Paul Samyn

Free Press makes arts, culture coverage available free of charge; launches arts newsletter

Applause can mean many things.

It’s a way to show enjoyment and approval. At times, it can signify support. A round of applause can even be an expression of gratitude.

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 playbill meant the sound of applause that was a regular feature of our arts scene was silenced for far too long.

There were no performances, no concerts, no opening nights, no curtain calls, no red carpets. A shining part of our cultural fabric was forced to go dark.

Doctor recalls split-second decision to tackle stabber inside Seven Oaks hospital

Dr. Ken Hahlweg doesn’t think of himself as a hero, even though the snap decision he made to put himself in danger to save a life at Seven Oaks General Hospital was heroic.

Instead, Hahlweg says he was simply doing what he was trained to do during his shift at the Garden City-area hospital Wednesday when he heard an “awful wailing that didn’t even sound human.”

As Hahlweg approached the front desk near the main-entrance atrium, he saw two women fleeing as a third woman fell to the ground. But it was the sight of a man holding an eight-inch kitchen knife that triggered his own surgical strike.

“I see he is going for her, he is going for her neck,’’ Hahlweg recounted in an interview with the Free Press.

Heartfelt thanks, and here’s to a better year

The New Year’s Eve party that ushered in my 2020 seems like a lifetime ago.

A neighbourhood collection of hockey parents crowded into a basement. Finger foods and drinks. Handshakes, hugs and kisses. At the stroke of midnight, we staggered out into the cold for a fireworks show that lit up the sky.

On that night, we had no idea what was silently headed our way, how our lives would be changed, disrupted and upended in ways we could never have imagined.

Free Press launches crowd-sourced tracker for wait times at city's COVID-19 testing locations

I hate waiting in lines. And while I haven’t had to get a COVID test, I can only imagine what it’s been like for thousands of Manitobans stuck in hours-long queues before the deep nasal swab could be administered.

As our reporting has made clear in recent days, the long-promised increase in testing capacity isn’t just around the corner. So we are doing what we can to help those wondering how long it is going to take to get a test.

It would be nice if provincial officials were posting wait times at the various centres to better inform the public. But since they're not, we are filling the void.

We’ve created a COVID testing wait time tracker that will allow you to get a better sense of how much time you’ll need to set aside before you get into line.

COVID and the City: 30 journalists, 24 hours and the story of our lifetime

The threat was there for all to see. But until COVID-19 was suddenly in our midst, could we really have imagined the pain the pandemic would inflict?Lives upturned. Lives disrupted. Lives on the line. Lives lost.

In the eventful days since March 12, when the first confirmed case of coronavirus was announced in Manitoba, Winnipeg has been facing a test unlike any other in the past century.

We’ve had to retreat from family and friends to isolate at home. We’ve watched jobs being lost as the economy was placed in a coma. We’ve seen schools and streets emptied. Now that we are finally able to venture out more widely, we do so, increasingly, behind masks.

While our city will get through this pandemic, the Winnipeg that emerges will be fundamentally altered from the one we knew prior to the spread of COVID-19.

Free Press News Break app updated, now available for Android

The Free Press knows a thing or two about redesigning a newspaper. Of course, when you are in your 147th year of publishing one, you've had lots of practice rethinking how best to present journalism.

But we aren’t about to let the familiarity we have with print stop us from updating what we do with pixels to better serve our growing digital readership.

And so today, we are proud to announce the launch of News Break 2.0, a significantly updated version of our app that is available for free to all our subscribers at both the Apple Store and Google Play.

The biggest change is that our new and improved News Break is now available to those on Android devices.

Free Press e-edition experience upgraded, expanded

When I am out and about meeting Free Press readers, they tend to introduce themselves in one of two ways.

The first type is what I would call the classical print reader. They are the ones who make clear to me how much they love reading the newspaper and how they worry there will come a day when they are no longer able to hold something in their hands that leaves its mark in ink.

The second is the reader who is all in on the digital experience. They are the ones who value pixels over print as they point and click their way on smartphones, tablets and desktops.

But lately, I’ve been running into a new variant of Free Press reader, who I will best describe as an omnivore.

Readers’ Choice: You select Manitoba’s newsmaker and news story of 2018

The countdown is on to the end of 2018 and that means the Free Press is again counting on our readers to select the top stories of the year.

Over the past 12 months, our editors have made the calls, day in and day out, about the stories that deserved our top headlines. But as part of the tradition that began in 2013, the final decision goes to our readers.

And this year we are adding a new twist to that tradition. Since our mandate is to produce journalism that serves our local readership, we are going to narrow our focus to newsmakers and stories that hit closest to home. In other words, we are asking our readers to select the Manitoba Newsmaker of the Year and the Manitoba News Story of the Year.

To start the process, we've nominated five stories in each category. But you are also free to nominate stories of your own choice. As well, please make use of the space we have added to this online ballot to add a comment explaining your reasons for the stories you've selected. We will make use of a selection of our readers' comments when we unveil the winning selections as the year draws to a close.