When winter is too warm for remote communities

Plus, a suit over a piece of the Sherman billions and Trump's chances in Iowa [Get This Offer]( [The Star] First Up [By Manuela Vega] By Manuela Vega Good morning. Here’s the latest on infrastructural challenges in remote First Nations communities, the riches of Honey and Barry Sherman and the U.S. presidential race. DON’T MISS Toronto Star File Photo climate crisis [Some Ontarians rely on roads made of snow and ice. What happens when winter is too warm?]( Twenty-nine First Nations communities represented by the Nishnawbe Aski Nation depend on winter roads, Joy SpearChief-Morris reports. The routes created over frozen rivers and lakes allow trucks to make essential deliveries to communities that would otherwise only be accessible by boat or plane. But these roads require snow and temperatures around -30 C to -40 C — and this winter has been warmer than usual. That means the lifespan of winter roads might be counted in days, rather than weeks or months this season. [Here’s what the communities say they need](. - Go deeper: Canada’s North faces a “double threat of already inadequate infrastructure in a rapidly warming climate,” endangering the health, well-being and livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples, according to a 2022 report by the Canadian Climate Institute. - More: Speaking of the possibility that Indigenous northern communities do not get the infrastructure they need, Ryan Ness of the Canadian Climate Institute said we may “exacerbate and perpetuate that colonial legacy.” Supplied Photo star investigation [Honey Sherman’s family members are suing for part of Barry Sherman’s billions]( Six years after billionaires Barry and Honey Sherman were murdered, one side of the family is taking legal action against the other. Honey’s niece and nephew — 29-year-old twins Rebecca and Matthew Shechtman — believe they and other extended family are entitled to some of the money Barry Sherman set up in a “trust” the year before he died, Kevin Donovan reports. In an application filed in Superior Court, they’re fighting for the Shermans’ son Jonathon and his two fellow estate trustees to provide a full accounting. [Here’s what we do and don’t know about the trust](. - Wait, what? According to the court application, Barry set up a trust as a tax-planning strategy in 2016 and named 22 children and grandchildren of his and Honey’s extended family as beneficiaries. - By the numbers: The financial press estimated Barry Sherman’s wealth was at $4.7 billion when he died, but insiders at his private holding company Sherfam have told the Star his entire fortune was closer to $10 billion. In line with the instructions in his will, the money has been divided equally among the couple’s four children. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images the star in iowa [The Donald Trump show comes to Iowa — and the real 2024 race for the White House begins]( For decades, Iowa has served as the first contest in the Democratic and Republican nominating campaigns (though the Democrats moved their first primary to South Carolina this year). If you’ve been following the campaigns of former UN ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the state, you might just believe one of them could be the Republican nominee or even the next president of the United States. But it’s former president, reality TV star and accused felon Donald Trump who is ahead by a historic margin. Here’s what the Star’s Richard Warnica saw in Iowa — and why it’s clear to him that [Trump is poised to win the Republican nomination today by a landslide](. - More: The president and CEO of a local hospital in Atlantic, Iowa, noted that Trump has “a lot of baggage and skeletons in his closet,” something that “would create a lot of upheaval over the next four years if he was elected.”  - Go deeper: For Trump supporters, the baggage — the criminal trials, civil suits and the attempt to overturn an election — aren’t bugs, but features, Warnica writes. WHAT ELSE Despite plunging temperatures and wind, two rallies in Toronto [marked 100 days since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict](. How can Canada help Ukrainian children reportedly abducted by Russia? [Here’s what we know](. Should Toronto’s struggling Harbourfront Centre rethink what it offers? [Here’s why some say it’s time to take a look](. More international students at Algoma University are protesting failing grades. [Here’s why they want an investigation](. The proposed 2024 city budget cuts the snow removal program — [sparking concerns about how older residents will adjust](. Toronto called in the army to clean up after a snowstorm 25 years ago. [Here’s how the Star reported it in 1999](. Today’s teens are highly motivated to save for a wealthy future. [Here’s how parents can guide them](. GTA home prices rose in the last quarter of 2023 compared to a year earlier. [These are the numbers](. After a two-year wait, [Fahmee Jamaican patties return to Bathurst Station](. Here’s how one Mississauga family restaurant [radiates retro vibes](. MLSE is investigating after a video showed a [fan being roughly taken down by security at Scotiabank Arena](. [Madonna proved why she's “still got it”]( at the Toronto stop of her retrospective “Celebration” tour. ICYMI Dreamstime Photo [Here’s why you might want to stop making your bed in the morning.]( CLOSE-UP Nick Lachance/The Star YONGE AND EGLINTON: Giuseppe Spatari, left, and Frank Truong have worked beside each other in the Canada Square office complex for more than 40 years. [In the face of a massive redevelopment, the longtime friends — an old-school midtown Toronto barber and a cobbler — face an uncertain future](. Thank you for reading. You can reach me and the First Up team at [firstup@thestar.ca](mailto:firstup@thestar.ca?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=emailutm_email=6C53B63A8E3FAD70AD4EF13004527437&utm_campaign=frst_207137). I’ll see you back here tomorrow. Get unlimited digital access New Year Sale: Only $1.25/week — save $60 [Get This Offer]( If you're not enjoying these emails, please tell us how we can make them better by emailing newsletterfeedback@thestar.ca. Or, if you'd prefer, you can unsubscribe from this newsletter by clicking the first link below. 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