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Free Press Head Start for June 5, 2026

Good morning.

End-of-year report cards will be drafted using a new digital assistant made by and for teachers working in St. Vital and surrounding communities in southeast Winnipeg. The Louis Riel School Division’s data team has spent much of the 2025-26 school year designing and piloting secure artificial intelligence-powered tools to address common problems for staff and students. Maggie Macintosh has the story.

A platform the Southern Chiefs’ Organization created to connect Indigenous workers with construction jobs at Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn has ballooned. The online portal — called Miikahnah Connect — is now being used to link workers to construction sites throughout the province. Most of the 1,278 job seekers are Indigenous. Gabrielle Piché reports.

— David Fuller

 

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Your forecast

A mix of sun and cloud. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 24 C. Humidex 27. UV index 7 or high.

What’s happening today

📽️ The Winnipeg Underground Film Festival is on now, unearthing the works of seminal experimental filmmakers and planting the seeds for the next generations of cinematic risk-takers. At Dave Barber Cinematheque, 100 Arthur St., until June 7. Full details available online.

Daniel Marquez's Behind the Statues is part of WUFF. (Supplied)

Daniel Marquez’s Behind the Statues is part of WUFF. (Supplied)

Today’s must-read

A high-profile arrest of two men accused of operating a bicycle chop shop at a riverside homeless encampment last summer went nowhere in court after the Crown requested the charges be stayed.

The bust at a public park on Waterfront Drive made headlines last August, when the Winnipeg Police Service announced investigators had taken the unprecedented step of applying for a search warrant before entering the makeshift tarp structure.

Winnipeg police executed a warrant at an encampment along Waterfront Drive last August. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press files)

Winnipeg police executed a warrant at an encampment along Waterfront Drive last August. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press files)

Police seized 50 bicycle frames, 77 tires, 53 rims and other equipment believed to be stolen. Two men were charged with possession of property obtained by crime.

A review of court records shows the Crown prosecutor leading the case stayed the charges against the accused on April 15. The decision means the charges are suspended but not dismissed, and could be reactivated within one year if new evidence comes to light. Tyler Searle has the story.

On the bright side

Earl Giesbrecht was thrilled when he checked his lottery tickets at a local grocery store and initially thought he was $46,000 richer.

The Whitemouth grandfather was stunned a few seconds later when he counted the zeroes on a display and realized the windfall was $46 million — the biggest Lotto 6/49 prize ever awarded in Manitoba.

“I was disappointed and frustrated that I never win. I went into the store (to scan tickets), and it said, ‘Not a winner,’ ‘Not a winner,’” Giesbrecht, 70, said at a news conference in Winnipeg on Thursday. “And then it said, ‘Free play,’ and the other one came up and I thought I won $46,000.

“I said, ‘Thank goodness.’ When the (employee) checked, she told me how much I won, and then I had to call my brother, who thought I was having a heart attack.” Chris Kitching has more here.

Giesbrecht became emotional when he recalled how he immediately thought of his children and his grandchildren upon learning he’d won the lottery.  (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)

Giesbrecht became emotional when he recalled how he immediately thought of his children and his grandchildren upon learning he’d won the lottery. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)

On this date

On June 5, 1967: The Winnipeg Free Press reported some Manitoba Medical Service subscribers could see their doctors’ bills go up as much as 30 per cent starting on July 1 if the province’s physicians all excercised their right to collect 100 per cent of the MMS fee schedule. Conflict broke out between Israel and Egypt for the third time in 20 years as heavy fighting raged in Egypt’s Sinai desert. A forest fire encircled Sioux Lookout, which had been evacuated.

Today’s front page

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

 
 

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Top news

Nicole Buffie:

Manitoba pharmacists seek dose of new powers

Push to diagnose, treat broader range of ailments to match other provinces Read More

 

Joyanne Pursaga:

No more free rides

Fare evasion crackdown results in more than 11,000 Transit trips denied Read More

 

Erik Pindera:

‘No choice’ but to shoot man wielding baseball bat: judge

Inquest examined use-of-force death after victim failed to pull over for checkstop Read More

 

Alex Lambert:

Would-be Turtle Mountain candidate ‘not surprised’ PC party won’t let him run

Wally Daudrich said he’s “not surprised” by the Manitoba Progressive Conservative party’s decision to prevent him from running for the Tories in Turtle Mountain in the next provincial election. Read More

 
 
 

New in Sports

Taylor Allen:

Bombers will need vintage Zach back

Veteran QB will need to snap back for free-agent swings to mean a thing Read More

 

Joshua Frey-Sam:

Allen shines in Sea Bears ‘most complete effort’

This was vintage Teddy Allen. The Winnipeg Sea Bears’ star guard has been everything the franchise had hoped for when it agreed to bring him back this season, but it could be argued that Allen — wh... Read More

 

Mike McIntyre:

Shouldering the pain no longer

Cockerill elected to repair torn labrum mid-season that was impeding backswing Read More

 
 

New in Arts and Entertainment

Tiago Rekso:

Street renaming to honour late Transcona musician

Friends and family of a late Winnipeg country musician are pushing to rename a street after him to honour his legacy and its lasting impact on the city’s music scene. Read More

 

Ben Waldman:

Marking the Blue Hour

Winnipeg artist Earth Angel's EP inspired by twilight moments Read More

 
 

New in Business

Aaron Epp:

Premier pulls plug on proposed AI data centre

‘We’re not servants of AI’: concerns outweigh benefits of large-scale hub pitched for land north of Île-des-Chênes, Kinew says Read More

 

Aaron Epp:

Habibiz Café marks First Friday launch of new Exchange District location

If you’re looking for fresh flavours on First Fridays, you’re in luck. The owners of Winnipeg hookah lounge and restaurant Habibiz Café are celebrating the grand opening of their second location to... Read More

 

Gabrielle Piché:

SCO-led app Miikahnah Connect links Indigenous workers to labour demand

As Jay Sanderson turned to face his job site, evidence of his work stared back — plywood replacing windows at the former Hudson’s Bay Co. flagship store downtown. Lately, he’s been in the basement.... Read More

 

The Canadian Press:

Aecon signs agreement with Arctic Gateway on infrastructure in northern Manitoba

TORONTO - Aecon Group Inc. says it has signed a collaboration agreement to support infrastructure in northern Manitoba with Arctic Gateway Group, an Indigenous and community-owned business.  ... Read More

 
 

Fresh opinions

Editorial:

The logic of saving for a rainy day

We get it. It’s hard to be responsible, and it’s hard to pinch pennies when there’s so much pressure on your wallet. Read More

 

Tom Brodbeck:

Teaching, learning are unrealistic expectations in intolerably hot classrooms

There is something fundamentally wrong with a province that can find room for tax cuts yet still sends thousands of children and teachers into classrooms that feel more like saunas than places of learning. Read More

 

Gwynne Dyer:

What does Benjamin Netanyahu want?

‘The war is over,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Congress last Tuesday. But it isn’t. Read More

 
 

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