US to investigate Texas fatal crash that may have involved Ford partially automated driving system

Psychological drama pairs parables to ask big questions

The Bloody Theatre is an apt title for playwright Steven Ratzlaff’s latest work, a twisty parable of faith, fortune and consequence that required the crew to familiarize themselves with several tools of torture.

Some of those implements have been Frankensteined together by sound designer and musician Jesse Krause, including a “torture cello,” whose warping wails serve as a sonic stand-in for creaking floorboards, swinging doors and instances of suffering that director Bill Kerr knew would be too visceral to be shown onstage.

The Bloody Theatre isn’t necessarily a Halloween story, but with its blend of religious parable, historical martyrdom and psychological drama, it fits right into spooky season.

Produced by local collective Untimely Theatre, Ratzlaff’s script examines principles of communal responsibility, juxtaposing the present-day journey of an unhoused — by choice — Winnipeg woman named Heidi (Sarah Constible) with a verbatim staging of Martyr’s Mirror of the Defenseless Christians, a 17th-century Dutch text that includes heresy trial transcripts detailing the suppression of Anabaptist beliefs under Lutheran, reform or Catholic majorities in Europe.

In a smart-device world, some families keep phone jacked into the wall

When the phone rings in Kristin Shiach and Jordan Sobkowicz’s Riverview home, their three daughters race to see who can be the first to answer.

“It depends who is closest,” says 13-year-old Emily. “If I’m sitting in my room, I can get to it quickest.”

“That’s because it’s always in your room,” Anna, 10, replies. “You never put it back!”

“Usually, when the phone rings,” explains Sobkowicz, “someone yells really loudly —”

Winnipeg Book Festival starts a new chapter

Once known as Thin Air, the 2026 Winnipeg Book Festival marks a new chapter heading into its 29th year celebrating fiction, non-fiction and poetry with a new name, new staff and a shorter, more streamlined fest based at The Forks.

Thursday kicks off with a festival blessing and two events with Indigenous authors. Story Lodge (noon to 2 p.m.) features two videos from the new series by Rosanna Deerchild and Kim Wheeler profiling Indigenous authors working in a range of genres. From 3 to 4 p.m., a quartet of children’s authors will discuss the importance of storytelling and Indigenous languages and culture. The Love Local event on Thursday at 6 p.m., brings together a trio of Winnipeg authors — C.C. Benison, Philipp Schott and Margaret Sweatman — all working in different genres.

On Friday at noon, Niigaan Sinclair, Noé Préfontaine and Anna Dewar will discuss author Elaine Dewar’s posthumously released Oblivious, which explores the dark legacy of Canada’s residential schools and segregated hospitals. That event will be followed at 1:30 p.m. by a panel including Samantha Beiko, Ericka Fiddler and Kirsten Wurmann talking about a forthcoming graphic novel from the Prison Libraries Committee.

Aspiring writers will want to attend the 7x7 event Friday at 3 p.m., featuring seven speakers (including author Zilla Jones, publisher Kyla Neufeld and Chris Hall of McNally Robinson) each offering seven-minute presentations about writing and publishing. Both Saturday and Sunday kick off with river walks with writers at 10 a.m.

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.

Winnipeg’s challenge: preparing for weather extremes

A new United Nations report warns the world will exceed the 1.5 C Paris limit by 2030.

Winnipeg’s string of extreme weather events in recent years — this summer’s intense rainstorms that caused flash flooding, basement damage, power outages, prolonged heat waves, last summer’s wildfires, and the freakish October 2019 wet snowstorm — underscores the urgent need for stronger emergency plans and climate resilience in the face of the UN’s new report.

As the city enters an unknown era from increwasing extreme weather events, it must also confront this haunting truth or face future unprepared consequences.

Winnipeg faces persistent challenges, including limited library hours during the summer (they could act as cooling places for the most vulnerable), and gaps in public and active transportation which make it harder for many residents to reach essential services.

What does the PC stand for in party’s name? Seems to be Pretty Confused

It should have been obvious from the beginning that the Manitoba Progressive Conservative party was going to have trouble holding itself together under Obby Khan.