Julia-Simone Rutgers
Manitoba Reporter
Julia-Simone Rutgers is The Narwhal’s Manitoba reporter. Her position is part of a partnership with the Winnipeg Free Press. She joined The Narwhal after writing daily news for the Winnipeg Free Press and the Star Metro Halifax. She was also the first writer in residence at The Walrus, and has a smattering of bylines in The Globe and Mail, the Coast and the Discourse. Though she has lived on both coasts, she grew up in Calgary and feels most at home lounging on riverbanks under the wide-open Prairie skies. In her spare time, she dabbles in music making, visual art curation, writing poetry and exploring the forests, fields, lakes and rivers the province has to offer. Her role is made possible thanks to funding from The Winnipeg Foundation.
Stories by Julia-Simone Rutgers
A big bold plan to suck carbon dioxide out of the air — and the rural community at the centre of it
Tech firm Deep Sky says it will bury carbon dioxide two kilometres underground in rural...
A decade of fighting over a controversial mining project in Manitoba — and still no decision
The Sio Silica sand mine southeast of Winnipeg was proposed, then rejected, then reviewed, then...
Pretty much everything you need to know about Manitoba’s new obsession with AI data centres
Manitoba — home of much hydro power and notoriously cold winters — says it’s perfectly...
What was it like to farm in 2025? Canadian farmers weigh in
Does wildfire smoke help crops? Do tariffs boost honey prices? The intricacies of farming in...
‘Nothing to harvest’: After unprecedented wildfires, the forestry industry is forced to adapt
An analysis of wildfire data in Manitoba shows logged areas saw more damage this year...
New publicly owned electric vehicle charging stations will link remote, northern communities
Remote regions have long had less access to EV infrastructure. A new investment from the...
New federal program offers free heat pumps and retrofit subsidies to some households
$29 million in federal funding will cover retrofits for 7,000 Manitoba homes. Similar programs are...
‘Balancing act’ or ‘disaster’? Winnipeg’s transit overhaul, mapped
An overnight overhaul of Winnipeg Transit aimed to make riding the bus more accessible and...
Manitoba is at the epicentre of the 2025 wildfire season. Why here? Why now?
‘It’s only going to get worse’: as wildfire experts ring alarm bells about the Manitoba...