The Wrap: Machete attack, vacant house fire, homeschooling, road safety
Plus: our weekly news quiz!

Good evening. Here’s a look at what our newsroom has been working on today:

'He is lucky to be alive'

A Winnipeg youth is facing a lifetime of permanent injuries after another boy attacked him with a machete Saturday night, slashing his arms to the bone and dismembering his finger during a robbery.

The child is the latest victim of rising knife crime in the city, prompting assurances from the provincial government that it is exploring regulations for the sale of machetes.

Tyler Searle:

Surgeons need more than 20 hours to put young machete-attack victim back together

Assailant, victim both 15; justice minister promises action to regulate weapons Read More

'It’s worse than it’s ever been'

The owner of a vacant, boarded-up William Whyte home says he’s stuck with a building that keeps burning while he waits for the city to approve a demolition permit he applied for months ago.

A fire Saturday at 362 Manitoba Ave. was the fourth one at the building since March.

The owner applied for a demolition permit in May, with hopes of tearing down the home and selling the land.

He’s been waiting to hear back from the city’s planning, property and development department since.

Malak Abas:

’Another day, another fire’

Vacant home burns again as landlord awaits city approval of months-old demolition permit Read More

'A lot of people fell in love' with homeschooling

Health concerns forced many Manitoba families to try out homeschooling during the COVID-19 pandemic — and new data suggests that trend is outlasting virus-related closures.

In the fall of 2023, just over 5,000 Manitoba students were enrolled as homeschooled — a small percentage of the total population of school-aged children, but 70 per cent more than a decade previous.

Education reporter Maggie Macintosh looks at where and why parents are choosing to teach at home.

Maggie Macintosh:

Homeschooling remains steady after pandemic

Home-based learning in Manitoba up by 10% Read More

'It’s time to fix the problem intersections and roads and end the carnage'

In 2022, the city unveiled a road safety plan that seeks a 20 per cent reduction in fatal and serious injury collisions by 2026. Given that we’re already at the halfway point in that initiative, it seems that we’ve fallen behind schedule, writes columnist Dan Lett.

To create measurably safer streets, major improvements in infrastructure are required. And to do that, the city is going to need help from MPI, which has a social and financial interest in road safety.

Dan Lett:

Road-safety talk is cheap; making things safer costs money

In a world increasingly dominated by AI and predictive analytics, the city’s current data-management practices are so far out of date that civic officials might as well be using crayon and paper to track the carnage on Winnipeg streets. Read More

News Quiz

The Week that Was: Aug. 6 to 12

Test your knowledge of news about the Paris Olympics, a new air terminal, a new Star Wars, courtroom delays and a stolen ice-cream cone. Take the quiz