Métis women’s struggles span generations

Indigenous theatre founder gets nod for prestigious prize

For her work as the founding artistic director of Oshkagoojin Indigenous Theatre for Youth, Winnipeg’s Nova Courchene has been named the recipient of one of Manitoba theatre’s highest honours for emerging arts leaders.

Since 2023, the Cherry Karpyshin Arts Management Prize has been given out by Prairie Theatre Exchange to early-career or aspiring arts managers. Named for PTE’s longtime general manager, for whom the company’s mainstage is also named, the Cherry Prize is accompanied by professional supports and a $2,500 cash award.

Meaning “new moon” in Anishinaabemowin, Oshkagoojin runs a variety of initiatives in Winnipeg, including the teen-focused Rising Voices, the middle years Growing Voices, and the early years Young Voices programs. Through storytelling, movement, narrative games and guided play, the Young Voices program introduces Indigenous children aged five through nine to the fundamentals of collaborative and co-operative theatre with a curriculum devised through a cultural lens.

“As I continue to grow Oshkagoojin Indigenous Theatre for Youth, I look forward to strengthening the organization’s capacity, sustainability, and national reach so that more Indigenous young people can access theatre, cultural learning, and artistic leadership opportunities in their own communities,” says Courchene in a release. “I believe that when Indigenous youth are empowered to tell their stories, entire communities benefit, and I am excited to continue building these pathways for future generations.

MMF buys long-vacant federal lab

The Manitoba Métis Federation has taken another major step in its effort to help revitalize downtown Winnipeg by acquiring the former National Research Council property on Ellice Avenue.

The federation has scheduled a news conference today to announce it has purchased the office tower, laboratory and parking lot at 435-445 Ellice Ave. The acquisition expands its downtown footprint to more than one million square feet of owned property and will eventually house about 70 per cent of its 1,300 employees.

The sale ends a years-long legal dispute between the federation and the research council. The federation had sued the federal agency after an earlier agreement to purchase the property collapsed in 2020.

“Everybody’s happy, they’re happy, we’re happy. And now we just got to start the transition of our plan,” federation president David Chartrand told the Free Press Thursday.

An evening in the emergency room

This situation needs immediate intervention. Anything less means nothing.

‘Difficult day’ as man pleads guilty to impaired driving in bride-to-be’s death near Portage

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE — Driving a stolen truck with meth in his system, James Lorne Hilton lost control on a highway near Portage la Prairie last winter and caused a crash that killed a beloved bride-to-be, court heard Thursday.

Hilton, 25, appeared in the Court of King’s Bench and pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing death and failing to remain at the scene of the Jan. 15, 2025, collision that killed 28-year-old Kellie Verwey.

“This is a difficult day,” Crown prosecutor Mike Himmelman said as the proceedings began, addressing more than a dozen of Verwey’s family, friends and supporters who gathered in court to hear Hilton admit to his crimes.

Reading from an agreed statement of facts, Himmelman described how Hilton was driving westbound on Highway 26 on the morning of the collision when he veered into the opposing lane and caused another pickup truck to lose control.

Colourful folk festival campground a hive of creative activity

The 51st annual Winnipeg Folk Festival had yet to commence, but festivities in the campground were already in full swing.

The festival campground opened early Wednesday morning and provides a temporary home to more than 6,000 residents during the four-day music festival at Birds Hill Provincial Park.

By Thursday afternoon, the area had been transformed into a sea of colourful tents and trailers. A steady stream of campers could be seen hauling wagons from the parking lot loaded with essentials: coolers and tarps, sleeping bags and sunscreen.

Others brought a little more than the basics.

Cross-Canada tour back on track for cyclist whose bike was stolen in Winnipeg

A man whose cycling trip across Canada came to a halt in Winnipeg — when his bike was stolen — can resume his bucket-list journey after help from local cyclists.

Fergus Watt, 69, has always wanted to bike across the country, and now that he’s retired, he decided to start pushing pedals toward his goal. However, on Tuesday afternoon his bike — a Norco Search C-Apex-AXS, specially purchased for the trip — was stolen from outside Mountain Equipment Co-op on Portage Avenue.

“You just feel a bit gutted,” said Watt, who lives in Ottawa. “The first thing I said to myself was ‘I’m so screwed,’ but I used a different word.”

Watt said the theft was quick. He went into the store, remembered he had left his phone mounted on the bike, and went outside. However, by the time he returned, all that remained was the cut lock and his helmet. He also had his passport and phone stolen, as they were on his bike. The total cost of the theft is about $6,000. On the plus side, his clothing and camping gear are safe.