Julia-Simone Rutgers
Manitoba Reporter
@jsrutgers 
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
Devastated by Manitoba Hydro, five Cree nations are working together to conserve traditional lands
21 min. readAs huge hydroelectric dams blocked most major rivers in northern Manitoba, life for some First...
‘A responsibility to protect’: Canada launches independent agency to manage freshwater
Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says the new Canada Water Agency comes at a time...
Have you considered the Canada Goose?
Giant Canada geese, so ubiquitous today in cities across the country, were once considered extinct....
Think globally, thrift locally. Is thrifting good for the environment?
Ebunoluwa Akinbo’s arresting portraits explore fashion, identity and how Winnipeg’s thrift stores are different —...
North America lost 3 billion birds in 50 years. An Indigenous-led plan could protect a place where they’re thriving
In the Seal River watershed, the site of a proposed Indigenous-led conservation project, community members...
It took the Manitoba government nine days to inform the public of issues with major pipeline: docs
‘This lady [from Imperial Oil] called this morning and made it sound fairly urgent.’ Emails...
‘An invisible emergency’: how governments are preparing for extreme heat
As climate change drives up global temperatures, heat waves are becoming an expensive and deadly...
Are EVs realistic in rural and remote communities?
Indigenous communities have long endured boil water advisories, fragile electricity and challenging access. Making electric...
As a devastating invasive species spreads, there’s new evidence of Canada’s westernmost infestation to date
Officials hope speedy intervention will contain the invasive mollusks in Manitoba's Clear Lake — and...
