Be a calming influence for son and family

Dolly Parton’s generosity sparkling example of genuine goodness

When I saw Dolly Parton perform in Winnipeg in September 2016, I tried, like many people, to take photos. She defied iPhone photography. In everyone’s snaps from the show, she would appear, always, as a column of light, confirming what we all say about Dolly Parton: she is an angel among us.

Murphy embracing leadership role with Goldeyes

A tenure with the Winnipeg Goldeyes was an offer Max Murphy couldn’t refuse.

“I think when I first started playing for the Goldeyes, I was pretty much coming right into my prime,” the 33-year-old veteran said Wednesday before first pitch at Blue Cross Park.

Asked to take a trip down memory lane, the outfielder only had good things to say about his current club, even though the Goldeyes weren’t the first American Association rodeo for the longtime Fish — playing his first three seasons with the St. Paul Saints.

The Robbinsdale, Minn., product started back in 2021 with the Goldeyes, but pinpoints his big breakout moment with the club to the 2022 season when he launched 31 home runs.

Motion seeks to remove longtime head of Southern Chiefs’ Organization due to ‘behaviour’ concerns

For the second time in a year, the leadership of Southern Chiefs’ Organization Grand Chief Jerry Daniels is being called into question.

A motion obtained by the Free Press calls “immediately” for a special summit of the 33 SCO chiefs to consider removing Daniels, who’s been at the helm since 2017.

The Aug. 17 motion, put forward by Lake Manitoba First Nation Chief Cornell McLean and Bloodvein First Nation Chief Lisa Young, cites concerns about “governance, leadership, accountability, transparency, organizational decision-making and confidence of member Nations in the current leadership of the organization.”

McLean would not provide specific examples Wednesday but said the “behaviour” of Daniels is a concern.

Thirteen accused in gun, drug trafficking network in rural Manitoba

RCMP and Winkler police have arrested more than a dozen people allegedly connected to a drug-and-gun trafficking network that operated in rural Manitoba.

The joint investigation began in December 2024, when officers from the Winkler Police Service asked the Mounties for help after learning kilograms of cocaine were being imported to a Winkler-area truck repair business, said RCMP Supt. Jeff Asmundson, who oversees the force’s Manitoba integrated law enforcement team.

Mounties and Winkler police gathered evidence for 19 months and expanded the probe, dubbed Project Dolor, as investigators learned other types of illicit substances and firearms were being trafficked by the network in a number of southern Manitoba communities, said Asmundson, whose team investigates serious and organized crime.

“It started as a cocaine trafficking investigation, and obviously, as we move along in a project or a file, evidence is gathered and an opportunity arose and we wanted to ensure public safety,” he told reporters Tuesday. “We were able to secure some firearms.”

‘Buy Canadian’ takes on new meaning

The “Buy Canadian” push has re-emerged as the federal government rolls out tariffs on $27.6 billion worth of imports from the United States.

Premier Wab Kinew led the Manitoba charge Tuesday, hours after the federal government announced the retaliatory levies that will take effect Sept. 8.

“Whether you look at it as an affordability initiative, or you look at it as a way to support our economy here, buying local always makes sense,” Kinew said at an unrelated press conference. “It makes even more sense right now.”

Mark Carney’s government has responded to new 50 per cent tariffs imposed by the United States on $27.6 billion worth of Canadian products. Trade talks between the countries broke down late Friday.