WATCH: How we’re helping the next generation of news readers

I grew up reading the Free Press. Like many of my friends, I spent time after school delivering the Free Press to homes at a time when newspapers were required reading.

But the newspaper Wonder Years of my youth are not the reality for today’s kids, who might be one or even two generations removed from ever seeing a front page.

To be honest, I wonder if anything approximating journalism is part of the media diet of most Manitoba students. What they consume as they try to navigate a frighteningly fraught information landscape poses risks unlike anything imagined when I was growing up.

That’s why our new media literacy initiative matters, and why I am so excited about the role the Free Press is playing to not only strengthen knowledge, but democracy itself. That’s why I am encouraging you to spend a few minutes watching this primer on our project.

I wouldn’t be where I am today without the time spent in my formative years reading the Free Press.

And after spending 37 years in this paper’s newsroom, I can’t think of a better way to give back than by helping kids move forward in a media-literate way.

Paul Samyn, Editor

COMING UP

It’s not a Winnipeg-specific crime, but it’s one that most Winnipeggers know all too well: stolen bikes.

Writer Conrad Sweatman takes a look at the underground gig economy connected to the theft of bikes and parts and how it’s interwoven into the complex web of homelessness and drug addiction.

In Arts & Life, Conrad Sweatman profiles Lubomyr Melnyk, a former Winnipegger who is arguably the world’s fastest pianist. Melnyk returns to Winnipeg this weekend for a concert featuring his “continuous technique,” which sees him play as quickly as 19 notes per second in each hand.

Classical pianist Lubomyr Melnyk performs Nov. 30 at First Presbyterian Church. (Mike Deal / Free Press)

As the Olympic curling trial playoffs heat up, Taylor Allen is on the ground in Halifax following the bevy of Manitoba curling teams as they make their bid to represent Canada at the Milan-Cortina Games.

ONE GREAT PHOTO

Siblings William and Brooklyn take in the Luminous light display that opened at The Leaf last weekend. The display, which runs until Jan. 11, features colourfully lit trees and seasonal plants. (John Woods / Free Press)

BREAKING NEWS

Tyler Searle:

Death of patient being treated for swollen hand sparks critical incident review

Her daughter, a nurse, says 30-hour ordeal to get help shows system is broken Read More

Malak Abas:

Electronic system adopted by Winnipeg police to cut down on ticket fixing

Rollout in works for some time; revealed weeks after guilty plea by officer who voided tickets for gifts Read More

Sarah Ritchie and Nick Murray, The Canadian Press:

Carney says he expects to see Trump at World Cup event next week in Washington

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Mark Carney expects to speak with the U.S. president at a World Cup event in Washington next week, but he’s cautioning Canadians not to read too much into the conve... Read More

WELL-READ STORIES THIS WEEK

Joyanne Pursaga:

Big Mac on wheels

Canada’s first drive-thru-only McDonald’s proposed for Winnipeg Read More

Scott Billeck and Chris Kitching:

Man charged in arson spree worked at two of the businesses targeted

A man accused of setting more than a dozen fires downtown and in the north part of the city has personal connections to at least two of the businesses that were targeted. Read More

Mike McIntyre:

Back up plan good for Comrie

Winnipeg Jets goalie won’t be making many changes as he takes over top role Read More

Kevin Rollason:

Second silica sand mine proposed for southern Manitoba

A second company has its sights on mining silica sand in southern Manitoba — this time, near La Salle. Read More

Taylor Allen:

Valour FC closing its doors

After seven seasons, city’s pro soccer team is ceasing operations Read More

Maggie Macintosh:

U of W hunts for new leader after president removed

Faculty association president shocked to learn of sudden departure Read More

DEEP DIVES

Brent Bellamy:

Shinny innovators

Winnipeg long at the forefront of modernizing hockey, both on and off the ice Read More

Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe:

Jets mailbag: Ironing out the crease, the defensive corps and new additions on readers’ minds

There are plenty of questions surrounding the state of the Winnipeg Jets, a quarter into their season. Free Press hockey writers Ken Wiebe and Mike McIntyre have the answers in the latest edition of our monthly Jets mailbag. Read More

NEWS YOU CAN USE

Free Press staff:

City plows ahead with naming contest

The City of Winnipeg is inviting people of all ages to submit names for 12 heavy machines, and a team of pathway plows, used to clear snow. Read More

Carol Sanders:

Tory bill would give cottage owners right to vote in school board elections

A private member’s bill proposed by a Progressive Conservative MLA would enable non-resident property owners to vote in school board elections. Read More

Daniel Johnson, The Canadian Press:

Consumers facing new scam threats this holiday season: BMO’s financial crimes head

The list of newer scams includes AI-powered fraud, where scammers create fake retailer websites, along with phishing emails or deepfake videos to impersonate brands or influencers. Read More

Joel Schlesinger:

Grandparents can make lasting impact for disabled grandchildren by contributing to RDSP

Imagine a gift this holiday season that could one day be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. And it would all start with the impetus to contribute to a little-known registered savings plan. Read More

Eva Wasney:

Puddin’ it out there

Family favourite sweet treats require minimal effort Read More

OPINIONS: COLUMNS AND ANALYSIS

Niigaan Sinclair:

The inconvenient truth: Thomas King’s admission he isn’t Cherokee hits hard

Intentionally or not, the real-life consequences of King’s story is that his inability to find out the truth of his own identity, which apparently wasn’t hard for others, meant Canadians were duped, Indigenous peoples were marginalized, and all of us are left to ask a lot of questions. Read More

Dan Lett:

Churchill’s future has looked bright in the past, then politics dimmed the lights

The future of the often-troubled and chronically overlooked Port of Churchill and Hudson Bay railway looks exceedingly bright. Read More

Tom Brodbeck:

Winnipeg’s police behind the times when it comes to body-worn cameras

If there were any doubt about the effectiveness of body-worn cameras for police officers, the tragic fatal shooting last week on Sagkeeng First Nation should put that debate to rest. Read More

Mel Marginet:

Finding a better option than bigger roads

When facing complex problems, governments often reach for the simplest and most familiar solutions. In Winnipeg, that tendency shows up in how we plan for growth of our transportation network. Read More