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 initiatives and explore year-round use of these green spaces. Benefits of golf include its welcoming at...
Aug 06, 2025•28 min•Season 2Ep. 5
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 services evolve over the years and adapt to the community they serve. There is something for everyone....
Jul 02, 2025•29 min•Season 2Ep. 4
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 sees the glass half full for everything, particularly our downtown. She believes in the power of appr...
Jun 04, 2025•41 min•Season 2Ep. 3
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. Martha leaves us with helpful tips for planting trees on private property and directs us to treeswinni...
May 07, 2025•40 min•Season 2Ep. 2
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 event, festival, or parade rolling down Portage Avenue, Kenny and his team are part of them all. Orig...
Apr 02, 2025•33 min•Season 2Ep. 1
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 the river trail as a great example of a multi-use path. And as a winter city, Winnipeg continues to...
Mar 05, 2025•17 min•Season 1Ep. 12
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 City starting at winnipeg.ca/careers . This is where to search all postings for jobs that suit you. Tod...
Feb 05, 2025•26 min•Season 1Ep. 11
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, artifacts, and portraits make up the archival collection. Many of these items can be seen at winnipe...
Jan 01, 2025•25 min•Season 1Ep. 10
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 same time as all the median displays. Derek's role spans beyond festive lighting. His team also tack...
Dec 04, 2024•17 min•Season 1Ep. 9
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 sidewalks and pathways. Michael also fills in the blanks on filling potholes around the city. Throughout th...
Nov 06, 2024•25 min•Season 1Ep. 8
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 along for the ride as we discuss the Safe System approach and how road safety is a shared responsibi...
Oct 02, 2024•19 min•Season 1Ep. 7
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 buildings he helped save -- and the ones he had to let go -- he has us looking at Winnipeg architecture in a...
Sep 04, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 6
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 emergency kit and suggests residents complete the Ready Winnipeg online course. It's free and available at w...
Aug 07, 2024•26 min•Season 1Ep. 5
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 Winnipeg's transit system apart from other cities. He also offers pro tips to open the back door of the ...
Jul 03, 2024•25 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Mark Kinsley is the Superintendent of the Waste Diversion. He offers simple ways to become better recyclers and clears up misconceptions about this city service. Winnipeg has a high technology sorting facility. Mark takes us on a descriptive tour of the facility and explains some of the amazing technology used to prepare our recyclables for future use. While most of his job focuses on recycling, he reminds us that reduce and reuse are the first Rs of waste diversion. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. This...
Jun 05, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Leland Gordon is the General Manager of Animal Services. The dedicated staff and volunteers he works with take amazing care of the dogs at the shelter. Unfortunately, it's not all belly rubs and walks in the park over there. He highlights some of the challenges they face. He also outlines the most important things to know before becoming a pet owner. There are opportunities to spend time with dogs at the shelter -- even if you're not ready to adopt one. This podcast is recorded in Treaty One Ter...
May 01, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Felicia Wiltshire is the Director of Customer Service and Communications. It's her job to know what is happening across the City departments while managing her own. She is a constantly collecting, refining, and distributing information. A big part of her job is connecting residents with information that is important to them. She talks about 311 and changes that will improve the way residents connect with the City in the future. This podcast is recorded in Treaty One Territory, the home and tradi...
Apr 03, 2024•18 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Sneak a listen to get to know our city a little better. Longer episodes will be released on the first Wednesday of each month. ------- Soyez à l’écoute pour apprendre à mieux connaître notre ville. Des épisodes plus longs seront publiés le premier mercredi de chaque mois. [en anglais seulement]
Mar 27, 2024•1 min
