The Social Page: World AIDS Day

What’s open, what’s closed, what’s up in Winnipeg on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Sept. 30, 2026

The National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, or Orange Shirt Day, as it's known in Manitoba, happens Sept. 30 with many commemorative community events scheduled.

Hero fought to remember children lost at residential school

The story of the gravesites of students who attended the Brandon Indian Residential School underneath the Turtle Crossing Campground is truly a Manitoba tragedy.

Ferraro gets call-up to the Jets

Landon Ferraro vividly recalls the moment his NHL career came to an extremely painful end — Oct. 20, 2017, in downtown Winnipeg.

“My last play was a breakaway on Connor Hellebuyck,” Ferraro told the Free Press this week.

“I tried to poke the puck past the first D. It was me and (Dustin) Byfuglien chasing it down. I thought he was going to throw me across the ice, so I tried to cut in on him, and he moved. I overextended, and I literally ripped my abductor off the bone and gave myself a hernia.”

Ferraro — at the time playing forward for the visiting Minnesota Wild — said he managed to get off a weak shot that hit the Jets goaltender square in the chest. But his 77th appearance in the big leagues would be his last following previous stops with Detroit (which drafted him 32nd overall in 2009) and Boston.

Netminder no stranger to heavy workload as Jets new No. 1 readies for regular-season start

Stuart Skinner is quick to admit that he wasn’t always wired this way.

As the Winnipeg Jets new starting goalie prepares for his fifth NHL season, Skinner conceded that the accountability aspect that is now synonymous with his character took some time to build up.

“As I grew up and got older, you go through certain things in life that either build character or make things worse for you. It depends on your choice and your decision,” Skinner said during a recent conversation with the Free Press. “I learned it through trial and error. I learned that, sometimes, it’s hard to get honest with yourself… For me, it’s definitely been a road for me to get to a place like this.

“It definitely is one of my pillars. Accountability is so important because that brings you into a spot of what you’re going to do next. It’s easy to let yourself off the hook. I’m more in the business of putting myself on the hook.”

Winnipeg Rifles can still secure post-season berth despite starting season 0-4

The Winnipeg Rifles have a seat at the table, something they would’ve certainly taken a few weeks ago.

A solid three-phase performance in a 25-13 win over the Edmonton Huskies on Sunday kept the junior football club’s playoff hopes alive as the team heads into the final week of the regular season in the Prairie Football Conference.

The path to punching their ticket isn’t easy, however. The Rifles must travel to a perennially difficult environment in Saskatoon to face the Hilltops (4-3) on Sunday (1 p.m.), a contest that only matters if the Huskies beat the Edmonton Wildcats on Saturday.

But after starting the season 0-4, it’s a deal that the Rifles will happily take.