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Today’s must-read
The number of suspected drug-related deaths in Manitoba in the first half of 2025 was the lowest mid-year total since 2021, bringing cautious optimism while the province continues to grapple with a crisis.
Manitoba recorded 203 suspected overdose deaths between Jan. 1 and June 30, down from 307 during the same period in 2024, according to preliminary data from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
“It’s still high. I was told when we see a decrease like that, it’s a moment in time and it’s not a trend yet,” said Joseph Fourre, an activist whose 31-year-old son, Harlan, died after taking a drug laced with fentanyl, an extremely potent opioid, in 2023. Chris Kitching has the story.
The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service administered naloxone for 1,904 suspected opioid overdoses in the first quarter of this year. (Mike Deal / Free Press files)
On the bright side
For Blayne and Tara Wyton, updating their company’s Morden headquarters was an opportunity to establish a head office for a Canadian charity that’s close to their hearts.
This past summer, the Wytons renovated Prairie Barnwood Ltd., which produces handcrafted shelves, mantles and ceiling beams.
At the same time, they added an office for Hope Renews Inc., a charity that operates on the Greek island of Lesbos. Founded by the Wytons’ friends, Jonathan and Tracey Heppner, Hope Renews assists refugees who have fled to the Mediterranean island by providing them with food and teaching them sustainable farming practices. Aaron Epp has more here.
Prairie Barnwood founder and Hope Renews vice-president Blayne Wyton (left), Morden-Winkler MLA Carrie Hiebert (centre) and Hope Renews founder and president Jonathan Heppner, pictured in September at the grand opening of the Hope Renews office in Morden. (Supplied)
On this date
On Nov. 3, 1926: The Manitoba Free Press reported Britain said a new European pact akin to the Locarno agreements had priority over any negotiations concerning the Mediterranean, in repsonse to a speech made by Italian premier Benito Mussolini. In Ottawa, authority regarding travel by land, sea and air was amalgmated in the new federal ministry of transport. U.S. voters would go to the polls to determine whether to return Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt to the White House or to elect Republican challenger Alfred Mossman Landon as president. Read the rest of this day’s paper here. Search our archives for more here.
Today’s front page
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