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Free Press Head Start for July 25, 2025

Good morning.

Winnipeg police say they are cracking down on thefts of copper and alleged violations of a provincial law that punishes scrap metal dealers who buy stolen goods, reports Carol Sanders.

A growing number of business owners in Winnipeg’s North End are pleading for help from law enforcement, claiming they’ve been targeted in a dangerous extortion and arson campaign, writes Scott Billeck.

— Nadya Pankiw

 

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Your forecast

Sunny with a mix of sun and cloud with a 30 per cent of showers this afternoon. Wind becoming south 20 km/h this morning. High 28 C. Humidex 35. UV index 8, or very high.

What’s happening today

🏀 The Winnipeg Sea Bears host the Edmonton Stingers at 7:30 p.m. at the Canada Life Centre.

⚾ The Winnipeg Goldeyes host the Chicago Dogs at 7 p.m. at Blue Cross Park. Tonight’s game features a “Christmas in July” fireworks show.

🩰 The Royal Winnipeg Ballet performs Ballet in the Park at 7:30 p.m. at Assiniboine Park. Read Holly Harris’s review.

🎭 The Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival closes out this weekend. Still deciding on what show to see? The Free Press reviewed over 140 shows.

Today’s must-read

Indian status is the vehicle for First Nations people to access the rights and benefits to which they are entitled. And while many First Nations people see the concept of status as offensive and paternalistic, there’s also the sense that without it, the federal government could skirt the responsibilities, obligations and promises it has made to First Nations people.

As far as its significance, holding status can give a person the right to hunt and fish on their treaty lands; to reap (often minuscule) treaty payments; receive financial aid for post-secondary education; and a tax exemption for income earned on-reserve. It also provides insurance for certain health-care costs, such as counselling, dental work and medications.

Investigative journalist Marsha McLeod writes on the Indian Act’s “second-generation cut-off” and how it poses an existential threat to treaty people in Canada. Read more.

Lou Moodie has made it his mission to educate First Nations peoples on how to reclaim status. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)

Lou Moodie has made it his mission to educate First Nations peoples on how to reclaim status. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)

On the bright side

Zookeepers in Prague sometimes have to become puppeteers to save newborn birds rejected by their parents. This was the case for a lesser yellow-headed vulture chick hatched three weeks ago.

Bird keeper Antonín Vaidl said Thursday that when a dummy egg disappeared from the nest, it signaled to keepers that the parents were not ready to care for their two babies, despite doing so in 2022 and 2023.

The first-born is being kept in a box and fed using a puppet designed to mimic a parent bird, while another is expected to hatch in the next few days. The Associated Press has more here.

A lesser yellow-headed vulture that hatched three weeks ago is being fed by using a puppet that imitates a parent bird at the zoo in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday. (Petr David Josek / The Associated Press)

A lesser yellow-headed vulture that hatched three weeks ago is being fed by using a puppet that imitates a parent bird at the zoo in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday. (Petr David Josek / The Associated Press)

On this date

On July 25, 1973: The Winnipeg Free Press reported Manitoba Liberal leader Izzy Asper unofficially won the judicial recount of Wolseley constituency ballots by three votes. In Calgary, the four western premiers emerged from the first day of meetings with the prime minister on economic development opportunities having gained some concessions from the federal government, but said they were generally not getting what they had asked for. The national harbours board would spend $12.5 million over the next six years to upgrade Churchill as a port, the transport minister announced. Read the rest of this day’s paper here. Search our archives for more here.

Today’s front page

Get the full story: Read today’s e-edition of the Free Press.

 
 

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Top news

Maggie Macintosh:

Not making the grades

University professors question spike in honour students Read More

 

Erik Pindera:

Police increasing presence, operations to battle violence, property crime in Osborne Village

Osborne Village business owners and residents are optimistic the neighbourhood will see a reduction in violence after Winnipeg Police Service announced it’s going to beef up its presence in the area Read More

 

Joyanne Pursaga:

Transit scrambles to mitigate confusion, chaos for riders caused by GPS failure

Winnipeg Transit says about 18 to 24 per cent of bus location reports were incorrect at the peak of a GPS failure earlier this month, with no firm timeline for when a more permanent fix will be in place Read More

 

Dean Pritchard:

Man pleads guilty to townhouse fire that killed woman in 2024

A mentally ill Alberta man has admitted responsibility for a $5-million townhouse fire that killed a 30-year-old Winnipeg woman and displaced more than a dozen people. Read More

 
 
 

New in Sports

Joshua Frey-Sam:

Big plays costing Big Blue big time

Communication key to Bombers minimizing defensive breakdowns Read More

 

Jeff Hamilton:

Bombers announce Grey Cup Week headquarters

Centralized festival a ‘one-stop destination’ for fans Read More

 

Taylor Allen:

‘We’re hoping that we can turn the tide soon’

Valour’s losing streak continues as club looks to bounce back in battle of the CPL basement Read More

 

Zoe Pierce:

Goldeyes hang on to down Dogs

Fish hope to turn things around in time to make playoffs Read More

 

Zoe Pierce:

Best of Manitoba Baseball clashes for provincial title

First pitch goes Friday for 18U AAA tournament Read More

 
 

New in Arts and Entertainment

Holly Harris:

Planted deep in Mother Earth

RWB reprises Indigenous ballet in summer series at Assiniboine Park’s Lyric Theatre Read More

 

Ben Waldman:

Winnipeg singer-guitarist Ariel Posen gets his own signature Fender Stratocaster

For nearly 20 years as a professional musician, Ariel Posen has been honing his unmistakable signature sound. Now, the Winnipeg-raised guitar hero has his own signature guitar, too. Read More

 

New music: Michael Clifford, Alex G, GoGo Penguin, Visiting Rachmaninoff

ROCK Michael Clifford Sidequest (Hopeless) More than a decade ago, the Australian pop-punk boy band 5 Seconds of Summer emerged as charming genre-revivalists. The 2014 career-making single She ... Read More

 
 

New in Business

Gabrielle Piché:

Conventions shift in shadow of wildfires

‘There’s only so many event spaces’: Winnipeg conference organizers make moves, sympathize with evacuees’ plight Read More

 
 

Fresh opinions

Grace Anne Paizen:

Hockey Canada sexual assault trial latest story spotlighting dark side of sport

Countless times throughout the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial, the question has come up: is this a story for the sports section at the Free Press? The resounding answer is: yes. Yes, this is a ... Read More

 

Scott Forbes:

Canada has become a petrocacy

Since the federal election in April, it has become increasingly obvious that Canada has more or less abandoned conventional liberal democracy for a different form of government. Read More

 

Kyle Hiebert:

The Pandora’s box of regime change

The inescapable conclusion is that so long as the current Iranian regime remains intact, their pursuit of nuclear weapons will be a risk. Read More

 
 

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