Latest news with #Baerg
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Artist Jason Baerg on Canada Day's reminder of stolen land and broken promises: 'Canada is a colonial project'
Artist, designer and educator Jason Baerg is clear-eyed about what Canada and its celebration mean — and doesn't mean — for many Indigenous people across the country. Baerg, who uses they/them pronouns, says it plainly: 'Canada is a colonial project." It's a statement that cuts to the root of Canada Day's enduring controversy: For many Indigenous people, it marks not a national celebration but a reminder of stolen land and broken treaties. As a Cree-Métis artist raised in Red River, Saskatchewan and now based in Toronto, Ontario, Baerg's very life and practice are acts of resistance, continuity and reclamation. 'I'm Indigenous and German — my father came from Germany, and I was raised by my Métis mother,' Baerg explains. 'So, every day is Indigenous for me. That's how I live my life.' Yahoo News Canada presents 'My Canada," a series spotlighting Canadians — born-and-raised to brand new — sharing their views on the Canadian dream, national identity, and the triumphs and tribulations that come with life inside and outside these borders. That lived experience means Canada Day doesn't bring up the same kind of pride or joy others might feel. 'It's a weird thing to unpack,' they say. 'It's funny how many people don't even understand the basics, that First Nations have their own governments, that they're independent nations.' Baerg doesn't dismiss Canadian identity entirely. They acknowledge: 'I'd be a fool to think I do not participate in a greater network of people that includes settlers. When I think about what it means to participate in that kind of nationalism, which is kind of fabricated, I think about continuum, where we are, out story. It's complex.' That sense of continuum shows up powerfully in Baerg's work. As an interdisciplinary artist working across painting, fashion and digital media, their art is deeply rooted in Indigenous epistemologies, visual languages and futurism. 'I'm interested in sustainable fashion, in the presence and visuality of Indigenous people through their contemporary art practices,' they say. 'There's real intention there of how [we] participate in culture, and build and disseminate who we are as Indigenous people.' Baerg also brings that philosophy into the classroom at OCAD University, where they teach and mentor the next generation of artists, many of whom — and, crucially, not all — are Indigenous. 'The artist has to know who they are before they can say anything to the world,' they say. 'So, I have my students research their own traditional homelands. It helps them understand their position and gives them cultural material to work with in their art. I'm grounding them in having them acknowledge that their ancestors are from a different place, and I'm also serving them the opportunity to get to know themselves even more, because I truly believe that the artist has to know who they are before they can say anything to the world.' In other words, that sense of knowing isn't just about identity, it's also about place. Baerg believes deeply in connecting students to the land, and in challenging Canadian institutions — artistic, educational and political — to do better. 'It's not enough to have conversations anymore; art and education are just the beginning. We need action. We know communities don't have clean water, so fix that. We know curriculum is lacking, so change it.' We know communities don't have clean water, so fix that. We know curriculum is lacking, so change it. And for Baerg, that change has to start early. They point to models in places like Australia where Indigenous culture is embedded in early childhood education. 'Why not here?' they ask. 'If you're in Toronto, every child should know how to say 'hello' in Haudenosaunee or Anishinaabe. That kind of cultural fluency should be foundational. We should be bringing local Indigenous custodians into schools and daycares. Geography lessons should happen on the land with those who know it best.' There are already some glimmers of this vision in Canada. Baerg highlights Saskatchewan's treaty education mandate from kindergarten to Grade 12 as an example. But they also express frustration at the pace of progress, particularly when funding is often the first thing to go. 'The government has taken so much away ... And I don't want to entertain that anymore. I want us to envision something better and then go build it.' Despite all this, Baerg remains optimistic. Their hope doesn't come from institutions, but from community. 'I see us moving forward in good ways, with or without institutional support,' they say. 'We train our own, we respond to our own needs, and we move.' What they want most — for Canada, for Canadians — is a shift toward meaningful collaboration. At the heart of that is a simple but powerful wish: respect. 'I'd love to see more harmony and more collaboration,' Baerg says. 'Genuine respect. If we looked at each other as kin, we'd be in a much better place.'
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Rainfall totals in the Wichita area break a 94-year-old record. How much fell?
Heavy rains caused flooding in the Wichita area on Tuesday, and set a June 3 daily record for rainfall totals that have been recorded since 1888. Here is a look at how much rain Wichita got and how it compares to other days: The rain started just after 10 p.m. Monday and stopped after 10 p.m. Tuesday. Over those two days, 2.95 inches of rain fell, with 2.47 inches of it falling on Tuesday. Other significant, two-day measurements of rain in the Wichita area were 6.21 inches of rain recorded at Beechcraft by Textron Aviation on Greenwich, 5.18 inches at Jabara Airport and 5.98 inches in Towanda. Bryan Baerg, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Wichita, said the roughly 4 inches of rain that fell over the Memorial Day weekend saturated the ground. Then, this hard rainfall in a short amount of time was too much for drainage systems to keep up with. The 2.47 inches of rain on Tuesday is the June 3 record, surpassing the 1.67 inches set in 1932. The measurement was taken at the Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport. Here is when Wichita had its last five rainfalls of 2 or more inches. 2.32 inches on May 25 3.13 inches on Nov. 2, 2024 4.24 inches on Oct. 25, 2023 2 inches on July 5, 2023 2.27 inches on Nov. 4, 2022 But none of those are close to the top daily rainfalls in Wichita. Here are the Top 5: 10.31 inches on Sept. 12, 2008 6.82 inches on June 8, 1923 6.03 inches on April 22, 1944 5.79 inches on Oct. 31, 1998 5.78 inches on Sept. 26, 1999 Wichita has had 15.48 inches of rain so far this year, compared to an average of 13.15 inches that Wichita typically sees by this time of the year. Wichita averages 34.31 inches of rain a year. There are chances of rain later this week and weekend, but it will 'definitely (be) lighter amounts than what we saw yesterday,' Baerg said. The heaviest of the possible rains is late Thursday and into Friday morning, when rainfall could be in the one to two inch range. Up to an inch more is possible over the weekend, he said. Wichita metro area under flood warning. Here's how much rain has fallen, forecast 'It was just a riptide': Wichita man videotapes rescue from stalled car during flood After flash flooding, what's next for Wichita's weather? Plus how much rain fell
CBC
08-03-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Sask. athlete makes playoff run at World Wheelchair Curling Championships
Canada set to compete in bronze medal game Saturday Growing up in a small Prairie town, Team Canada wheelchair curling skip Gilbert Dash was no stranger to the ice. "When I grew up in Kipling, Saskatchewan, the hockey rink and the curling rink were attached, the waiting room was in the middle, and I spent like a lot of time at the rink. I guess you'd call me a rink rat." Dash continued curling on and off once he reached adulthood, but started taking the sport more seriously after a stint at the Wascana Rehabilitation Centre connected him with a staff member intent on starting a wheelchair curling program. Now, having won silver at the last two World Wheelchair Curling Championships, Dash and his rink are getting ready for to complete against Slovakia in the bronze medal game Saturday at this year's version. The bonspiel, being hosted in Stevenston, Scotland, is the last qualifying event for the 2026 Paralympic Games in Italy. Canada has already punched its ticket, having all but clinched a berth before the championships even began. Still, when Dash — who is skipping the team for the first time — spoke to CBC Saskatchewan in the midst of the round robin, he wasn't looking too far ahead. "We're here to make each shot so that we can get a W and win in the playoffs." Wheelchair curling is a mixed-gender sport. Dash credits Marie Wright, a Saskatchewanian and longtime fixture within the national team program, as a strong influence on his career. The two still curl together on the team that won the provincial title this year and the national title at last year's tournament in Moose Jaw. "I'm not the first one from Saskatchewan to be on the Paralympic team. Marie Wright was on the Paralympic team a few years back. So, I also think that Marie's making it there helped the sport a lot in Saskatchewan, helped others get interested. And so I'm hoping to make the team to go to the Paralympics and I hope that encourages more people in chairs to come out and curl." The local perspective Saskatchewan continues to perform well at the national level. Winning nationals in 2024 means two rinks from the province will once again make their way to the 2025 edition, this time in Boucherville, Que. One of the athletes who on that second team is Ashley Baerg of Dalmeny. Baerg is no stranger to para-sport, having started her athletics journey in 2004. She competed for Canada internationally in wheelchair basketball before finding waterskiing in 2013. While she is not currently focused on making the national team in curling, she has committed to compete at the upcoming waterskiing world championships this winter in Australia and finds value in competing in multiple sports throughout the year. Baerg said she was initially brought into wheelchair curling when Jon Thurston, one of her national waterskiing teammates who also curls on Dash's team, came to the province for a training camp and they threw a few rocks together. Baerg then attended nationals, where a typical para-sport recruiting process ensued. In para-sports — whether it's in a gym, a rink or on the water — athletes are always on the lookout for new teammates. "It would have been the spring of 2023 he came out to Moose Jaw for the national championships, so I took a few days off work and went and watched him, and of course, when you show up at any adaptive event and aren't involved with that sport, they jump on you like a bunch of lions to a block of dead meat." She passed along her contact information and now competes in two different leagues in Saskatoon each week, one at the CN Curling Club and another at the Sutherland Curling Club. She said the clubs are unwaveringly supportive. "We are the only team that are in wheelchairs and they have been nothing but accepting and willing to do whatever they need to to accommodate us." Image | Gil Dash Caption: Saskatchewan's Gil Dash sends a shot down the sheet during this week's Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championships in Moose Jaw. (Mike Stobbs/Curling Canada) Open Image in New Tab Set to throw lead at the national championships this April, Baerg said seeing strong Saskatchewan representation on the world stage every year is a point of pride for a small but growing wheelchair curling community in the province. "For multiple people from our province, past and present, to represent with the Canadian flag on their back, there's huge pride in seeing that," she said. "I know that Gil and Marie have both put in a lot of work and have a lot of pride in doing well, for representing not only Canada, but for Saskatchewan." Dash said the team Baerg is a part of is much improved and that he expects both squads to compete well on the national stage. The road ahead Having come in second place during the last two world championships, to Norway last year and China in 2023, Dash is hopeful his team can have success and carry that momentum into the last year of the cycle going into the Paralympics, but said the competition is only getting better. "There's a lot of good wheelchair curlers out there in the world, and all these countries have been working really, really hard, and they're good. Canada's not going to just walk out there and walk over everybody just because we're from Canada." Canada fell to China 5-4 in the semi-final, setting up Saturday's bronze-medal clash against Slovakia. Dash believes that the sweat equity the team has put in will come to fruition. "We believe our training is going to take us a long way, and we're going to do good. Our team is good, and I believe in them and our coaching staff."
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
She needed a prescription refilled. The bill: $1,085
Santa Clarita resident Robin Baerg pulls no punches when it comes to her recent healthcare bill. 'This is financial rape,' she says. 'That's what I told them. I said, 'You're financially raping me. This is absolutely unacceptable.' And it just fell on deaf ears.' Count Baerg among the many Americans voicing dissatisfaction with the U.S. healthcare system – a level of frustration that reportedly played a role in the recent killing of United Healthcare's CEO in New York. 'I certainly don't feel like a patient,' Baerg says. 'I feel like a profit center.' And she's not alone. Sky-high medical bills are the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in this country. In Baerg's case, she needed a prescription for a blood pressure medicine refilled, but her doctor had moved from Providence Medical Institute in Santa Clarita to a local UCLA Health facility. She arranged with her insurer and UCLA to conduct a video chat with her former doctor for the refill. The call lasted about 20 minutes. Keep in mind, this was a video chat, not an office visit. It involved no tests, no examination, no treatment of any sort. UCLA's bill arrived a few weeks later: $1,085. Baerg's insurer, Aetna, covered about $300 of the cost, leaving her on the hook for nearly $800. 'I laughed because I thought it was a joke,' Baerg says. 'I thought it was a mistake.' It wasn't. And no matter how much Baerg tried to appeal the charge, UCLA refused to budge. A spokesman for UCLA Health declined to discuss Baerg's case. He said bills are based on rates set in conjunction with insurers. 'We know health insurance, billing and costs can be complicated,' the spokesman said, 'and we encourage patients with questions to contact UCLA Health for clarification.' 'Healthcare facilities and healthcare insurers operate within the realm of what is legally allowed. And this is legally allowed,' says Lisa Berry Blackstock, a patient advocate who negotiates lower bills on people's behalf. She has no connection to Baerg. 'When a person is sick, they are not at a hundred percent,' Blackstock says. 'It is not a level playing field, and it is unethical, immoral, but unfortunately legal, that healthcare providers and insurers can behave this way.' If you find yourself in a situation like this, ask your healthcare provider or insurer if they have a patient advocate on staff. Or seek an independent advocate through the National Association of Healthcare Advocacy or the Patient Advocate Foundation. Baerg has yet to pay her bill. But she says she'll likely have no choice if she wants to avoid the charge going to a debt collector and potentially trashing her credit score. 'It's a racket,' she says. 'It's a total racket. And I think we're getting really tired of all these additional charges.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
