Food-culture extremes reverberate back to farm

The absurdity of our civilization’s extreme relationship with food hit me like a runaway snowboard the other night while watching the Ozempic Olympics in between commercials advertising pizza and french fries.

The relentless marketing, alternately promoting weight-loss support and foods that lean towards making us fat, isn’t aimed at the elite winter athletes strutting their stuff on the world stage in Italy. It’s a safe bet they didn’t achieve the peak of human fitness on a diet of pizza and french fries. It’s equally doubtful they require injections of the GLP-1 class of drugs to help manage their weight.

These athletes deserve our admiration and respect, but to be fair to the rest of us, most working stiffs don’t have the time, drive or resources to devote full-time to the pursuit of extreme fitness.

No, those commercials are aimed at the couch potatoes back home, subjecting us to both temptation and a shortcut to redemption as we bear witness to these feats of human endurance.

Eviance to develop success strategy for women entrepreneurs with disabilities

The federal government has tabbed nearly $800,000 for a new project that aims to help women entrepreneurs with disabilities succeed.

Liberal MPs Marie-Gabrielle Ménard, from Quebec, and Ginette Lavack, who represents St. Boniface—St. Vital, announced on Friday that Eviance (formerly the Canadian Centre on Disability Studies) will receive $797,557.

The organization, which is headquartered in Winnipeg, will use the federal investment to develop a strategy to promote opportunities and resources for women entrepreneurs with disabilities across Canada through community engagement, including focus groups and interviews.

Eviance, in partnership with Toronto-based think tank New Power Labs, will engage women entrepreneurs with disabilities to identify key issues and help shape solutions that create more equitable opportunities for success.

Romance bookstore Bound to Please finds its niche alongside horror-, crime-focused peers in Winnipeg

If you walk into the provocatively-named Bound to Please bookstore on Valentine’s Day, you’ll get the chance to tell a romantic story of your own — or a not-so-romantic one.

“If you come in on a date, you get 10 per cent off, and if you come in with a break-up story, you get 15 per cent, because you need the romance books more,” owner Dylan Yeun told the Free Press with a laugh.

Yeun, 23, opened Bound to Please at 995 McPhillips St. last month with the dream of joining Winnipeg’s collection of genre-specific bookstores after studying romantic literature in university.

“I took a lot of classes in university where we talked about what is and isn’t valued as a genre. And a lot of the time, romance isn’t valued as a genre worth studying because it’s kind of viewed as less serious, less important than a lot of other genres — and that primarily has to do with the importance of it for women,” she said. “So that was something that I was really interested in.”

Manitoba to study food prices

The Manitoba government has followed through on its promise to conduct a study on groceries in a bid to lower food costs.

Project leads will investigate whether differential pricing — in which shoppers are charged different prices by the same retailer based on customer segment, location, time or demand — is occurring in Manitoba.

Antitrust and anti-competition policies, supply chain vulnerabilities and geographic food deserts will also be probed, the government said Wednesday.

“We know Manitobans are struggling with the price of food, and we know that the prices of food continue to grow in ways that are very concerning,” Finance Minister Adrien Sala told reporters.

Focus on local ‘fertile ground’ at 3rd annual MbTech Week

A weeklong tech “festival” is ready to celebrate made-in-Manitoba innovation later this month.

Winnipeg-based tech firm Taiv closes US$13M growth round

Taiv Inc. may rely on AI, but there’s nothing artificial about the Winnipeg company’s progression. The tech company has closed a US$13 million growth round fewer than nine months after raising US$10.5 million in series A financing.

Canadian Tire ordered to pay nearly $1.3 million for false advertising

MONTREAL - Canadian Tire has been ordered to pay just under $1.3 million after pleading guilty to 74 counts of violating sections of Quebec's Consumer Protection Act related to false advertising.

Crown prosecutor Jérôme Dussault says the Canadian retail giant agreed to the settlement after initially pleading not guilty.

At the Montreal courthouse, Quebec court Judge Simon Lavoie approved the agreement, which includes fines and costs ranging from $15,625 to $18,150 per count.

The case stems from a six-month investigation by the province's consumer protection office in 2021.

‘Just wasn’t enough business’: East Exchange grocer Ashdown Market closes doors

The owners of the East Exchange District’s only independent grocer have closed up shop, saying rising crime and a declining customer base were too much to bear.

A Muslim-owned thrift shop blends modest fashion, faith and sustainability

NEW YORK (RNS) — Kadjahtou Balde has a hard time parting with some of the vintage gems that make it into her Harlem thrift shop — a silk skirt adorned with traditional Palestinian embroidery, a pink wool sweater and an embellished blazer in perfect condition.

“Look at the level of detail on this abaya,” she said while unfurling a black dress handstitched with turquoise geometric designs, a type of garment often worn by Muslim women. “It’s so beautiful, I kind of wish I could keep it.”

Balde has long been an avid thrifter and sustainable fashion enthusiast. But even in a city with a bounty of vintage and thrift shops, she couldn’t always find pieces that fit her needs as a Muslim woman who dresses modestly — and fashionably. So when her father asked for help revamping his struggling Harlem gift shop last year, Balde knew a thrift store that celebrated modest fashion could become a much needed space.

“My dad told me that he was tired,” Balde said. “I decided that I want to help him, but I want to do it in a way that aligns with my values: Islam and sustainability.”

Ottawa to relaunch EV rebates program in 2 weeks with new auto strategy

OTTAWA - The federal government announced a suite of new electric vehicle policies Thursday, including the reintroduction of the popular rebate program and the elimination of the EV sales mandate in favour of stricter emissions standards for the auto sector.

The move is the latest rollback of climate policies enacted by former prime minister Justin Trudeau. The government of Prime Minister Mark Carney cancelled the consumer carbon price and halted the implementation of an emissions cap on the oil and gas sector.

Speaking at an auto parts manufacturer in Woodbridge, Ont., Carney said Thursday Ottawa pitched the new plan as a transformation of Canada's auto sector, which has been battered for months by U.S. tariffs.

"We have everything we need to take the lead in the vehicles of tomorrow, and we're positioning Canadian workers and businesses to seize that opportunity," he said.

Manitobans shine on DARE Innovation Awards shortlist

A Winnipeg-based incubator, accelerator and fabrication lab is marking a decade in business by celebrating the dreamers, achievers, risk-takers and entrepreneurs shaping Manitoba’s future.

On Monday, North Forge announced the shortlisted nominees for the inaugural DARE Innovation Awards. The awards will be handed out during a gala at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada on Feb. 24 — 10 years to the day North Forge was incorporated.

“We thought that we should honour a number of people, many of whom have never received awards or many of whom some people may not even know about,” said Joelle Foster, president and CEO. “As Manitobans, we’re all very humble and we don’t tell these stories enough.”

The non-profit received more than 160 nominations for the awards. There are 27 shortlisted nominees across nine categories that recognize a variety of industries.

After 80 years, Minute Maid’s frozen canned juices are getting put on ice

Minute Maid helped make orange juice a year-round morning staple in 1946, when it started shipping cans of frozen juice around the U.S.

But 80 years later, the brand's parent company is halting sales of frozen juice concentrates in the U.S. and Canada, saying it wants to focus on the fresh juices that customers now prefer.

“We are discontinuing our frozen products and exiting the frozen can category in response to shifting consumer preferences,” The Coca-Cola Co., which owns Minute Maid, said Wednesday in a statement.

Minute Maid’s frozen juices – including several varieties of orange juice, lemonade and limeade – will be discontinued by April, with inventory available while supplies last, Coca-Cola said.

Washington Post cuts a third of its staff in a blow to a legendary news brand

The Washington Post laid off one-third of its staff Wednesday, eliminating its sports section, several foreign bureaus and its books coverage in a widespread purge that represented a brutal blow to journalism and one of its most legendary brands.

The Post's executive editor, Matt Murray, called the move painful but necessary to put the outlet on stronger footing and to weather changes in technology and user habits. “We can't be everything to everyone,” Murray said in a note to staff members.

He outlined the changes in a companywide online meeting, and staff members then began getting emails with one of two subject lines — telling them their role was or was not eliminated.

Rumors of layoffs had circulated for weeks, ever since word leaked that sports reporters who had expected to travel to Italy for the Winter Olympics would not be going. But when official word came down, the size and scale of the cuts were shocking, affecting virtually every department in the newsroom.

Low/no alcohol drinks officially a movement

An increasing number of lounges and eateries are offering more (and more innovative) mocktails, as well as alcohol-free beers and wines. The number of dealcoholized options at grocery stores, beer vendors, Liquor Marts and the like has never been higher. In short, the low/no-alc phenomenon is here to stay.

Future students will be wired differently, thanks to AI

Teachers were urged to stop asking children what they want to be when they grow up and focus on building creative, self-directed and critical thinkers at Manitoba’s AI in Education Summit.

“How do we prepare kids for a future we can’t yet see, but we know it’s going to be radically transformed by technology?” futurist Sinead Bovell asked a crowd of educators at a first-of-its-kind conference Friday.

“That is the moment that we are in.”

The province invited Bovell, founder of tech education company WAYE, to share her predictions about artificial intelligence and related advice for schools.

Glacial glamping: Riding Mountain woos in winter

As they say, it was so cold it’d freeze the nuts off an iron bridge. Margie and I slept in a prospector-style tent, or what Riding Mountain National Park calls an “oTENTik,” at -39 C.

Flicks Cinema enters sixth decade as Stonewall amenity with new energy, new ownership

STONEWALL — Ever since Vince Levenec and his family purchased a movie theatre, he’s gotten used to hearing about patrons’ early romantic encounters.

“Everybody says, ‘That’s where I sat when I had my first kiss,’” Levenec said. “Everybody in town comes in and has that story about the Flicks Cinema.”

Opened in 1975, the single-screen, 200-seat theatre served moviegoers in Stonewall for nearly 50 years before closing its doors in December 2024. When longtime owner Don Smith put the building up for sale last summer, Levenec and wife, Amanda Van Solkema were immediately interested.

Van Solkema grew up in Stonewall, and seeing movies at Flicks Cinema has been a key part of her experience in the bedroom community roughly 25 kilometres north of Winnipeg. Around 15 years ago, Smith was thinking about selling the theatre, Van Solkema said, and she asked him about it.

Fans mourn closure of cupcake vending machine company Sprinkles Cupcakes

NEW YORK (AP) — Sprinkles Cupcakes, a company famous for selling sweet treats in vending machines known as “cupcake ATMs,” has shut down after 20 years of operation around the United States, according to its former owner.

“Even though I sold the company over a decade ago, I still have such a personal connection to it, and this isn’t how I thought the story would go,” said Candace Nelson, who started the company after she lost her job in 2005. The closure was announced Dec. 30.

Nelson started Sprinkles Cupcakes in her own kitchen, and the first location was in a small Beverly Hills storefront that had previously been a sandwich shop. The brand would go on to ascend to national fame, and fans took to social media following the company's announcement to lament the closure.

The company's cupcake-dispensing machines in malls and airports briefly went viral on TikTok for the not-so-subtle “I love Sprinkles” jingle that played repeatedly while a mechanical arm delivered the dessert.

Chirp heard around Manitoba: RM sells building for $1 to cricket farm entrepreneur

One dollar doesn’t stretch very far these days, but apparently it’s enough to buy a business in Benito.

Filipino-style fried-chicken biz off to a sizzling start

Before we begin, John Tadeo wants to make it abundantly clear that Popoy’s, the tag he and his girlfriend Patricia Santiago settled on for their Filipino-style fried-chicken biz, isn’t a play on an international fried-chicken chain that bears the name of a certain, spinach-loving sailor-man.

When Tadeo was a youngster growing up in the Philippines, his paternal grandmother never called him anything but Popoy, a derivative of Popo, which is Tagalog for little boy or child. His parents continue to address him by that term of affection to this day, so last winter, when he and Santiago were tossing around potential names for their fledgling enterprise, they agreed Popoy’s Golden Chicken had a better ring to it than John’s or Patricia’s.

“I guess if somebody associated with Popeyes (Louisiana Kitchen) ever tells us we can’t call ourselves (Popoy’s), we’d probably just change it to Poy’s,” Tadeo says, standing next to Santiago in the commercial kitchen at Riverview Community Centre, where they accept pickup orders on a regular basis, usually every other weekend.

“But since Popoy is my name, I’m not sure what argument they’d have.”