Weekly News Recap: October 30, 2026

Weekly News Recap: October 30, 2026

Irving Kipnes receives the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal from Alberta Lieutenant Governor Salma Lakhani in 2022. Kipnes will be remembered for his profound contributions to the University of Alberta and beyond as a distinguished alumnus, visionary entrepreneur and generous philanthropist. (Photo: Supplied)

No man was ever wise by chance. — Seneca

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • Hegseth Barred Trans Troops. Military Boards Are Rejecting Those Orders. (New York Times) There is honour in the world. "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used a slur to proudly announce to an auditorium of Marines in September that he was ridding the military of all transgender troops. The Pentagon had set up review boards at bases around the globe, manned by everyday uniformed service members with narrow orders that all but ensured that the trans troops appearing before them would be voted out. But just steps from the auditorium where Mr. Hegseth spoke, at Marine Corps Base Quantico, boards assigned to carry out those orders were doing the opposite. Instead of firing trans Marines, the boards were voting to keep them."

  • Why Has This Teenager Tracked Down 11,377 Moths Since April? (New York Times) Love this. (Not a huge fan of moths but I get the interest). "Violet is a high school junior by day and a moth researcher by night. While many of her Gen Z peers scroll through TikTok or fret about college applications, she spends two or three evenings a week 'mothing' — think birding, but without the feathers — in the Eugene and Agnes Meyer Nature Preserve in Westchester County, N.Y."

  • VIDEO: Rain or Shine, Japan’s ‘Dancing Salaryman’ Can’t Stop Grooving (New York Times) #RockItToru "Toru Utsumi, 60, works as a management consultant, but on his days off, he has become a global internet star — despite some local disapproval."

  • VIDEO: 92-year-old stroke patient finds her voice again through music - Global News (Global News) EDMONTON STORY Great work by the Glenrose team. "After a stroke left 92-year-old Frieda Claassen unable to speak, music became part of her therapy at Edmonton's Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital."

  • VIDEO: Bryan Adams takes aim at Lake Ontario name change in new song (CBC) CANADIAN STORY And this is another reason why Bryan Adams is a Canadian icon. "Bryan Adams turns the dispute over Lake Ontario's name into a political jab in his new single, accusing an unnamed leader of using the issue to distract from other controversies [...] Lake Ontario moves from the lake's geological and Indigenous history to pointed references to Iran and the Epstein files, before returning to the refrain that the lake will keep its name."

  • VIDEO: Video of man helping homeless couple should inspire compassion and change, building manager says (CBC) #Beautiful "A heartwarming video showing a Londoner stopping to warm a sleeping homeless couple offers an example of kindness and a stark reminder that institutions need to do better, a local man says. 'We must remember that these are human beings. They are people who deserve dignity, compassion and respect,' said Muhammed Sajjad, the property manager [...] where the video was filmed."

  • Verse from Qur’an inspired US man to leap on runaway school bus and halt it (The Guardian) #Hero Thanks to Recap contributor, Mick Mulloy for this story."A man who hopped on to a school bus full of terrified children that was careering down a Minnesota street after its driver had a medical emergency and manually halted it says he was motivated to act by a Qur’an verse about how saving one life is equivalent to saving all of humanity."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. Can millions of people live on the moon? These scientists say yes — but not for very long (CBC) #TimeToTowInAnIceAstroid "Martin Elvis, senior astrophysicist at Harvard University’s Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory [and] Jonathan McDowell, honorary professor at the Durham University Space Research Centre in England, decided to take a look at the numbers. But their findings, it turns out, aren't great for a lunar civilization, so don’t start packing just yet. In their paper, published in the journal Frontiers in Space Technologies, the pair decided to examine power and water needed to sustain humans on the moon. When it comes to power, they found that solar and nuclear would be enough to sustain one million people on the lunar surface. But then there's water."

  2. VIDEO: Calgary parks seeing fewer service requests, more compliments (City News) CALGARY STORY Nice work Calgary. "Calgary parks are seeing fewer complaints and more compliments following a $1.7M boost to the maintenance budget. Jillian Code reports."

  3. Ian MacQuillin: Philanthropy advisers pose a serious challenge for fundraisers (The Third Sector) Interesting article on the fundraiser's role. "Philanthropy advisers are an extra layer of intermediation between charities and donors. They can (but not necessarily do) act as gatekeepers to donors, and sometimes (not always) replace fundraisers in helping donors derive meaning from their giving. When the Chartered Institute of Fundraising hosted a webinar on the typology, an attendee commented that philanthropy advisers and fundraisers were both intermediaries between donors and charities. But fundraisers cannot be an intermediary of the charity, because they are the charity – the integral cog that engages donors in funding its work. They work for, and are paid by, the charity, unlike philanthropy advisers, who work for, and are paid by, donors."

  4. Does philanthropy look different in Western Canada? (The Philanthropist) CANADIAN STORY I was honoured to be one of the sector professionals interviewed for this article. "There are regional differences to philanthropy in Canada – including within Western Canada. Here are some, from the perspectives of people who work in the sector in the West."

  5. He wants to clean up the city and banish high prices. But who is ‘London’s Batman’? (The Guardian) #NanaNanaBatman Thanks to Recap contributor, Mick Mulloy for this story. "The caped crusader is paying for hospital parking fines, giving out fuel to drivers – and sponsoring the return of cut-priced Freddo bars. In the harsh light of day, a caped crusader storms the streets of London to tackle a crime that has long blighted the capital: littering. 'When I said I wanted to save London, I meant it. I will not stop until every single bit of trash is off the streets,' he says in a viral video, narrated in his trademark deep, husky and (suspiciously) American voice, joined by a gang of hooded helpers clearing rubbish-strewn streets in Tower Hamlets."

  6. Sport Calgary launches campaign advocating for increased funding for recreational facilities (Calgary Herald) CALGARY STORY Nice work Sport Calgary. "Sport Calgary is launching a campaign for increased investment into sport and recreation infrastructure ahead of the city's 2027-2030 budget discussions. Increased funding would target aging facilities and capacity issues linked to the city's rapid growth, particularly those prioritized through the city's GamePLAN strategy for recreational investment, said Sport Calgary president Candice Goudie. The Keep Calgary Playing campaign aims to educate Calgarians about the pressures on the city's recreational facilities, and encourages them to share their experiences and add their name to the campaign's pledge page."

  7. City builder, philanthropist Irv Kipnes 'will leave a lasting legacy in Edmonton' (Edmonton Journal) EDMONTON STORY I had the pleasure of working for Mr. Kipnes in the late 1980s when he was a silent partner in one of Edmonton's best restaurants. In my fundraising career, I had some interaction with him as he is a UAlberta engineering alum. RIP Mr. Kipnes, we will not see your like again. "It’s hard to go anywhere in Edmonton and not see the Kipnes name. There’s the Kipnes Centre for Veterans. There’s the Dianne and Irving Kipnes Health Research Academy at the University of Alberta. The Oshry-Kipnes Jewish Community Centre is expected to open by the end of 2026. Numerous arts organizations have been touched by the Kipnes family, from the Edmonton Opera to Ballet Edmonton to the Citadel Theatre to the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. Kipnes made millions as a developer and liquor-chain owner in Edmonton, but he pumped millions back into the city he loved. He and his late wife, Dianne, supported numerous causes, from medical research to the arts to the Jewish community. Irv Kipnes died earlier this week."

  8. VIDEO: The haunting call of Canada's common loon is becoming less common amid widespread declines, study suggests (CBC) CANADIAN STORY Not the Loon! "It's a haunting sound synonymous with nightfall in the summer when an eerie calm spreads over glassy wetlands and cottage country lake surfaces across Canada. But the trembling call of the common loon may be getting less common amid 'substantial' North American declines, new research suggests — with Prairie and Atlantic populations suffering among the steepest losses."

  9. A moose crashes into office building for a visit in SE Calgary (Global News) CALGARY STORY #Eek "The unexpected visitor let itself in [...] breaking a window and stirring up excitement for those at work. Bella Finn reports."

  10. Wayfinding study confirms traveling to space makes astronauts age faster (UCalgary) CALGARY STORY #Yikes "You’ve heard people talk about how their job is taking years off their life, but, in most cases that is a metaphor. For astronauts, though, that’s literally what happens when they go to space. This is according to University of Calgary researchers Drs. Giuseppe Iaria and Ford Burles, both PhD."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. The Boredom Experiment: 2 Hours of No Input Every Morning (Lili K Gunawan) This sounds really interesting. But, 2 hours every day!

  2. 5 Brutal Truths About Self-Improvement Most People Ignore (Without Distraction) Are we really just procrastinating?

  3. My Favorite Literary Quotes (Joel R Dennstedt) Always love a few good quotes.

  4. 5 Tiny Nutrition Hacks That Will Completely Upgrade Your Energy (Illumination) I always squeeze lemon on my greens.

  5. My To-Do List Has Only 3 Lines, And I Finish All of Them (Lili K Gunawan) Third line is the kicker.

  6. The 20-Minute Trash Ritual That Clears My Brain Every Night (Lili K Gunawan) I love this 20-minute ritual. I do part of this but I need to also do the emotional trashing.

  7. COMPLEXITY AND STRATEGY: Why Most Strategies Stay Abstract #10 (Ai Yat Goh) I love strategy. I hate strategy that sits on a shelf.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. RDP receives $8 million gift to advance healthcare education (Red Deer News Now) RED DEER STORY This is terrific. "Red Deer Polytechnic announced they received an $8 million donation, which will help educate and train more healthcare professionals. The transformational gift was donated from the estate of Rodney Ceccato to strengthen the healthcare workforce in central Alberta and across the province."

  2. VIDEO: Terry Fox Foundation receives record-breaking $25M donation from Tanenbaum family (CTV) CANADIAN STORY #Wow "The Terry Fox Foundation received a huge boost Thursday, with the largest single donation in the organization’s history: $25 million from the Larry and Judy Tanenbaum Family Foundation."

  3. University Health Network gets $35-million donation for transplant institute (Globe and Mail) TORONTO STORY "The University Health Network says a landmark $35-million donation from a prominent Toronto family will help advance organ transplantation in Canada through the creation of a specialized institute. With this latest donation, the Ajmera family – which founded FGF Brands, one of North America’s largest industrial baking and food-processing companies – has cumulatively given $62-million to UHN. The total amount is the largest known donation in Canada to support transplant care by a single family."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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