Debbie Patterson named PTE artistic associate

Kinew, NDP rise to new heights in Free Press-Abacus Data poll; support for Khan, Tories falls further

Buoyed by a bump outside Winnipeg, support for Premier Wab Kinew’s NDP climbed to its highest level yet, while the Tories lost some ground.

Westman businesses race to clean up from deluge

Months after devastating flooding, businesses in western Manitoba are still rebuilding, with some racing against the clock to prepare for winter.

The Westman region was deluged by flash flooding in June and July, with several areas receiving between 100 and 150 millimetres of rain over a short period of time, causing chaos and forced evacuations. The recovery has been long — and costly.

Business owner Dan Grazier is tens of thousands of dollars in the hole for repairs to his shop in Swan River that flooded twice this summer.

His business, Grazier Custom Manufacturing Ltd., was inundated with floodwater in early June. He cleaned up the mess in the store’s front office and completed some renovations before a second deluge hit the community on Canada Day.

Audited public accounts show Manitoba's deficit last year half of predicted $1.67 billion

Manitoba’s audited public accounts for the last fiscal year show the province is “moving in the right direction,” NDP Finance Minister Adrien Sala said Monday.

The provincial deficit for fiscal 2025-26 was $832 million, nearly half the $1.67-billion deficit forecast in December, and in line with the $794-million estimate in Budget 2026.

“I’m particularly proud of this final result, (given the potential) implications of tariffs on our economy, the worst wildfire season in 30 years — which resulted in significant emergency expenditures — and, of course, a significant drought,” Sala said at a news conference.

The province reported revenues of $25.1 billion and expenses of $25.9 billion, resulting in the $832-million deficit. Manitoba’s net debt is $36.5 billion and costs the province $2.3 billion a year in debt-servicing charges.

Former Bombers linebacker Gauthier enjoying career as electrician

Most professional football players don’t ride off into the sunset on their own terms.

Shayne Gauthier was well aware of that, but it didn’t make it sting any less when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers informed the veteran linebacker that they weren’t bringing him back for 2026.

“I was really hoping to play one more (season) because it would have been my 10th season, so, I’d say it didn’t really end the way I wanted,” Gauthier recently told the Free Press.

“It left a little sour taste in my mouth, but that’s part of pro sports. If everybody got the ending that they wanted, then it wouldn’t really work.”

AC/DC leaves Winnipeg crowd thunderstruck

AC/DC proved once again that rock ‘n’ roll ain’t noise pollution.

A rowdy stadium of about 35,000 people at Princess Auto Stadium couldn’t agree more as the Australian rock legends made their first trip to the city since 2015 on their PWR/UP tour, cranking out two hours and 20 minutes of raw and raunchy high-voltage material, a mix of blues, crunchy power chords, melodic riffs and double entendres that spanned five decades.

Their wide-ranging appeal was apparent in the demographic makeup of the crowd, which ranged from young children to seniors, many clad in $30 glowing devil horns from the well-stocked merch booth that also offered posters, banners, beer koozies, lanyards, tour books and T-shirts.

There is no one in music quite like guitar god Angus Young. He is 71, but onstage he is ageless, a hyperactive teenager dressed in his signature blue schoolboy uniform and yellow and blue cap, running around, duck-walking and leaping in the air while cranking out riff after riff and extended solos on his trusty black Gibson SG.