SIMPLE PLAN complicates things with fan involvement

Spacious rural garden makes smooth transition to urban space

It’s not uncommon for homeowners to dig up some of their beloved plants when they sell their home and move to another property. But relocating hundreds of prized plants from an established and spacious rural garden to a blank slate is a whole other matter.

In 2023, Sandra Gessner Eggertson and her husband decided it was time to sell their three-acre rural property near St. Andrews. They purchased a home on a quiet street in Winnipeg where Eggertson planned to make a new garden. Their rural property was listed that fall and sold immediately. Eggertson moved in December, but first, hundreds of treasured perennials, including hostas and specialty lilies and iris plants, needed to be transplanted into pots.

With the assistance of a good friend — a fellow lily and iris enthusiast — the enormous task of digging and dividing took three months. The plant divisions were loaded into a truck and transported to her friend’s farmyard, where they spent the winter in a protected location with ample snow cover.

“First we placed bales of straw in the shape of a big square to act as a catch-all for snow,” says Eggertson. “The pots were placed close together inside the square and then covered with mulch. I had very few plant losses.”

Fringe reviews #4: The next boss battle begins

1-Man No-Show, Louis Riel, Book Lovers, First Vampire, Grimm's Fairer Tales, Mother's Secret, Naked Mennonite: Genesis, Short King, Summer I Turned Sparkly, Thor's a Dick

Winnipeg Fringe Festival: 2026 show reviews

Not sure what to see at this year's Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival? All of the Free Press’s reviews will be published here.  Find a show and click to read its review.

Outreach centre rife with drug use, needles, but daycare, community members say safety concerns go unheard

Children at an Osborne Village daycare are routinely exposed to discarded needles, human feces and drug use, prompting growing safety concerns from parents, residents and business owners.

The concerns centre on Augustine Centre at River Avenue and Osborne Street, where SPLASH Child Care shares the building with Oak Table, a drop-in operated by 1JustCity that provides meals, wellness and addiction supports, along with programs that help people build skills, and secure housing and employment.

The daycare looks after 132 children, from just a few months old to age 12.

Lesley Massey, executive director of the daycare, said parents fear for their children’s safety.

Another summer of fun at Roseau River Bible Camp

The Roseau River Bible Camp was an integral part of Jessica Knelsen’s childhood, and she wants it to be a core memory for her daughters, too.

Knelsen’s eldest daughter, nine-year-old Sophia, is preparing for her third trip to Roseau River, about an hour from the United States border, and this summer’s camp couldn’t have come at a more critical time in their lives.

Last fall, Knelsen escaped an abusive four-year relationship fraught with domestic violence. Short on the necessary funds to afford an apartment, she spent three months surfing the couches of family members and close friends with her youngest, three-year-old Kacey Glowacki, while she relied on her former in-laws to help with Sophia.

It was nothing short of a blessing when Knelsen finally found an apartment that she and her daughters could settle into in December. However, now a single mother of two, financial restraints became a barrier to sending Sophia to a summer experience she’s grown fond of over the last few years.

Soccer game days treated as religious events by some

The World Cup concludes Sunday with the final match to determine the winner. It’s not a religious event, but it has religion-like elements. This includes things like pilgrimages to matches, shared songs and rituals, “saints” like Messi and Ronaldo and, for many, a deep devotion to a team.

Religion has been evident during games, too. Some players from the Christian tradition crossed themselves after scoring goals. After Germany’s win over Curaçao, players from both teams stood together on the field in a prayer circle after the final whistle. Some Muslim players performed sujood, the Islamic act of bowing down in submission and gratitude to God, after scoring, while others did dua, raising their hands in grateful prayer.

Outside of the World Cup, football has even been used as a way to explain faith. Pope Francis, an avid football fan, did that in his homilies and speeches. Football, he said, can teach Christian virtues such as community, cooperation and teamwork over individualism.

Pope Leo XIV feels the same way. “Soccer reminds us of something we must not forget,” he said before the World Cup kicked off. “Life is not a race to show off on our own, but a path we learn to walk together. Anyone who does not know how to pass the ball, even if they have talent, has not yet understood the game. Anyone who does not know how to live with and for others has not yet understood life.”