The Wrap: Gas Station changes, Pollard Banknote success, Lita Fontaine exhibit and Jets summer development camp
Plus: New rules for bringing your dog into the United States

The Gas Station Arts Centre in Osborne Village is ripping up and redesigning its courtyard to put a stop to problems with drug use, violence and unsheltered people using the space as living quarters.

An accumulation of incidents and a general revitalization of the theatre — which is currently closed for renovations — along with security issues plaguing the neighbourhood in recent years prompted the demolition, the theatre’s executive director told reporter Nicole Buffie.

The theatre, which is celebrating its 40th year, plans to move its entrance to within a secure vestibule and construct permanent fencing around the courtyard.

New rules introduced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S., place stringent guidelines on the entry of dogs to the country.

Starting Aug. 1, dogs must be at least six months old, have a microchip and valid veterinary records, and paperwork must be filled out, including a form that requires a clear photo of the dog.

Some are calling for a delay to the implementation of the new rules, saying the extra boxes to check will be cumbersome for veterinarians and might cause owners to stop travelling with their dogs.

Pollard Banknote started in 1907 as Saults and Pollard, a commercial print shop.

With the heyday of commercial printing coming to an end, the company pivoted to printing instant scratch-and-win tickets in 1986.

Since then, the Winnipeg company has grown into the third largest lottery product supplier in the world — producing 15 billion tickets annually — and is now moving into the digital space.

Business reporter Aaron Epp looks at this made-in-Manitoba success story.

Winyan is the Dakota word for “woman.” It’s also the title of a major solo exhibition by local Dakota/Anishinaabe/Métis interdisciplinary artist Lita Fontaine opening Friday at WAG-Qaumajuq.

Curated by Marie-Anne Redhead, assistant curator of Indigenous and contemporary art at WAG-Qaumajuq, Lita Fontaine: Winyan serves as both a celebration and reclamation of beauty as a tool — not of oppression, but of resistance and resilience.

Arts reporter Jen Zoratti talks to Redhead and to Fontaine about her life, work — and the exhibit’s pink walls.

Alfons Freij was nine years old when he travelled with his father from their native Sweden to Winnipeg to compete in a pair of high-level youth hockey tournaments.

His team didn’t win a single game — but Freij got an up-close look at the practice facility of the Winnipeg Jets, even posing for a picture under posters of Mark Scheiefle and Jacob Trouba.

Talk about a full-circle moment. The now 18-year-old Freij re-enacted the photo this week for the Jets social media team as one of the newest members of the organization, fresh off being drafted 37th-overall by Winnipeg last Saturday in Las Vegas.

Hockey writer Mike McIntyre talks to Freij and other top prospects at the Jets’ summer development camp.