Prominent local artists awarded

Almost 250 people moved from city encampments under provincial strategy

Nearly 250 people have moved out of Winnipeg encampments under the Manitoba government’s Your Way Home strategy, which is more than 70 per cent of the NDP’s goal for its first term in office.

Soccer facility gets $750K from province for upgrades

With Winnipeg’s first professional women’s team waiting in the wings, the province is spending $750,000 to upgrade the Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex.

The funding will help replace the outdoor field pitch and lighting system to ensure it can host high-level sporting events, the province said at a press confererence Friday at the south Winnipeg facility.

Earlier this month, it was announced Winnipeg will be the seventh franchise in the Northern Super League with the as yet unnamed team co-founded by former national team player Desiree Scott and longtime coach Rob Gale.

While there has been no official announcement, it’s presumed the team will play at the complex, which currently seats about 2,000.

Body of second sibling pulled from lake

NUTIMIK LAKE — Twenty-four hours after the body of 10-year-old Maximo Au Ramirez was located in Nutimik Lake, searchers found the body of his 13-year-old brother, Aaron, who had gone into the water to rescue Maximo after he slipped in Saturday.

The announcement was made on social media by Nutimik Lodge in Whiteshell Provincial Park. “Our prayers have been answered” the post said. “Both boys have been recovered.”

Earlier Thursday, their parents said they are surviving their “unimaginable” loss only because of the overwhelming support they have received from the community.

In the afternoon, RCMP divers, the Hutterian Emergency Aquatic Response Team and civilian volunteers moved across Nutimik Lake, drones hovered above and media lined the beach as the search for Aaron continued.

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.

Prominent local artists awarded

Five Winnipeggers who have made significant contributions to the local arts scene were feted with Winnipeg Arts Council Awards at the Mayor's Luncheon for the Arts on Friday.

Leonard Sumner, an Anishinabe MC/songwriter and videographer from Little Saskatchewan First Nation in Manitoba's Interlake, took home the $2,500 RBC On the Rise Award, which recognizes an emerging professional artist in any discipline. His latest album, Rez Poetry, came out in 2013.

Aganetha Dyck, a renowned local artist who is interested in environmental issues, received the $2,500 Making a Mark Award, which applauds an established professional artist -- in any discipline -- who is receiving critical recognition in Winnipeg and beyond. Dyck has previously won the Manitoba Arts Council Award of Distinction and the Governor General's award in Visual Art.

Laurie Lam, a longtime producer with the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, was honoured with the $2,500 Investors Group Making a Difference Award, which recognizes the contribution of an artist or arts administrator to the growth and development of the arts in Winnipeg.

Men cycling across Canada for charity have bikes stolen in Winnipeg

Thomas Clark and Valentin Duquenne were devastated after their bikes went missing outside CBC Manitoba’s headquarters, but uplifted by the outpouring of support from Manitobans afterward.