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Order of Manitoba awarded to 12 high-achievers

It was a full circle moment for a CFL superstar whose game included giving back.

Former Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back Andrew Harris was one of 12 Order of Manitoba recipients honoured at the Manitoba legislature on Thursday.

“It’s an indescribable feeling,” Harris said after the ceremony while holding one of his sons in his arms.

Harris joined Juno award-winning artist Chantal Kreviazuk, Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Joss Reimer, former premier Brian Pallister and others who have enriched the province, said Lt.-Gov. Anita Neville as she honoured the recipients.

Hydro’s planned outages turn out the lights for thousands across province

Business owners in the East Beaches area of Lake Winnipeg hauled out generators Wednesday after a planned Manitoba Hydro outage left thousands of residents and cottagers without power.

Lise Bourassa, who runs several stores in Grand Beach, had to rent generators to accommodate the eight-hour blackout, which affected the area from Beaconia to Victoria Beach as well as Sagkeeng First Nation, while Hydro crews fixed a pole that was damaged by fire in May .

Despite the spare power source, she was only able to open one of her stores during the outage and said it came at a bad time.

“I understand the importance of what Manitoba Hydro is doing, the problem all the businesses in this area are having is that our season is very short and to be shut down for a full day has a fairly big impact, plus they added cost of getting generators,” she wrote in a message to the Free Press. “We also had less than one week to make arrangements, find electricians and generators to be able to keep all the food safe.”

Winnipeg Fringe Festival: 2026 show reviews

Not sure what to see at this year's Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival? All of the Free Press’s reviews will be published here.  Find a show and click to read its review.

Suspect sought, four charged in catalytic converter thefts

The Winnipeg Police Service property crime unit jumped into action after 13 incidents of catalytic converter thefts in six weeks this spring.

Sgt. Randy Lofto and fellow officers in the property crime unit launched a probe that culminated in the arrests of four suspects last month.

On Friday, investigators said they need the public’s help to track down a fifth man — 43-year-old Jay Heckert — who is believed to be hiding in Manitoba.

“When we put names out to the public, we get a lot of tips and we get a lot of information from that,” Lofto said. Police issued a news release bearing Heckert’s photo and information about the incidents.

No more trashing paper coffee cups

Mahalia Lepage and Joshua Bassman know their way around a recycling bin.

They try to take reusable cups when they go to their local coffee shop, and even volunteered with Folk Fest’s “enviro crew” last weekend. A large part of that job, they said, was informing guests about which items were recyclable.

The one item that stood out was paper coffee cups.

They weren’t considered recyclable until Wednesday — when Winnipeg recycling organizations announced paper cups can be thrown into blue bins around the province, effective immediately.

Fringe reviews #3: You have died of too much theatre

100mls Or Less, Could Kill but Creates, Cults, (Dad) Stuff, El Diablo of the Cards, D&D Improv Show, Escape Reality, The Funny Thing About Men, House of Gold, The Knights of Durathor