Columnists

A little levity can help break ice with returned ex

Maureen Scurfield 4 minute read 2:00 AM CST

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: A ghost from my past came back into my life over the holidays. He came back to our town to live in the house he inherited after his mother died.

He’s a designer and builder, and with help he opened up the main floor of his old family house so it’s more modern. He has also been driving his mom’s fancy car.

He is two years older than me and we dated for most of his Grade 12 year before he took off to seek his fortune. My ears have always been wide open for anything juicy about him.

He isn’t shy. He invited a whole bunch of people over for a New Year’s Day party.

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Measles can kill, and the message is far from loud and clear

Tom Brodbeck 5 minute read Preview

Measles can kill, and the message is far from loud and clear

Tom Brodbeck 5 minute read Yesterday at 12:58 PM CST

By the time you read this, the province will probably have issued another measles update. If not today, maybe tomorrow. That’s how fast the disease is now spreading.

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Yesterday at 12:58 PM CST

Geoff Robins / The Canadian Press files

A dose of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination.

Geoff Robins / The Canadian Press
                                A dose of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination.

Don’t obsess over snide last word; goodbye will do

Maureen Scurfield 4 minute read Yesterday at 2:00 AM CST

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: My girlfriend and I, who lived together until recently in her former-marriage house, fought all the way through the holidays and were coming to the bitter end. She kept bringing up her former husband, but I refused to discuss him with her. I think she wants him back.

When I told her on New Year’s Eve I’d had it with her and that I already had an apartment rented and was possession of the keys, I thought she would throw a fit. But she just said, “Sometimes things happen quickly,” and then got busy on her phone, privately.

Two hours later, she told me she wouldn’t get in my way, and said she even had a few guys who could help move me as long as I had my things packed and ready the next day and gave her money for the movers. I was insulted, but she didn’t want much cash, so I went for it.

Imagine my surprise when a moving company’s vehicle showed up and the movers had me out of there and into my new apartment in a couple of hours. It was a great deal all round, I guess. So why am I still upset?

Making manifest destiny great again

Niigaan Sinclair 4 minute read Preview

Making manifest destiny great again

Niigaan Sinclair 4 minute read Monday, Jan. 12, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March calling for the removal of “improper ideology” from national museums.

Targeting Smithsonian institutions, including the National Museum of the American Indian, the order said it is the Trump administration’s policy to “restore federal sites dedicated to history, including parks and museums, to solemn and uplifting public monuments that remind Americans of our extraordinary heritage.”

Museums in the U.S. capital, the order states, “should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history.”

Johns Hopkins University history Prof. Nathan Connolly remarked on the changes on Facebook in late December after visiting the museum.

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Monday, Jan. 12, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson / The Associated Press files)

U.S. President Donald Trump. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson / The Associated Press files)

Rave romantic review flattering but fraught

Maureen Scurfield 4 minute read Monday, Jan. 12, 2026

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: My girlfriend got drunk and told a bunch of girlfriends the juicy details of our sex life. Well, it’s backfiring on her because I’m getting lewd, supposedly humorous messages from a couple of the women present for that conversation. Apparently my kiss-and-tell sweetheart made me out to be a passionate, generous guy when it comes to sex.

It’s a nice compliment, but it’s only made things uncomfortable for me and I’m really not interested in any other women.

I’m kind of mad at my girlfriend for bragging about me as it’s turned into a very awkward “advertisement” for my abilities. What now?

— Unwanted Attention, Exchange District

Likely game over with hubby scapegoating sex toy

Maureen Scurfield 5 minute read Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: : I just about leapt out of my skin recently. My husband came into the living room holding my personal pleasure toy, yelling, “Say hello to your little buddy!”

Then he tossed it at me, and walked out of the house, slamming the door behind him.

I was so embarrassed. But hey, a woman needs some extra excitement too. I’ve tried everything to spice up our 25-year marriage. For instance, I’ve tried to introduce friends’ suggestions for sex toys into our mutual love life, but I was shot down every time.

At this point, we haven’t had sex for six months. After too long feeling unsatisfied, I purchased a sex toy just for myself. Now, I get the pleasure I deserve, even if it’s from a little machine.

Better confidence, greater returns?

Joel Schlesinger 5 minute read Preview

Better confidence, greater returns?

Joel Schlesinger 5 minute read Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026

It may be 2026, but a new survey suggests a gender gap when it comes to investing.

“Women are a little more than half the population and they’ve made a lot of economic progress over past decades, but there still is a persistent wealth gap,” says Dorothy Sanford, chair of the investor advisor panel for the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization.

The national regulator for investment advisers and brokerages released the findings of an inaugural report on gender differences, finding women are less likely to invest than men and, most revealing, in Sanford’s view, are less confident about investing.

“One of the key messages coming out of all this is women’s lack of confidence,” she says about the survey of 3,000 Canadians, including 2,000 women.

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Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026

Freepik

Happy woman holding coins and banknotes in hands. Cartoon female person on pink background flat vector illustration. Money, wealth, finance for banner, website design or landing web page.

Freepik
                                Happy woman holding coins and banknotes in hands. Cartoon female person on pink background flat vector illustration. Money, wealth, finance for banner, website design or landing web page.

Lower your budget, not your expectations

Ben Sigurdson 6 minute read Preview

Lower your budget, not your expectations

Ben Sigurdson 6 minute read Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026

January can be a tough time of year financially.

Maybe, despite your best budgeting, you spent a little too much on gifts. Perhaps you hosted a big holiday dinner and sprung for a not-inexpensive 11-kilogram turkey and all the trimmings. Or could it be that one of your cats developed a mystery ailment, and had to undergo tests and stay for a number of days at the emergency veterinarian, setting you back thousands of dollars?

Yes, I experienced all of the above over the last month (and said cat is at home now, hopefully on the mend).

Suffice to say, the purse strings round these parts were quite loose over the holidays and have since been tightened to the point of strangulation. So the focus when it comes to drinks has been the best bottles (and cans) for a frugal budget.

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Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026

Freepik

Shopping for wine

Freepik
                                Shopping for wine

2026 crop production cost estimates add to Canadian farm challenges

Laura Rance 4 minute read Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026

It’s a good thing crop farming takes place on the land, not paper. Because on paper, growing crops in Manitoba will be a bit of a bust this year when it comes to operating a successful business.

The 2026 crop production cost estimates published by Manitoba Agriculture point to“stubbornly high input costs” as a key barrier to profitability.

Marginal returns over total costs, or net profit, are projected to be largely negative from any crops shown in these calculations, provincial farm management specialist Darren Bond said in an online presentation outlining the highlights — or rather lowlights — of the 2026 budgets.

Only one out of 16 commonly grown crops in the province showed a profit for 2026 when provincial number-crunchers put fixed costs such as land, operating costs such as fertilizer and fuel, and labour against average yields and price estimates. And even that one is paltry.

Returning to routine: restarting your workday mindset

Tory McNally 6 minute read Preview

Returning to routine: restarting your workday mindset

Tory McNally 6 minute read Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026

Coming back to work after time off can feel harder than you expect. Even when the break was good, restorative or long overdue, that first day back can arrive with a knot in your stomach.

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Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026

Freepik

More focus. More clarity. Less chaos. Less rushing. Use your routines to support those goals rather than fight against them.

Freepik
                                More focus. More clarity. Less chaos. Less rushing. Use your routines to support those goals rather than fight against them.

Snoozy flameout a good thing in long run

Maureen Scurfield 3 minute read Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: I’m a loving lesbian woman who is a bit shy. After an expensive dinner out (my treat for my new girlfriend’s birthday) she drove me to her place where she had her favourite romance scene partly set up. She had told me about it over dinner, and it involved far too many lit candles for my big fear of fire. I’m not much of an actor and I’m scared stiff of getting burned.

I somehow managed to fall asleep while she was getting everything ready to go and she had to wake me up. I had totally lost my nerve by then. I freaked and grabbed my jacket and went outside in the cold to book a ride home. I didn’t want her driving me. What chance do I have with her now?

— Lonely, Westwood

Dear Lonely: You’re not a performative-type lovemaker and definitely need someone who is more natural — not to mention safety-conscious.

Anticipation TV: In celebration of waiting together for the next episode

Jen Zoratti 5 minute read Preview

Anticipation TV: In celebration of waiting together for the next episode

Jen Zoratti 5 minute read Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026

Remember “Must-See TV”?

For decades, this was how the Thursday-night lineup on NBC was marketed as that was when all the network’s most popular sitcoms aired. Seinfeld, Friends, Frasier, Mad About You, Cheers and Wings were part of the original ’90s Must-See TV lineup, a tradition that was carried on through the 2000s-10s with shows such as Parks & Recreation, The Office, Community and 30 Rock. The two-hour comedy block was followed by a prestige drama at 9 p.m., before the news.

At the risk of sounding like a Things Were Better Back When scold, this really was a golden age for viewers. It was a scheduled time to catch up on your stories, but it also functioned as a community builder. All the new episodes from the night before were discussed and debated and quoted around watercoolers at the office or desks in the classroom on Friday morning, and if you missed them or had them waiting on a VHS tape or something, well, sucked to be you. This was Appointment Television. Best be on time.

The Pitt, the hit HBO Max medical drama which began its second season on Thursday night, feels like a welcome return to Appointment Television. For one, it shares a lot of DNA with ER, the other John Wells-produced medical drama which, for 15 seasons, dominated Must-See TV’s drama slot. We can literally once again watch Noah Wyle play a doctor on Thursdays at 9 p.m.

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Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026

Bell Media

Noah Wyle (centre, back) stars as Dr. Michael (Robby) Robinavitch in The Pitt.

Bell Media
                                Noah Wyle (centre, back) stars as Dr. Michael (Robby) Robinavitch in The Pitt.

Staying silent about hate is really choosing a side

Tom Brodbeck 5 minute read Preview

Staying silent about hate is really choosing a side

Tom Brodbeck 5 minute read Friday, Jan. 9, 2026

There was a time when a swastika spray-painted on a building in Winnipeg would have been shocking in its rarity. Now it’s shocking in its familiarity.

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Friday, Jan. 9, 2026

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS

The Habibiz Café, at 1373 Portage Ave., was vandalized early Sunday morning.

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS
                                The Habibiz Cafe, at 1373 Portage Ave., was vandalized early Sunday morning.

More and more parking spaces amid empty promises

Rebecca Chambers 4 minute read Preview

More and more parking spaces amid empty promises

Rebecca Chambers 4 minute read Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026

The history of Great West Life/Canada Life in West Broadway is one of ceaseless unneighbourliness and willful ignorance to the needs of the community in which they conduct their business.

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Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026

The Winnipeg Amphitheatre, built in 1909, stood where the large surface parking lots are today behind the Canada Life office buildings on Osborne Street.. (Martin Berman Postcard Collection)

The Winnipeg Amphitheatre, built in 1909, stood where the large surface parking lots are today behind the Canada Life office buildings on Osborne Street.. (Martin Berman Postcard Collection)

Why tinker with tacit two-timing entente?

Maureen Scurfield 3 minute read Friday, Jan. 9, 2026

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: My wife has been having an affair and it’s been so poorly executed that I actually know the guy’s addresses — both home and work. I have been checking him out recently, and I just found out how much money he earns.

Here’s my problem: I would expose him to his spouse, but he diverts my wife away from nastier ways of getting me back for my little extramarital adventures.

My wife is not the sharpest tool in the shed. She’s just very good-looking in some obvious ways and looks after our kids very well.

So what should I do?

Zero tolerance during parking bans would deliver the message

Tom Brodbeck 5 minute read Preview

Zero tolerance during parking bans would deliver the message

Tom Brodbeck 5 minute read Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026

Every winter the city pleads, it advertises, it tweets. It posts billboards. It runs television and radio ads. And every winter, a stubborn minority of motorists shrugs and leaves vehicles parked on streets during residential parking bans after major snowfalls.

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Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026

This problem is entirely avoidable if the city would only get serious about properly enforcing parking bans. (Wayne Glowacki / Free Press files)

This problem is entirely avoidable if the city would only get serious about properly enforcing parking bans. (Wayne Glowacki / Free Press files)

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