Winnipeg Free Press – Breaking News, Sports, Manitoba, Canada

Upcoming production spotlights Winnipeg artisans

Gabrielle Piché 4 minute read Yesterday at 3:12 PM CDT

Think Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, but for Winnipeg artisans instead of U.S. eateries.

That was Amanda Buhse’s pitch to Rogers. Television executives approved.

Now Buhse, whose Coal and Canary candles have landed in Hollywood swag bags and Manitoba markets, is hitting the road with a camera.

She aims to produce an eight-episode series called Made in Winnipeg. It will air on Rogers TV this fall, by current timelines.

New

Hundreds turn out to support Winkler’s first Pride celebration

Josiah Neufeld 5 minute read Preview

Hundreds turn out to support Winkler’s first Pride celebration

Josiah Neufeld 5 minute read Yesterday at 7:13 PM CDT

On Saturday morning, the day of Winkler’s first Pride celebration, Erika Enns Rodine, a Mennonite pastor wearing a white T-shirt with a rainbow-coloured dove on it, prayed.

She prayed “for all the queer, trans, and intersex children and youth across the globe. For the ones who are struggling with feelings of isolation and shame. For those who have no safe place or people to retreat to. For those who must be teachers to the adults in their lives. For those who are unsafe in their communities.”

“God, hear our prayers,” answered the congregation.

The service took place at Covenant Mennonite Church, a small white, stuccoed building with a classic-looking steeple. Winkler is a religious and deeply divided town when it comes to LGBTTQ+ acceptance. Eighty-four per cent of the population identifies as Christian. Most of Winkler’s 19 churches teach that being gay is contrary to God’s design.

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Yesterday at 7:13 PM CDT

Local

Storm insurance claims could set Manitoba record

Nicole Buffie 5 minute read Preview

Storm insurance claims could set Manitoba record

Nicole Buffie 5 minute read Friday, Jun. 12, 2026

Manitoba is on pace to set a record for insurance claims related to this week’s storms.

Insurance brokers have been inundated with calls to assess and process claims for flooded basements and properties. Local insurer ONE Insurance said it has received more than 700 claims and expects to issue millions of dollars to its clients.

“It is definitely the single largest event that we’ve experienced in our organization,” said interim CEO Rey Girardin.

Residents in the RM of Rockwood, including in Stonewall and Balmoral, have submitted the most claims, he said.

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Friday, Jun. 12, 2026

Local

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES
Anita Neville, Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba.

‘We’re doing a lot’: Manitoba Lt.-Gov., proud of reconciliation work being done

Gabrielle Piché 2 minute read Preview

‘We’re doing a lot’: Manitoba Lt.-Gov., proud of reconciliation work being done

Gabrielle Piché 2 minute read Yesterday at 4:34 PM CDT

Reconciliation was a hot topic for Manitoba’s lieutenant-governor and her counterparts as they convened in Ottawa to meet Canada’s new Governor General.

Lt.-Gov. Anita Neville attended Gov. Gen. Louise Arbour’s swearing-in ceremony on Monday.

Both women represent the Crown — Neville at a provincial level, and Arbour federally.

“It was lovely to meet her,” Neville said, adding the two had met once before. “She was warm, she was welcoming.”

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Yesterday at 4:34 PM CDT

Local

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES
A recent report suggests community gardens should be recognized as more than just spaces to pursue a hobby.

Community gardens, urban farms more than hobby spaces, report authors say

Joyanne Pursaga 5 minute read Preview

Community gardens, urban farms more than hobby spaces, report authors say

Joyanne Pursaga 5 minute read Yesterday at 2:01 AM CDT

The City of Winnipeg is being urged to make several changes to keep community gardens and urban farms in place longer.

A Pro Bono Students Canada report recommends encouraging mobile gardens in raised planters that can be set up temporarily on one lot and moved as needed, adding a “no-loss” principle to ensure each community garden that shuts down on city land is replaced with a nearby alternative and changing development policies to prioritize and preserve the green spaces.

Aaia Haji Hussein, one of the report’s two authors, said it’s important that community gardens are recognized as more than just spaces to pursue a hobby.

“They’re meant to address things like food security, public health, community infrastructure…. They’re a real way that communities get their food, where they spend time with one another, where they learn things,” said Haji Hussein.

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Yesterday at 2:01 AM CDT

Local

MORBERG HOUSE
‘There was no justice for Ethan Wildcat,’ says Willis.

Despair, spelled with the letter of the law

Dean Pritchard 8 minute read Preview

Despair, spelled with the letter of the law

Dean Pritchard 8 minute read Friday, Jun. 12, 2026

The day started with an email from my editor.

“Are there any updates on Ethan Wildcat?” she wanted to know.

Good question, and one I was curious to answer, as well. It had been more than three years since Wildcat, a young first-time offender, was sentenced to three years in prison in a case that highlighted how differently Indigenous and non-Indigenous offenders in similar circumstances can be treated by the justice system.

Wildcat was 19 when he was arrested in March 2021 following a firearm incident at a Winnipeg home that resulted in no injuries.

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Friday, Jun. 12, 2026

Opinion

Beautiful sips for the beautiful game Ben Sigurdson Friday, Jun. 12, 2026
Importance of Indigenous languages outweighs any soccer tournament Niigaan Sinclair Friday, Jun. 12, 2026
Halting social media harm requires national solution Tom Brodbeck Updated: Yesterday at 8:17 AM CDT

Amateur

FIBA.BASKETBALL PHOTO

Winnipeg’s Settimo Yugu (right) celebrates with a teammate.

Winnipegger part of Canada’s historic FIBA U18 AmeriCup gold medal

Joshua Frey-Sam 6 minute read Preview

Winnipegger part of Canada’s historic FIBA U18 AmeriCup gold medal

Joshua Frey-Sam 6 minute read Yesterday at 5:49 PM CDT

Of the 12 players who made Canadian basketball history last weekend, Winnipeg’s Settimo Yugu was perhaps the most unlikely to do so.

The 17-year-old had fallen on hard times in recent months. His debut season at the Bella Vista College Preparatory School in Phoenix was interrupted due to a pair of seizures he suffered for unknown reasons — experiences that were made worse without his parents being there to turn to for comfort.

Then, one month before the FIBA U18 Men’s AmeriCup was set to begin, Yugu was released from the national team roster, leaving him to finish the rest of the school year and return home for the summer.

While waiting for a connecting flight in Chicago, however, he received a call from Team Canada head coach Charles Hantoumakos, who re-invited the 6-9 forward to join the team’s training camp a week before the tournament started.

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Yesterday at 5:49 PM CDT

Soccer

FIFA’s financial fiefdom

Despite its non-profit status, global soccer’s governing body is no team player when it comes to World Cup costs and windfall

Dan Lett 14 minute read Friday, Jun. 12, 2026

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Soccer

Canada's Cyle Larin (9) celebrates after scoring his sides first goal of the game with Promise David (24) in the second half of the World Cup Group B soccer match between Canada and Bosnia, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Toronto. ( (AP Photo/Sam Balkansky)

Canada earns first-ever World Cup point after 1-1 draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina

Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Canada earns first-ever World Cup point after 1-1 draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina

Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Friday, Jun. 12, 2026

TORONTO - In many ways, a 1-1 draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina felt like a victory for Canada on a historic day for the host side at the FIFA World Cup on Friday.

An upset loss was a real possibility for the Canadians as they couldn't convert despite many glorious opportunities. Cyle Larin finally provided relief when he scored the equalizer in the 78th minute to send the capacity crowd at Toronto Stadium into a tizzy.

It was the first Canadian goal scored on home soil in this tournament and the first point for the country in seven all-time World Cup games.

"An amazing feeling, just to score a goal at home," Larin said. "I haven't scored in a while, but I knew it was coming. I've always (come) up when Canada needed me."

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Friday, Jun. 12, 2026

Local

Teens get maximum youth sentence for fatal beating

Dean Pritchard 4 minute read Preview

Teens get maximum youth sentence for fatal beating

Dean Pritchard 4 minute read Friday, Jun. 12, 2026

Two Winnipeg teens who stabbed and beat a stranger to death during a mugging have been sentenced to seven years in custody and conditional supervision in the community — the maximum youth sentence for second-degree murder.

Steven Loonfoot, 45, died in hospital following an attack outside a Manitoba Housing complex on Qu’Appelle Avenue on Feb. 24, 2025.

“This was an intentional, senseless and violent crime on a stranger… (and) there was an element of planning involved,” said provincial court Judge Rachel Rusen.

The 17-year-old offenders cannot be named under terms of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The Free Press is identifying them by their first initials — C and M.

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Friday, Jun. 12, 2026