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More than 25,000 residents in three provinces have been evacuated as dozens of wildfires remained active Sunday and diminished air quality in parts of Canada and the U.S., according to officials.Most of the evacuated residents were from Manitoba, which declared a state of emergency last week. About 17,000 people there were evacuated by Saturday along with 1,300 in Alberta. About 8,000 people in Saskatchewan had been relocated as leaders there warned the number could climb.Smoke was worsening air quality and reducing visibility in Canada and into some U.S. states along the border.“Air quality and visibility due to wildfire smoke can fluctuate over short distances and can vary considerably from hour to hour,” Saskatchewan’s Public Safety Agency warned Sunday. “As smoke levels increase, health risks increase.”Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said firefighters, emergency crews and aircraft from other provinces and U.S. states, including Alaska, Oregon and Arizona, were being sent to help fight the blazes.“We are truly grateful, and we stand stronger because of you,” Moe said in a post on social media.He said ongoing hot, dry weather is allowing some fires to grow and threaten communities, and resources to fight the fires and support the evacuees are stretched thin.“The next four to seven days are absolutely critical until we can find our way to changing weather patterns, and ultimately a soaking rain throughout the north,” Moe said at a Saturday news conference.In Manitoba, more than 5,000 of those evacuated are from Flin Flon, located nearly 645 kilometers (400 miles) northwest of the provincial capital of Winnipeg. In northern Manitoba, fire knocked out power to the community of Cranberry Portage, forcing a mandatory evacuation order Saturday for about 600 residents.The fire menacing Flin Flon began a week ago near Creighton, Saskatchewan, and quickly jumped the boundary into Manitoba. Crews have struggled to contain it. Water bombers have been intermittently grounded due to heavy smoke and a drone incursion.The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service deployed an air tanker to Alberta and said it would send 150 firefighters and equipment to Canada.In some parts of the U.S., air quality reached “unhealthy” levels Sunday in North Dakota and small swaths of Montana, Minnesota and South Dakota, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow page.“We should expect at least a couple more rounds of Canadian smoke to come through the U.S. over the next week,” said Bryan Jackson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in the U.S.Separately, a fire in the U.S. border state of Idaho burned at least 100 acres (40 hectares) as of Sunday, prompting road closures and some evacuations, according to the Idaho Department of Lands. The agency said in a news release that at least one structure was burned, but did not provide additional details about the damage.Strong gusty winds of 15 to 20 mph (24 to 32 kph) and steep terrain were making it difficult for firefighters battling the fire, which ignited Saturday.Evacuation centers have opened across Manitoba for those fleeing the fires, one as far south as Winkler, 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the U.S. border. Winnipeg opened up public buildings for evacuees as it deals with hotels already crammed with other fire refugees, vacationers, business people and convention-goers.Manitoba’s Indigenous leaders said Saturday at a news conference that hotel rooms in the cities where evacuees are arriving are full, and they called on the government to direct hotel owners to give evacuees priority.Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Kyra Wilson said it was one of the largest evacuations in the province since the 1990s.“It’s really sad to see our children having to sleep on floors. People are sitting, waiting in hallways, waiting outside, and right now we just need people to come together. People are tired,” Wilson said at a news conference.Canada’s wildfire season runs from May through September. Its worst-ever wildfire season was in 2023. It choked much of North America with dangerous smoke for months. Associated Press reporter Julie Walker contributed from New York. Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
This week, home discount retail chain Big Lots will open dozens of additional stores, marking the culmination of the beloved brand’s dramatic turnaround after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late last year. Heres what you need to know about Junes Big Lots store reopenings. Big Lots bankruptcy was expected to be the end In December 2024, Big Lots announced that it had filed for bankruptcy and would be closing all of its roughly 800 locations. But in a surprising turn of events, the chain was saved from completely going out of business after another discount retail chain operator, Variety Wholesalers, swept in and agreed to buy 219 Big Lots locations from liquidator Gordon Brothers. Variety Wholsalers, which also owns discount retail chains including Bargain Town and Super Dollar, said it would not only keep the 219 stores alive, but that it would operate them under the Big Lots brand, after a period of renovation and re-merchandising. Prior Big Lots reopenings Variety Wholesalers said it would reopen the 219 Big Lots stores it acquired in four waves, with the first beginning in April. Heres how many stores Big Lots opened in each prior wave: First wave: nine stores across six states in April Second wave: 54 stores across 12 states in early May Third wave: 78 stores across 13 states in mid-May Now, Big Lots will be commencing its fourth wave of store openings. !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}))}(); 78 Big Lots fourth wave June reopenings Big Lots fourth wave of store reopenings will happen this week, with 78 stores opening across nine states. The planned opening date is Thursday, June 5. The states with the most store reopenings in the fourth wave include North Carolina, with 22 locations reopening; Ohio, with 13 locations reopening; and Pennsylvania, with 11 stores reopening. Here is the full Big Lots store reopening list for June: Florida 6247 Highway 90, Milton, FL 32570 2384 Commercial Way, Spring Hill, FL 34606 3401 13th St Ste 100, St. Cloud, FL 34769 843 W Bloomingdale Ave, Brandon, FL 33511 3048 E College Ave, Ruskin, FL 33570 13970 N Cleveland Ave, North Ft. Myers, FL 33903 4901 Palm Beach Blvd Ste 230, Fort Myers, FL 33905 Georgia 127 Commerce Ave, LaGrange, GA 30241 3111 Highway 278 NW, Covington, GA 30014 13 Lester Rd Ste C, Statesboro, GA 30458 Kentucky 3000 Scottsville Rd, Bowling Green, KY 42104 North Carolina 125 Weaver Blvd, Weaverville, NC 28787 273 Franklin Plaza Dr, Franklin, NC 28734 1176 Russ Ave, Waynesville, NC 28786 1639 US Highway 74A Byp, Spindale, NC 28160 1450 Andrews Rd, Murphy, NC 28906 1251 Burkemont Ave, Morganton, NC 28655 711 E Innes St, Salisbury, NC 28144 280 Concord Pkwy N, Concord, NC 28027 720 NC 24 27 Byp E, Albemarle, NC 28001 950 S Cannon Blvd Ste A, Kannapolis, NC 28083 1677 Westchester Dr, High Point, NC 27262 2531 Eastchester Dr, High Point, NC 27265 630 Lakestone Commons Ave, Fuquay Varina, NC 27526 2950 S Horner Blvd, Sanford, NC 27332 1371 N Sandhills Blvd, Aberdeen, NC 28315 1664 S Main St Ste B, Laurinburg, NC 28352 520 Berne Sq, New Bern, NC 28562 2750C N Roberts Ave, Lumberton, NC 28358 1110 Western Blvd, Jacksonville, NC 28540 2900 Arendell St Ste 19, Morehead City, NC 28557 6832 F Market St, Wilmington, NC 28405 4600 Main St Ste 1, Shallotte, NC 28470 Ohio 8489 Market St, Mentor, OH 44060 12588 Rockside Rd, Cleveland, OH 44125 1890 W Market St, Akron, OH 44313 405 Howe Ave, Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44221 241 W Wooster Rd, Barberton, OH 44203 426 East Waterloo Rd, Akron, OH 44319 1336 Whipple Ave NW, Canton, OH 44708 10560 Harrison Ave, Harrison, OH 45030 3640 Werk Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45248 110 S 7th St, Marietta, OH 45750 9025 Ohio River Rd, Wheelersburg, OH 45694 400 Silver Bridge Plz, Gallipolis, OH 45631 367 County Rd 406 Ste B, South Point, OH 45680 Pennsylvania 750 Ohio River Blvd, Rochester, PA 15074 4717 McKnight Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15237 2444 Philadelphia St, Indiana, PA 15701 11628 Penn Hills Dr, Pittsburgh, PA 15235 254 Oak Spring Rd, Washington, PA 15301 6041 State Route 30 Ste 20, Greensburg, PA 15601 1425 Scalp Ave Ste 130, Johnstown, PA 15904 389 N Reading Rd, Ephrata, PA 17522 500 Lincoln Hwy Ste 4, Fairless Hills, PA 19030 2140 White St, York, PA 17404 1150 Carlisle St, Hanover, PA 17331 South Carolina 1206 Highway 9 Bypass W, Lancaster, SC 29720 9221 Two Notch Rd Ste 30, Columbia, SC 29223 6169 St. Andrews Rd, Columbia, SC 29212 1641 Church St, Conway, SC 29526 710 Hwy 17 S Ste D, North Myrtle Beach, SC 29582 1370 S Kings Hwy, Myrtle Beach, SC 29577 1013 Old Highway 52, Moncks Corner, SC 29461 431 Saint James Ave Unit G, Goose Creek, SC 29445 10150 Dorchester RdUnit 227, Summerville, SC 29485 328 Robert Smalls Pkwy, Beaufort, SC 29906 Tennessee 633 S Jefferson Ave, Cookeville, TN 38501 1301 S James Campbell Blvd, Columbia, TN 38401 1913 Sherwood Rd, Kingsport, TN 37664 3901 Hixson Pike Ste 157, Chattanooga, TN 37415 1426 N Gateway Ave, Rockwood, TN 37854 Virginia 180 Kents Ridge Rd, Richlands, VA 24641 1090 Bypass Rd, Vinton, VA 24179 6610 Mooretown Rd, Williamsburg, VA 23188 2318 W Mercury Blvd, Hampton, VA 23666 1851 E Little Creek Rd, Norfolk, VA 23518 1971 S Military Hwy, Chesapeake, VA 23320 No more Big Lots openings? With the additional 78 Big Lots stores reopening in its fourth wave this week, Variety Wholesalers will have reopened all 219 stores that it said it would after acquiring them from Gordon Brothers. While fans of the retail brand are undoubtedly happy to have hundreds of locations reopened, the 219-store count represents just over a quarter of the Big Lots locations that were open at the end of last year. Privately held Variety Wholesalers has not publicly announced plans to open any brand-new Big Lots locations at this time. For now, if there isn’t a Big Lots location near you after the fourth wave of reopenings this week, it’s likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future.
Category:
E-Commerce
Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! Im Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday morning. As a new crop of summer interns arrive at your company, its worth considering: Will one of them rise to CEO? Deanna Strable, who became CEO of Principal Financial Group in January, interned at the company during college. After graduating from Northwestern University, she joined Principal as an actuarial assistant, the start of a 35-year journey that included a stint abroad and senior roles including chief financial officer (CFO) and president and chief operating officer (COO). (Disclosure: Principal is a longtime Inc. advertising and sponsorship partner.) People love to ask, Whyd you originally come to Principal? but I think a fundamental question is, Why did you stay here for 35 years? Strable says of the insurance and benefits company, which last year reported $16.2 billion in revenue, up 18% from 2023. It ultimately comes back to the work, the company, and the people. From entry-level to executive The intern-to-CEO path isnt unheard of, especially at family-led companies. Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts, whose father founded the cable company, first interned at its Storecast marketing unit in 1974. J. Patrick Gallagher Jr., CEO of Arthur J. Gallagher and Co., a global insurance brokerage founded by his grandfather, interned at the business in 1972. Some prominent CEOs are lifers, having spent their whole careers at one company. Tricia Griffith, CEO of the insurer Progressive, started as an entry-level claims representative, and Mary Barra, CEO of GM, started at the carmaker as a co-op student. And while research suggests that CEOs hired from within an organization slightly outperformed external hires during the pandemic, and performed on par with one another before the pandemic, more boards are turning to outsiders to run companies. Spencer Stuarts 2024 CEO Transitions report found that 44% of all new S&P 1500 CEO appointments last year were external hires, up from 32% in 2023 and the highest rate since 2000, when the executive search firm started tracking the data. The CEO role has never been harder or more complex, and I do believe that you really need multiple experiences to be an effective leader in todays world, says Janice Ellig, CEO of executive search firm Ellig Group. I dont want to predict that the intern-to-CEO [trend] is going to decrease, but Im not sure its going to increase. Many roles, one vision Ellig says boards and investors want their chief executives to bring a range of relevant experiences to the role. Insiders who get the top job have typically led different departments and excelled in areas that are important to the company. GMs Barra, for example, led manufacturing engineering, global human resources, and global product developmentcritical divisions at a major automaker with 90,000 employees in the U.S. alone. Principals Strable helped build and lead the companys benefits and protection business, which encompasses employee benefits, business owner solutions (life insurance and disability insurance), and nonqualified deferred compensation. As CFO, she worked alongside previous CEO Daniel Houston to develop a growth strategy that included discontinuing the sale of consumer life insurance products and focusing on higher-growth businesses such as retirement and global asset management. As a result, Strable says, she was able to hit the ground running, adding: You know the people, you know the products, you know the business, you know the strategy. The insiders double-edge sword Strable, who retains the president title at Principal, counts the familiarity and support of longtime colleagues as a plus of being an internal candidate. But where it can be hard is there are times that people just expect that youre comfortable with things the way they are today, she says. Strable says she encourages the company to lean into its strengths but also evaluate the areas where Principal has not been effective. She strives to find ways to learn from people outside the company. I reinforce that with a lot of our leaders, too, she says. You need to have a network of peers outside of the organization, both within and outside the industry. At a lunch meeting in New York shortly after she became CEO, Strable reflected on the corporate milestones shes observed throughout her three-decades-plus at Principal. Of note: Some of the first graduates of Principals on-site daycare center at its Des Moines headquarters, which opened 17 years ago, will soon be eligible for internships at the company. Perhaps one of them might even become CEO someday. Are you an insider CEO? Are you a company lifer who has ascended to the CEO role? What unique insights do you possess that outsiders or newcomers dont have? Please send your experiences to me at stephaniemehta@mansueto.com. And while I have your attention, please spread the word that Fast Companys annual Brands That Matter program is extending its deadline to June 6. If your brand excels in making emotional connections, communicating purpose, and maintaining cultural relevance, consider applying via this link. Read more: inside track How Mary Barra remade GM and its culture Should your board consider an outsider for CEO succession? Former Nike intern Elliott Hill is ex-employees top CEO pick
Category:
E-Commerce
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