Music lovers, and especially jazz lovers, take note: April 30 is International Jazz Day, a perfect excuse to make a martini, slip some vinyl on the turntable and groove to the greats.

Eric Platz teaches jazz studies at Brandon University. The 50-something drummer originally from Boston, Massachusetts, said jazz history isn’t just about the past — it’s being forged right now, right here in Canada.

“From a historical standpoint there are a number of people from jazz history that would be very influential Canadian musicians. But at the same time, there are a lot of people now, a younger generation, that are having a tremendous influence on the music,” said Platz, a percussionist and improviser who plays jazz, Americana, world music, rock and classical.

Looking back, Platz picks out two influential giants of jazz: Kenny Wheeler (1930 - 2014) and Oscar Peterson (1925 - 2007), both Canadians.

Spring is finally here, and along with it a seasonal change to our at-home menus. And while the inclination might be to shift to nice cool salads, there’s no reason to completely give up on a nice bowl of soup made with chicken stock. Instead of preparing a huge pot that might last for a few meals, small-batch stock-making will let you enjoy the flavours and benefits of a single small pot with less effort than if you were filling your “winter-sized” stockpot.

Making stock in small, as-you-go batches has advantages. For a household of two to four people, it is made fresh and used up quickly. Prep time is reduced because you are using only a small amount of vegetables and other ingredients. Prepping and freezing ingredients for several small pots’ worth can be done in about 20 minutes.

One money-saving advantage is to pick up items like fresh, bulk chicken drumsticks. You can prep several small bags of chicken and vegetables all at once and divide it into small freezer bags. Five small bags of stock ingredients take up a fraction of the space that five one-litre containers of prepared stock would occupy in your freezer.

Here’s how to prep freezer bags of ingredients for small-batch stock-making. Chicken drumsticks are an ideal size. You’ll need two drumsticks for each small bag of ingredients. Into each bag place two drumsticks, one peeled and chunked carrot, one cleaned and chunked stick of celery and one half of a peeled onion. (This is also a good time to use up any of these vegetables before the end of their shelf life.)

MINNEDOSA

Minnedosa’s Daxton Brock took to the mat at the 2026 Manitoba Winter Games and came home with two medals.

The son of Stefan and Wendy Brock helped Team West win gold in the U16 mixed wrestling event. Brock also earned silver in the 78-kilogram male category.

Daxton and his teammates trained hard during the months leading up to the event, sometimes up to 13 hours on a weekend.

“Well, it’s one, two, three strikes you’re out at the ol’ ball game.”

Maybe. Maybe not. Let’s see what the ABS system says first before we send that batter back to the dugout.

Welcome to the 21st century. The computer age has become totally involved in our lives, so why not baseball, too?

Starting this season, Major League Baseball — after extensive testing in the minor leagues and spring training games — has officially adopted the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System. Each team gets two challenges per game against perceived bad calls by the umpire and if they’re successful, they get another one. Two botched challenges, however, and the team cannot challenge again.

Prairie Mountain Health is highlighting the role of its therapy dog program, which includes about 50 registered pet therapy teams providing visits in hospitals and personal care homes.

The program, co-ordinated through Prairie Mountain Health and St. John Ambulance, continues to receive positive feedback, officials say.

Therapy dogs in the program come in all sizes and breeds, but must meet strict standards, including being friendly, patient, confident and gentle, while remaining at ease in a variety of environments. The dogs must enjoy human interaction and be comfortable being handled by unfamiliar people, while their handlers serve as trained volunteers.

Volunteer Ngaire Abernethy and her certified therapy dog, Tai, have visited the Brandon Regional Health Centre since 2017. Abernethy, who has volunteered for more than 20 years, said interactions with therapy animals can help improve well-being.

The snow is finally down to a few stubborn patches lurking in the shade and your green thumb is twitching … and that means gardening. April 14 is National Gardening Day — time to open up the gardening shed and re-acquaint yourself with the tools and containers you packed away last fall.

It’s a good idea to do an inventory of the supplies and tools you have and the condition they are in. Check gardening gloves and kneepads for wear and tear, and from there you can move on to your tools.

Bernie Whetter at The Green Spot Home & Garden shared some advice, dividing essential tools into four categories: long-handle, D-handle, hand tools and pruners.

Whetter starts with the long-handle tools.