has no real opponent in the NWT. That's why the team plays in Alberta provincials where, remarkably, it keeps winning.
Construction centre is central to Fort Good Hope’s housing vision
"We want to start building our own homes." What amounts to a modular home factory is the central plank of a community-driven housing strategy in Fort Good Hope.
Want to meet your Nato quota? Build us a highway, NWT tells Canada
The NWT government is pitching the $1 billion-plus Mackenzie Valley Highway as one way to up Canada's defence spending in line with Nato requirements.
Here’s why Vancouver’s Sikh motorcyclists are in Yellowknife
Almost 40 riders from the Sikh Motorcycle Club took a road trip to Yellowknife to call for changes to NWT helmet rules that would help people who wear a turban.
Yellowknife tent encampment group switches to new approach
A large wooden platform designed to be the base for a Yellowknife tent encampment has disappeared, but only so the materials can support a change in the plan.
Inuvialuk Elder Rose Kirby’s memoir to be published
A book telling the story of Inuvialuk Elder Rose Kirby's early life will be published this summer and distributed for free to Inuvialuit households.
Yellowknife now has six animated murals. Here’s how to find them
First, stand back and admire the art. Then use an app to bring each installation to life. Here's our guide to six new animated murals in Yellowknife.
Court rejects Gwich’in Tribal Council’s regulator challenge
An NWT Supreme Court judge denied the Gwich'in Tribal Council's request to overturn the renewal of a water licence for a soil treatment facility in Inuvik.
Yellowknife will ‘take a look’ at banning some right turns on red
A parent of a Yellowknife child hit by a vehicle fears someone could be seriously injured or killed before changes are made. The mayor says the city is acting.
Yellowknife couple spruce up Hilltop Apartments with art
A Yellowknife couple created raven murals to improve the appearance of a public housing complex awaiting renovation in the city's downtown.
Sahtu artist among NWT contingent at Toronto Outdoor Art Fair
Tulita artist Kerri McPherson is one of six Northwest Territories residents whose work is appearing at this weekend's Toronto Outdoor Art Fair.
Wekweètì’s new store opens in time for annual gathering
A new store opened in Wekweètì, offering a much nicer place to shop for groceries and other essentials in the community of around 120 people.
Alleging ‘oppressive conduct,’ Gwichya Gwich’in take GTC to court
Tsiigehtchic’s Gwichya Gwich’in Council says it is taking the Gwich'in Tribal Council, its parent, to court over alleged "oppressive and prejudicial conduct."
In pictures: Wekweètì’s new beachside mini golf
Wekweètì is becoming an NWT golf destination. The community just opened a small but perfectly formed mini putt to augment its existing nine-hole golf course.
New rules will open up NWT meat processing – if people want to do it
The NWT government says new regulations will allow more small-scale meat processing. The main challenge could be finding people who are interested in doing that.
Inuvik plans barrier as ATVs ‘tear up’ Boot Lake Trail
The mayor of Inuvik says the town is winning its battle against illegal ATV use but now needs to protect a popular trail.
Watch: Parachute over Yellowknife
For the first time in nearly a decade, the Snowbirds put on an airshow in Yellowknife, accompanied by the SkyHawks parachute team. Cabin Radio intern Claire joined the demonstration team in a practice jump over the city (she wanted to, we promise) and a member of the SkyHawks captured it on video. You can also check out our footage from the ground here.
What we’re reading
After 124 Years, One of Canada’s Oldest Independent Newspapers Dies
My first full-time journalism job was at The Whitehorse Daily Star as the court reporter. Earlier this year, the Star, of the few remaining independent newspapers in Canada and the longest publishing in the Yukon, printed its last edition. For The Walrus, my talented friend Rhiannon Russell writes about her time at the paper and its closure.
Lab-Grown Diamonds Are Everywhere. This Company Thinks It Has the Secret to Make Them High-End
Diamonds are a popular conversation topic in the NWT. Diamond mining has long been a pillar of the territory’s economy and there are questions about the future as mines near closure. For Wired, Chris Hall writes about the world of lab-grown gems. “It's very scientific and calibrated, but at the end of the day there is a bit of an art to it.”
‘People think they’ll smell but they don’t’: building homes from mushroom waste and weeds
I’m always fascinated by innovative solutions to the world’s problems from climate change to housing crises. For The Guardian, Ester Mbathera writes about a unique approach to addressing Namibia’s severe housing shortage.