Province relents by extending deadline on city’s $3-B sewer plant to 2032

The Manitoba government will grant the city’s request to move the deadline for the three-phase, nearly $3.1-billion North End sewage treatment plant upgrade to 2032 from 2030.

The Forecheck: ‘Super excited to bring it home’

It’s been a long time coming, but Winnipeg will finally get its first look at live women’s pro hockey.

“I’m so excited to play in Winnipeg,” said Ottawa Charge defender and Ste. Anne product Jocelyne Larcoque last Friday in a virtual presser.

“We did (played in Winnipeg) in 2018 with the national team, and this is the first time as a professional athlete in the league that a lot of my friends and family are gonna be able to watch me play live.”

Fellow Manitoban, Winnipegger and Montreal Victoire defender Kati Tabin agreed.

For vintage sewing-machine aficionado, it’s all about seeing them stitch again

Dave Johnson, a semi-retired snowplow operator who also worked as a homebuilder, collects, repairs and uses vintage sewing machines.

Free Press journalists recognized among country’s best

The Free Press has been nominated for five National Newspaper Awards.

The newspaper’s coverage of the mass stabbing in Hollow Water First Nation that killed one and injured seven was nominated in the breaking news category, led by reporters Scott Billeck, Nicole Buffie and Chris Kitching, as well as photographers Mikaela MacKenzie and Mike Deal. A Mountie was also injured when the 26-year-old suspect crashed his vehicle into an RCMP cruiser north of Powerview-Pine Falls in the September incident.

Investigative reporter Marsha McLeod was nominated in two categories. She was nominated in the explanatory category for her work on the origins of the second-generation cutoff in Canada’s Indian Act. She was also nominated in the long feature category for her investigation into the RCMP’s fatal shooting of 18-year-old Conor Rae and the probe by the province’s police oversight agency.

Ben Waldman is nominated in the arts and entertainment category for his feature on comic book superhero Captain Canuck, the creation of a Winnipeg illustrator/writer 50 years ago, finding new audiences and relevance today.

Minister promises $14M more for corrections after union complains about overcrowding

Manitoba’s justice minister has promised more resources after the union for corrections officers said Friday inmate overcrowding and chronic short staffing is putting lives at risk.

“Help’s on the way, our government has focused on hiring up as many new corrections officers as we can and we want to continue to build on that work,” Matt Wiebe told reporters.

Wiebe revealed the province will spend an additional $14 million on corrections in the 2026-27 budget, which is to be unveiled next week.

On Friday, the union released the results of a survey of corrections officers and other jail staff that suggests there’s widespread discontent and concern about inmate overcrowding and short staffing.

Finance minister’s budget preview focuses on little feet

Manitoba’s finance minister — who had bags of children’s shoes in tow — announced Friday that families and affordability measures would feature prominently in Tuesday’s budget.

Adrien Sala went to Linwood Child Centre, his children’s former daycare, to announce that 2,000 childcare spaces would open within the province.

Tuesday’s budget will also include a 2.9 per cent increase to wages paid to early childhood educators as of September.

“We’re looking to make sure that we invest in you guys, our next generation,” Sala said, steps from children at Linwood.

‘A life-or-death program’: non-profit’s successful at-risk youth training awaits Ottawa funding decision

An inner-city non-profit that helps at-risk youth in Winnipeg has warned it will be forced to end an employment and training program March 31 unless government funding comes through.

A year of federal funding is set to run out for Resource Assistance for Youth’s Level Up! program, which has educated and secured work experience for more than 350 young people since 2020.

“We’re in that moment where no level of government has said, ‘We want to continue to support this going forward,’” said Kate Sjoberg, RaY’s executive director.

The paid training program involves six weeks of in-class learning and 12 weeks of work experience with a local employer. Participants also receive housing and mental-health and other supports.

‘Wake up people’: mom says proposed drunk-driving law falls short

The mother of a designated driver who was killed by an impaired driver says proposed legislation to prohibit school bus and semi drivers from having booze in their system doesn’t go far enough.

“Wake up people, it should be zero for everybody,” said Karen Reimer, whose daughter Jordyn Reimer, 24, was killed in 2022 after being hit by a pickup travelling at 108 kilometres an hour on a residential street in Transcona.

Under Bill 31 (The Highway Traffic Amendment Act), drivers of class 1 to 4 vehicles — including semi-truck and bus operators — would not be allowed to have any alcohol in their blood.

Reimer told a legislative committee Wednesday laws aren’t moving the needle when it comes to impaired driving deaths and injuries. The province had 13 impaired driving fatalities in 2025, the same number that it had a decade ago. Last year, there were 62 serious injuries, an increase from 60 in 2015, as reported by Manitoba Public Insurance.

Karlee Burgess brings the power and the party to Kerri Einarson’s curling team

CALGARY - Her teammates say she's either the life of the party or fast asleep.

Karlee Burgess has been a workhorse on the broom given the volume of draws she's dragged into the rings at the women's world curling championship in Calgary.

Canada's lead also brought enthusiastic rookie energy to her world championship debut, which her teammates have fed upon.

"She sweeps hard and keeps us laughing out there," said Canada's second Shannon Birchard.

Province still working on Crown corporation legislation to get Port of Churchill expansion going, Kinew says

Legislation needed to begin the work of turning the Port of Churchill into a national export hub with the potential to transform Manitoba’s economy is still being hammered out, says Premier Wab Kinew.

The act, to create the Manitoba Crown-Indigenous Corp., is still being written, which meant it was not among the more than 40 bills introduced by the NDP before Wednesday’s deadline for passage before the legislative session’s summer recess.

The government promised the legislation in November’s throne speech.

“The corporation has been set up,” the premier said Thursday at an unrelated event.

’Where’s the party?’: disgraced ex-WPS officer gave traffic checkstop info to civilian

Elston Bostock was just four days away from being arrested when, on Nov. 2, 2024, the now-imprisoned former Winnipeg Police Service constable texted another officer to find out if there were any traffic checkstops that night.

The other officer confirmed there were no checkstops scheduled, after which Bostock messaged a “non-police officer” with the news, according to search warrant documents filed one day after Bostock’s Nov. 6 arrest.

“No checkstops all night sir…. Coast is clear,” Bostock told the man, not knowing his communications were being monitored by investigators with the WPS professional standards unit.

The man told Bostock he wasn’t drinking that night, but, “Thanks, great to know.”