Health-care staffing, sentencing delayed, wiener dogs, hot dogs, hot-cross buns, new Moose
Plus: One small fix by man, one giant relief for astronauts

Good evening. The Easter long weekend starts tomorrow. The Free Press will not publish a print edition on Friday or Monday, but you can catch up on the latest news and information on our website.

Here’s a list of what else is open and closed, and what’s up in Winnipeg over the long weekend.

Whether you are embarking on an Easter egg hunt, observing Passover, decorating Pysanky, spending time with family and friends or holding down the fort at work, we hope you enjoy the weekend. This newsletter will next land in your inbox Monday evening.

Here’s a look at what our newsroom has been working on:

'Retention is a huge, huge issue'

Gabrielle Piché:

Shared Health lacks data to predict future staffing needs

Provincial health authority has no ‘responsive records’ for workforce modelling Read More

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Savour Manitoba Spring issue cover featuring colourful mixed drinks on a table.

'I am mindful that justice delayed is justice denied'

Dean Pritchard:

Judge delays sentencing for hockey coach convicted of sexually assaulting player

Sentencing for a former youth hockey coach guilty of repeatedly sexually abusing one of her players for more than a year has been delayed a second time. Read More

'You can’t come here with a bad day and leave with a bad day'

Jen Zoratti:

Wieners and buns

Dachshund playgroup completes a social circle Read More

'Smokies? Out here in the middle of nowhere?'

David Sanderson:

Lake Wiener-peg

For Interlake farm couple, winter means smokies and footlongs on ice Read More

'An Easter mainstay'

Photography by Ruth Bonneville:

In photos: Winnipeg bakers prepare for Easter

The bakers at Harvest Bakery have been busy this week in preparation of the Holy weekend. The staff made more than 2,000 hot cross buns on Wednesday to get ready for the Easter demand. Read More

'Excited to be here and get going'

Mike McIntyre:

Three NCAA captains playing with Manitoba Moose

Lucas Wahlin, Davis Burnside and Lukas Gustafsson all wore letters for their respective NCAA programs this past season. Now, the undrafted trio will finish the year with the Manitoba Moose. Read More

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Iced drink with lime on a wooden surface beside the Savour Manitoba magazine cover.

Local

Erik Pindera: School division hit with second lawsuit over sex offences

Tyler Searle: Convicted mail bomber loses parole-denial appeal

Erik Pindera: Interlake paramedic disciplined, fined for misconduct

Tyler Searle: Bank says $343-K error was city law firm’s, asks court to dismiss lawsuit

Dean Pritchard: Deaths of two children being investigated in new inquests

Nicole Buffie: Baby black bears orphaned after mother killed

Chris Kitching: U of M researchers recommend better chlamydia screening after analysis of Prairie infection rates

Kevin Rollason: Scammers leave Winnipeg woman penniless

Carol Sanders: Fewer than 2,500 Manitobans declare intention to turn over prohibited firearms in federal buyback program

Scott Billeck: Siloam CEO orders staff to go ‘media silent’

Opinion

Rebecca Chambers: Where is the vision, Winnipeg?

Jerrad Peters: All signs pointing to bloated boondoggle of a World Cup

Kirsten Bernas and Shauna MacKinnon: Budget 2026 falls short on housing

Tom Brodbeck: Pothole problem will only get worse unless province steps up

Maureen Scurfield: Proper caution, timing required when asking date’s mother out

Editorial: A legal reckoning for social media firms

Stephen Borys: Why do museums still collect?

Dave Taylor: Uranium fails the test

Free Press: Letters, April 2, 2026

Arts & Life

Free Press: What’s up: Grotoko, Philipp Schott, flower arranging, Dirty Dancing

Conrad Sweatman: This year’s jazz festival trumpeted as worldly journey of discovery

Larry Neumeister, The Associated Press: Blake Lively’s sexual harassment claims against Justin Baldoni tossed out but robust case remains

Georgia Nicols: Today’s horoscope

Craig Macrae, The Canadian Press: Dan Levy teams up with Canadian musician Peaches for score on Netflix’s ‘Big Mistakes’

Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press: “Oh My! Oh My!” Longtime TSN curling broadcaster Vic Rauter to retire

Business

Daniel Johnson, The Canadian Press: Energy stocks help lift S&P/TSX composite, U.S. markets mixed

Aaron Epp: April Fools’ Day jokes highlight real-life issues, joys of local small businesses, owners say

Aaron Epp: Manitoba gross domestic product growth modest in 2026: Deloitte

Sports

Mike McIntyre: Winkler-product records first career major league hit, walk-off RBI single

Ken Wiebe: Jets’ playoff hopes dimming with loss to Dallas Stars

Joshua Frey-Sam: Star guard/forward Teddy Allen returns to Sea Bears after abrupt departure in 2024

Ken Wiebe: ‘I feel great on the ice’: Barron back as Jets face off against Dallas

R.j. Rico, The Associated Press: After crash, Tiger Woods told deputy he was ‘talking to the president,’ body camera shows

Doug Ferguson, The Associated Press: Mickelson pulls out of the Masters, which will be without Lefty and Woods for first time since 1994

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press: Canadian Premier League embracing global spotlight as eighth season begins

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press: Takeover Tour stops fuel Professional Women’s Hockey League expansion buzz

Canada

Sarah Ritchie and David Baxter, The Canadian Press: Conservatives call for federal relief at the pumps as Iran war pushes prices up

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press: Supreme Court won’t hear case contesting constitutionality of Canada’s voting system

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press: Canada’s Jeremy Hansen rockets toward the moon with Artemis II after engine burn

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press: Tory MP echoes calls for Carney to apologize to Grassy Narrows over protest remarks

Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press: First Nation protest over cannabis crackdown blocks highways in Nova Scotia

Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press: Alberta introduces bill to reduce child access to sex images in public libraries

Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press: Calgary lifts water restrictions after 3 weeks as work continues to replace pipe

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press: B.C. Premier David Eby temporarily replaces spokesperson with identical twin

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press: Ottawa saying little about Toronto’s call to block ICE from World Cup

Nono Shen, The Canadian Press: Vancouver police used Pokémon card sting. It was super effective!

World

Will Weissert, Jon Gambrell And David Rising, The Associated Press: Trump addresses nation on Iran war in first prime-time speech since launching strikes 4 weeks ago

Jill Lawless, The Associated Press: UK gathers more than 40 countries to press Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz

Samya Kullab And Qassim Abdul-zahra, The Associated Press: Iraq’s oil hub slows to a crawl as Strait of Hormuz shutdown strangles exports

Munir Ahmed And E. Eduardo Castillo, The Associated Press: Pakistan says a new round of peace talks with Afghanistan is underway in China

The Associated Press: Saharan dust storm turns Greek sky red as winds and flooding leave 1 person dead

The Associated Press: The Latest: Trump says Pam Bondi out as his attorney general, Blanche will serve as acting AG

The Associated Press: Congo says its mpox outbreak is over after 2 years and more than 2,200 suspected deaths

Didi Tang And Alma Solís, The Associated Press: Rubio accuses China of ‘bullying’ for holding up Panama-flagged ships after canal clash

James Brooks, The Associated Press: Danish warship sunk by Nelson’s British fleet discovered after 225 years

Konstantin Toropin, The Associated Press: Hegseth asks the Army’s top uniformed officer to step down while US wages war against Iran

One last thing...

Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press:

Artemis II’s moonbound toilet is working again to astronauts’ relief after overnight fix

NASA’s moonbound astronauts have reason to celebrate, and not just because their launch went so well. Their toilet is now working. Read More

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