Marlins manager Don Mattingly tests positive for COVID-19

Wind and batteries the best bet

For years, Manitoba Hydro has claimed that we can’t rely on wind turbines during multi-day or even multi-week cold snaps.

What to watch as puck drops on Jets training camp

Welcome to a Winnipeg Jets training camp like no other — one where the on-ice storylines and battles threaten to be trumped by what’s happening away from the rink.

Yes, the dark cloud that is the Connor Hellebuyck situation looms over the organization as it prepares to try and turn the page on a terrible 2025-26 campaign which ended with a 26th-overall finish.

It’s not going to be easy, especially in a highly competitive Central Division and Western Conference and with such a major unresolved issue.

But the work starts now, and Free Press hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe get you set for what to expect ahead of the 84-game regular season, which begins Oct. 2.

‘A new future’: city dentist Cholakis donates $2M to school of dental hygiene

Dental hygienist training in Manitoba is getting a big boost, after a major gift from a local dentist.

On Thursday, the dental hygiene school at the University of Manitoba’s Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry unveiled a new $2-million donation from Dr. Ernest Cholakis. It’s the largest gift the program has ever received, and in honour of the funding, the school will be named the Cholakis School of Dental Hygiene.

The gift was unveiled at a ceremony Thursday morning at the U of M’s Brodie Centre in the Health Sciences Centre complex. The benefactor and other dignitaries, including Premier Wab Kinew, were in attendance, as well as the three-year program’s current students.

Cholakis, who graduated from the U of M’s dentistry school in 1982, had high praise for the dental hygiene profession.

City to use survey to determine transportation needs

The city wants to know how Winnipeggers get around.

It plans to hire a consultant to conduct a household travel survey next year to provide data deemed critical to planning roads and active transportation routes.

“This (will) help … when it comes to prioritizing road renewal investments because our city is growing, travel patterns are changing. A lot has happened in our city in 20 years. And, especially when we’re a city without freeways, I know there’s some major intersections and major corridors that need refinement,” said Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverley West), council’s public works chairwoman.

The survey will delve into everything from the number of vehicles owned by residents to where they go and how they get there, providing the city’s first such fine-tuned poll since 2007. It will involve a representative sample of households in Winnipeg and surrounding communities.

Jets suspend goaltender Hellebuyck for failure to report to training camp

WINNIPEG - The Winnipeg Jets suspended goaltender Connor Hellebuyck on Wednesday night for failing to report to training camp.

The team said general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff would address the media Thursday morning. It did not specify the length of the suspension for the U.S. Olympic star.

Hellebuyck, a three-time Vezina Trophy winner and 2025 Hart Trophy winner as NHL MVP, publicly requested a trade from the team on Aug. 27.

In a statement posted on X by his agent, Ray Petkau, Hellebuyck said he had privately requested a trade “several months ago” and that he gave the organization time to address it “quietly and respectfully.”