Dauphin’s Countryfest preparing for party ahead

Shelters overwhelmed as rising vet costs forcing some owners to surrender pets

In the fall of 2022, Tara Miller was faced with a difficult decision: keep her car or sell it to pay for a second knee surgery for her dog.

Ultimately, she needed her car to commute during the winter and decided to manage her dog Corby’s arthritis with medication and home therapy.

“Mentally it probably broke me,” said the 54-year-old.

While insurance covered two-thirds of the dog’s initial $6,000 surgery, Miller had to pay the remaining $2,000. That was on top of the $500 checkup before the surgery and the monthly $175 pet insurance premium.

Liquor authority fines True North $12K after minors with fake ID served at Jets White Out party

True North Sports and Entertainment was hit with a $12,000 fine for serving minors with fake IDs during a Winnipeg Jets White Out street party in 2025.

The company was fined by the Liquor, Gaming & Cannabis Authority of Manitoba on May 13, 2025 after liquor inspectors attended the May 9 street party and witnessed two two minors in possession of and consuming liquor. One was visibly intoxicated, according to a compliance order dated May 15, 2025.

Both minors had security-issued “18+” wristbands and were using identification that was expired and “clearly not their image.”

The compliance order, provided to the Free Press by the LGCA, said inspectors also noticed inadequate identification checking by security before issuing the wristbands, which identify the people wearing them as being of legal drinking age.

U of M exhibition brings ancient Roman Egyptian documents to life

Two thousand years ago, people in Roman Egypt wrote letters, kept receipts, made lists and dealt with the everyday bureaucracy of life. Some of those pieces of ancient life are now on display in Winnipeg.

Men accused in commercial break-in spree were wearing ankle bracelets

Two men in electric ankle bracelets who were being monitored by justice officials have been accused in a two-month spree of commercial break-ins, vehicle thefts and other property crimes.

City police have charged one of the suspects and are searching for the second.

About $140,000 worth of property, including trailers, lawn equipment, motorcycles and bicycles, was reported stolen in 13 incidents in Winnipeg and the Rural Municipality of Headingley between April 20 and June 28, the Winnipeg Police Service said.

Both suspects were wearing electronic monitoring bracelets during that time.

Dauphin’s Countryfest preparing for party ahead

DAUPHIN — The mainstage acts don’t start until tonight, but Dauphin’s Countryfest was already buzzing Thursday, as eager country fans piled into the Selo Ukraina Heritage Site near Riding Mountain National Park, where Countryfest is hosted every year.

Lines of RVs, campers and cars spilled onto the highway as wristbands and camping passes were handed out at the front gate; the rows moved slowly, but no one seemed to care.

Once inside, most of the action wasn’t happening near the two active music stages, but rather in the campground, as many groups of friends and families spent the evening setting up their spaces, preparing for the weekend ahead. Oddly, the parties could be heard more than seen: the relentless heat seemed to be keeping festival-goers in the comfort of their campers.

Opening day was blessed with near-perfect weather, though the sparsely clouded sky didn’t provide much shelter from a glaring sun that heated the area to a spicy 28 C, a temperature that lingered well into the evening hours. The sun and heat aren’t expected to last long, however, as the forecast looks much less kind for the rest of the weekend: rain is on the radar for today and Saturday.

Kuntz qualifies to join two other Winnipeggers at the Manitoba Open

The Manitoba Open will have plenty of local flavour when it tees off this week at Elmhurst.

Three Winnipeggers are in the field of 156, which primarily features PGA Tour Americas members from around the world competing in one of North America’s oldest golf tournaments, starting Thursday and running through Sunday.

Rory Neill punched his ticket earlier this summer by winning the Manitoba Amateur, which comes with an automatic berth. It’s a huge step for the 22-year-old, who is a member at Glendale.

A second sponsor’s exemption went to Ryan McMillan, who gets to play his home course. McMillan, 27, works as an assistant pro at Elmhurst in addition to being the University of Manitoba’s golf coach. He’s also a decorated amateur player, having won back-to-back provincial junior titles in 2017 and 2018. His uncle, Rob, won the Open in 1996.