FemFest play examines poverty, features Sylvia Kuzyk

Back to school means increased costs for parents, post-secondary students

In the words of advice for students from Thornton Melon: “It’s rough out there. Move back in with your parents.”

As comedian Rodney Dangerfield’s character alluded to in the 1986 comedy Back to School, it is indeed a tough financial environment as students head back to the classroom in 2026.

A Capital One Canada survey found families are struggling with costs, with nearly six in 10 parents surveyed stating back-to-school expenses are higher than expected.

It’s not just tuition, new clothes and supplies. Extracurricular activities — like hockey, figure skating, ringette, soccer, dance, etc. — also ramp up, involving tuition-sized payments.

Art piece connects viewers to broader national landscape

WHAT IT IS: Copy Paperis a 2014 textile-based piece by Ontario-born, Winnipeg-based artist Kristin Nelson, currently on view at WAG-Qaumajuq as part of the exhibition Terra Cognita/Incognita.

Of the 125 works in the show — which uses historical and contemporary pieces from WAG-Qaumajuq’s permanent collection to explore how artists have represented the landscape over time and across cultures —probably the most attention-getting are the beautiful paintings of Canada’s lakes, plains, forests and mountains.

So, how does this seemingly modest, somewhat enigmatic work connect to Terra Cognita/Incognita’s larger themes?

WHAT IT’S ABOUT: In the middle of the exhibition, an antique desk holds several objects of beauty and utility, and this is where Copy Paper sneaks in, as something both “cognita and incognita,” known and unknown.

Mayoral candidate Gillingham vows building boom; Vogiatzakis, Woodstock promise improved safety

Scott Gillingham promised several new steps to help get more homes and businesses built in Winnipeg Friday, if re-elected as mayor, amid other pledges from his competition.

Discourse we’d rather avoid

We have all been there. A colleague says something that bothers us. A manager is not addressing an issue everyone can see. An employee’s behaviour is becoming increasingly difficult. A misunderstanding has taken on a life of its own. Or perhaps we simply need to have a conversation that we know is going to be uncomfortable.

Our first instinct is often to avoid it.

Honestly, that instinct is understandable. Difficult conversations can make us nervous. We worry about upsetting someone, damaging a relationship, saying the wrong thing or making a situation worse.

Sometimes we tell ourselves the problem will resolve itself. We decide to wait for a better time. We send the email instead of having the conversation. We hope if we give it a little more time, somehow it will become easier.

$8.7-million detox centre called ‘high-priced drunk tank’

The new facility to detain people in a drug psychosis for up to 72 hours is operating the way it should, the government said Friday, even though just 26 people have been held for that purpose since it opened.

“The (protective care centre) is doing what it’s meant to do: support people, meet them where they’re at, provide a caring environment,” Addictions Minister Bernadette Smith said after updated data were posted online.

The vast majority of those detained at the 20-room facility at 190 Disraeli Fwy. were recovering from alcohol intoxication, the update shows.

In total, 4,425 people were detained from the time the site opened on Dec. 2, 2025, until June 30, for an average of less than five hours.

Woman who saved child, father from Red River uncomfortable with hero label

A Winnipeg woman who’s been hailed as a hero by police for saving a father and his young child from the Red River says she doesn’t feel like one.

“I’m a mom… and I would do it again,” said Jayclyn Morrissette, who was walking with her neighbour through St. John’s Park on Aug. 24 when they spotted a young girl flailing in the nearby river. “I was meant to be there and that was supposed to happen.”

Morrissette, who spoke to the Free Press Wednesday after police released details about the rescue, said she and her neighbour began looking for the child’s parents and found them at the nearby playground searching for her.

Morrissette waved them over. The father, who she said could not swim, jumped into the river first and immediately began to sink.