Our best journalism of 2024: Retail theft, artists’ estates

I’ve got a confession: I initially wasn’t very excited about tackling this project.

Truth be told, when I left the justice beat in 2016 to move into the sports department, I wanted as clean a break as possible and vowed to leave my life of crime (writing) behind.

However, editors Paul Samyn and Scott Gibbons made a convincing plea to me that, once the Jets season had wrapped up surprisingly early last spring in the form of a first-round playoff exit, I might be able to leverage some of my experience and contacts to put together a comprehensive look at a hot-button topic for all Winnipeggers – the huge spike in organized retail theft.

Both of my now-adult kids had worked in grocery stores, along with many of their friends, I had some first-hand knowledge of this issue. But as I started digging, I was rather shocked at just how bad the situation had become.

I cast a wide net, trying to cover as many key areas as possible so my features didn’t just focus on the problem itself, but also tried to offer up some solutions.

I ended up gathering so much information that we decided to make it a two-part series, one I hope has sparked plenty of discussion and debate. Judging by the responses we received, that certainly was the case.

As we’ve seen in the months that followed, retail theft has become a major focal point for law enforcement and government at all levels which I expect is going to continue.

At the end of the day, I’m glad that we were able to help shine a spotlight on the issue in a comprehensive way with the type of in-depth journalism our readers deserve and expect.

—Mike McIntyre

What happens to an artist’s unsold work after he or she dies?

Best case scenario, it finds a home in an art gallery, museum or private collection.

Worst case, it’s burned, smashed or otherwise destroyed.

Listening back to interviews for this story, I can hear the shock in my voice when I learned destruction was a very real possibility for the thousands of paintings and ceramics left behind by a pair of celebrated Manitoba artists.

It was an unceremonious reality I hadn’t previously considered, and an “aha” moment that sent me down a fascinating rabbit hole of estate planning, museum collection policies and legacy preservation.

The challenge of settling an artist’s estate came into focus while speaking with estate executors and family members — particularly while standing in Don Reichert’s former studio, with its floor-to-ceiling shelves crammed with museum-quality canvases.

This is my favourite kind of story: one that starts with a simple question and expands in all kinds of surprising directions.

—Eva Wasney