The Wrap: Grand chief dies, guard acquitted, field of dreams, combat school
Plus: a peek into the RWB's archives

Tributes poured in Friday for Grand Chief Cathy Merrick of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, who died after collapsing outside the Winnipeg Law Courts building.

Merrick, the first woman elected to the role, collapsed while speaking to reporters about an acquittal Friday in the death of an Indigenous jail inmate.

Flags outside the legislature were lowered as community leaders expressed their condolences and lauded her leadership, strength and compassion.

A judge has found a senior corrections officer not guilty in the death of a First Nations inmate at a Manitoba jail.

Robert Jeffery Morden was the officer in charge of the emergency response unit that subdued inmate William Ahmo at the Headingley Correctional Centre.

Ahmo died a week after he was shackled, pinned to the ground, placed in a spit hood and strapped into a restraint chair in the common area of his unit after a three-hour standoff with guards. He told officers more than 20 times while restrained on the floor: “I can’t breathe.”

Dean Pritchard reports from the courts.

There were no creepy whispers coming out of the crops, nor did “Shoeless” Joe Jackson or any other late baseball greats appear out of thin air to offer words of encouragement.

But that didn’t stop farmer Joe Gardiner from pursuing his own vision of turning a Manitoba corn crop into a baseball diamond.

Mike McIntyre heads to Clearwater, Man., to see a “Field of Dreams” that appears to be straight out of the 1989 movie.

Living in close quarters in a home in St. Boniface, students at Cory and Michelle Coles’ unusual prep school learn English, French, Spanish and Mandarin — and train to become top-tier wrestlers.

The results are drawing international attention.

Taylor Allen reports on Combat School, whose goal is to educate children “in a way that no preparatory school in North America educates their children.”

As the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s archivist, Gayle DeGagné is the keeper of many treasures.

The photographs, letters, posters, programs, costume sketches, sheet music, stage designs and architectural blueprints in DeGagné’s care don’t just tell the story of a ballet company currently celebrating its 85th season: they also tell the story of Winnipeg.

Jen Zoratti reports on the history of the archives.