Photo gallery: Indigenous folk perform Manito Ahbee Pow Wow on the third day of Manito Ahbee Festival Posted: 6:53 PM CDT Sunday, May. 19, 2024

Province accused of meddling in Dynacare contract dispute as strike deadline looms

The union for hundreds of Dynacare lab employees in Manitoba has accused the provincial government of interfering in contract talks ahead of next week’s strike deadline.

Chefs gather in St. Boniface to see whose version of jollof is best

Chef Alex Bockarie is bringing an age-old African culinary battle to Winnipeg.

On Saturday, five local chefs hailing from Senegal, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Nigeria will go head-to-head to determine who makes the best jollof — a rice dish simmered in a savoury tomato-based stew.

“Jollof rice originated from Senegal but it has spread throughout West Africa and every country has its own method of cooking it,” Bockarie says. “It’s a long-standing fight; even among the communities here in Winnipeg, everybody’s always saying that Sierra Leone’s (jollof) is the best, Ghana’s is the best, Nigeria’s is the best.

“It’s a friendly competition; friendly, but very serious too.”

Designer building following making models of everyone from celebs to ordinary Winnipeggers

Kevin Takatch was getting groceries in Los Angeles when he stumbled into an art sale celebrating 25 years of Jackass.

The Winnipeg designer behind BeLove suddenly found himself surrounded by famous faces, carrying one of his own jackets and wondering who he could get to wear it.

Then he spotted comedian Eric André, who appears as himself in the reality stunt/prank franchise, and asked him to model the jacket.

“I knew I couldn’t (wimp) out, like I did with the first celebrity I saw,” says Takatch, who declined to give his age.

Naked man dies after jolt from police Taser

A Transcona man says he was lucky to be awake early Sunday when, shortly after 4 a.m., a stranger smashed through his screen door and kicked in the front door of his home.

“It’s all I can think about, like what if I was sleeping?” said the man, whom the Free Press is not naming to protect his identity. “Being awake gave me just a couple of extra seconds to deal with him before he got his whole body in.”

He was sitting on his couch when he heard the glass shatter and saw someone trying to force his way inside.

“Glass flew in and this guy — he was a big guy — tried to climb through the screen door,” the man said. “I hopped off the couch and just remember screaming for help. Well, of course it’s four in the morning, so nobody’s going to help, right? I wasn’t thinking straight.”

Man who killed truck passenger handed new 12-year sentence

Manitoba’s highest court has given a man who shot at a passing truck and killed a 20-year-old woman a 12-year prison sentence for manslaughter.

William Ryerson Thomas Comber, now in his mid 20s, was found guilty of second-degree murder by a jury in December 2022 for the killing of Hailey Dugay on Nov. 17, 2018. Comber was later sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 12 years.

Dugay died after the truck she was travelling in was struck by gunfire late at night on a gravel road near Fraserwood, 90 kilometres north of Winnipeg.

The Court of Appeal struck down Comber’s murder conviction earlier this year and ruled he was instead guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter.

Climate groups urge mayoral candidates to go green

Winnipeg city council candidates are being urged to commit to several green initiatives, such as exploring a maximum heat bylaw for rental units.

A 10-point People’s Climate Mandate, created by the Climate Reality Project Canada, Green Action Centre, Manitoba Eco-Network and others, urges candidates in Winnipeg’s Oct. 28 election to take action to combat climate change.

“We know that climate action often fights for attention in election discourse, especially given the many other urgent immediate issues facing our city,” said Hannah Muhajarine, campaigns manager for Climate Reality Project Canada.

A call to better protect Winnipeggers from extreme heat was highlighted as among the most urgent requests. The group wants the city to explore a maximum heat bylaw, enhance funding for cooling centres and expand hours at libraries, public pools and spray pads.