Rap megastar Kendrick Lamar will headline the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show

Is a better Winnipeg on the horizon?

Four Free Press columnists weigh in on the challenges ahead and how the city can become better.

Saviour of the slopes

It’s not yet winter but that hasn’t stopped Lori Natuik from preparing for when snow hits the ground.

Winter is her favourite season and she’s ready to strap on her skis, not only for pleasure but also as part of her duties as a Canadian Ski Patrol (CSP) volunteer.

Natuik, 69, is one of more than 4,500 CSP volunteers across the country.

CSP volunteers are often the first responders when skiiers get into difficulty on the slopes. The non-profit organization was established in 1941 to provide advanced first aid services for more than 200 alpine and Nordic ski areas nationally. In the off-season volunteers provide services at non-skiing events such as marathons, bike races, fundraising events, sporting tournaments and concerts.

Wab Kinew as ‘communicator in chief’

Premier Wab Kinew and his party have been riding high in the polls longer than normal for a government one year or less away from its first re-election contest. One reason is his ubiquitous, dominating communications presence as NDP leader and premier.

The argument here is that Kinew has supplemented his prerogatives as premier and party leader (such as appointing cabinet ministers and approving party nominations) with the skilful use of communications to advance his policy agenda, boost his personal popularity and maintain the competitive advantage of his party over the opposition Progressive Conservatives.

Communications has always been a significant part of politics and policy making. However, in the contemporary political and media environments, communications considerations have moved from the background to the foreground of decision-making by political parties, including when they are performing in the role of government. Campaigning and governing now overlap in what has been described as a permanent election campaign.

Political parties use communications strategies for several purposes: to establish an image of the leader which makes a positive emotional connection with voters; to promote a coherent message and to keep party members on message; and to gain favourable media coverage for its policies and other actions on almost a daily basis.

Rap megastar Kendrick Lamar will headline the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kendrick Lamar will pop out on the NFL's biggest stage next year: The Grammy winner will headline the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show in New Orleans.

The NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced Sunday that Lamar would lead the halftime festivities from the Caesars Superdome on Feb. 9. The rap megastar, who has won 17 Grammys, said he’s looking forward to bringing hip-hop to the NFL's championship game, where he performed as a guest artist with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent and Eminem in 2022.

“Rap music is still the most impactful genre to date," Lamar said in a statement. "And I’ll be there to remind the world why. They got the right one.”

Lamar, 37, has experienced massive success since his debut album “good kid, m.A.A.d city” in 2012. Since then, he's accumulated 17 Grammy wins and became the first non-classical, non-jazz musician to win a Pulitzer Prize for his 2017 album “DAMN.”

Bombers let another one slip away and face pivotal issue

Mike O’Shea summed it up best.

“That one doesn’t feel very good.”

Nor should it.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers started out hot Friday night, only to run out of gas down the stretch and allow the visiting Toronto Argonauts to steal a 30-28 victory.