Music Go Round gears up for Canadian grand opening

Keith Dixon has fond memories of learning to play his sister’s guitar in 2005. Three years later, he acquired an axe of his own — a Gibson Les Paul with a cherry sunburst finish.

Robot umpires are coming to MLB. Here’s how they work

NEW YORK (AP) — Robot umpires are coming to the big leagues in 2026 after Major League Baseball’s 11-man competition committee on Tuesday approved use of the Automated Ball/Strike System.

ABS will be introduced in the form of a challenge system in which the human umpire makes each call, which can be appealed to the computer. Robot umpires have been tested in the minor leagues since 2019, with recent testing done at Triple-A since 2022, MLB spring training this year and at this summer's All-Star Game in Atlanta.

Here's what to know about MLB's robot umps.

How does the Automated Ball-Strike System work?

Winnipegger’s artwork chosen for Walmart’s national Orange Shirt offering

As she walked into the Unicity Walmart department store, Indigenous artist Brooklyn Rudolph-Nicholas felt her excitement levels rising.

She headed towards the racks of instantly recognizable orange T-shirts, smiling as she glimpsed the familiar image on the front.

It was a pinch-me moment: her work was emblazoned on Walmart Canada’s National Day for Truth & Reconciliation orange shirts stocked in stores across the country.

The granddaughter of two residential school survivors, Rudolph-Nicholas made her T-shirt art in honour of her late grandparents.

TikTok’s algorithm to be licensed to US joint venture led by Oracle and Silver Lake

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tech giant Oracle will spearhead U.S. oversight of the algorithm and security underlying TikTok's popular video platform under the terms of a deal laid out this week by President Donald Trump's administration.

All the final details still need to be nailed down among several joint venture partners that will include Oracle, investment firm Silver Lake Partners and possibly two billionaires — media mogul Rupert Murdoch and personal computer pioneer Michael Dell. The U.S. administration would not have a stake in the joint venture nor be part of its board, according to a senior White House official.

President Trump is expected to issue an executive order later this week that declares that the terms of the deal meet the security concerns laid out by the law, the senior White House official said. China still needs to sign off on the framework proposal, and any final deal would still require regulatory approval.

The proposal is aimed at resolving a long-running effort to wrest TikTok's U.S. operations from its Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, because of national security concerns. TikTok has become a high-profile topic during conversations between Trump and China President Xi Jinping as they continue to spar in a trade war that's roiled the global economy for much of the year.

McLuhan’s childhood home to become hub for big ideas

Renowned media theorist Marshall McLuhan’s childhood home in Winnipeg will soon welcome visitors to “come for the message” but “stay for the medium.”

The play on McLuhan’s famous term is the tag line of Howard R. Engel, president Winnipeg non-profit Marshall McLuhan Initiative, who bought the home at 507 Gertrude Ave., where McLuhan lived between 1921 and 1934.

On Saturday afternoon Engel and his team unveiled a Manitoba Historical Society blue plaque at the Osborne Village address commemorating the site of where the memorable Manitoban spent his childhood.

“We are over the moon,” Engel said. “This will not only be a museum, but also include a public gathering space for lectures’ presentations who help extend the working ideas of McLuhan.”

Domestic enrolment helped U of W’s fiscal health: president

The University of Winnipeg’s financial situation has stabilized following 10 months of cutbacks on the downtown campus.

“We’re confident we’ll have a balanced budget this year, and we’re very happy about that,” said Todd Mondor, the U of W’s president and vice-chancellor.

Mondor attributed the “stable” position to a rise in domestic enrolment and “better than expected” 2025-26 registration among international students.

An influx of cash has also provided some relief, he said. The province recently topped up the school’s annual funding by $2.5 million and it was gifted $5 million from the Mastercard Foundation.

Going with the flow: Molten master plan quickly bears fruit for dessert enterprise

On Sept. 13 and 14, Melted, a four-month-old enterprise that dishes out strawberries smothered in warm melted chocolate and assorted toppings, set up shop at the Allery, on the second level of The Forks Market.

Small changes, big impact

Are you a climate champion or climate destroyer? Ecological quizzes and carbon-footprint calculators can help you find out.

Introduction to Michif — one word at a time

Before the wolf can howl, Norman Fleury says a Michif word: Ooyoowuk.

“Ooyoowuk,” Fleury repeats. Or, in English, “howl.”

Ooyoowuk is one of 70 words articulated by Fleury with an animation and English translation to match — all bundled into digital flashcards.

A group of Métis entrepreneurs unveiled their Michif flashcards this week. They join a swelling movement to revitalize the Métis language, which combines languages such as Cree and French.

St. Boniface residents drained after demolition of Happyland pool

As demolition continues at one outdoor pool in St. Boniface, a city councillor hopes to take a second look at extending the life of another one.

Hudson’s Bay seeks approval to auction off 1670 charter, court filings show

TORONTO - Hudson's Bay wants to revert to its original plan to auction off its founding charter after more parties signalled interest in buying — then donating — the 1670 document, new court documents say.

The Ontario Superior Court had been due to hear a motion earlier this month approving the sale of the artifact to the Weston family of grocer Loblaw Cos. Ltd. fame. Their holding company Wittington Investments Ltd. offered $12.5 million for the charter and planned to donate it to the Canadian Museum of History.

The hearing was adjourned after DKRT Family Corp, a holding company owned by David Thomson, objected to the Weston sale. The firm acting on behalf of the billionaire chairman of Thomson Reuters was willing to spend at least $15 million on the document he wants to donate to the Archives of Manitoba.

Hudson's Bay declined to comment Friday on news that it would return to the auction plan. The new court documents did not say who else was interested in the document but noted that the retailer will seek permission on Sept. 29 to auction off the charter on Oct. 15.

North Dakota missing its Manitobans

Kay Rone used to spot plenty of Manitoba licence plates outside stores, hotels and restaurants throughout Grand Forks on weekends in past years.

There haven’t been nearly as many since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020.

“Now, you hardly see them in town,” said Rone, who owns Northern Roots Boutique, a women’s clothing store opposite Columbia Mall, which was once a big draw for cross-border shoppers.

She displays a window sign welcoming Canadians.

Will electric tractors gain traction? At a pilot event for farmers, researchers see possibilities

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — In the soft dirt of an indoor horseback riding ring last month, a group of farmers got ready to test drive a new piece of equipment: an electric tractor.

As they took turns climbing in — some surprised by its quick acceleration — they gave real-time feedback to the Michigan State University researchers who have been developing it for over two years.

The farmers remarked on the motor's quiet whir. Most were intrigued, or at least open to the idea. Some were concerned that the battery on the underside of the carriage would mean a lower clearance over the field, while others worried that it would simply be too expensive.

“What we hope to do when we retire is we want to get everything electric on the farm. The tractor is the last electric implement to get,” said Don Dunklee, one of the farmers to provide feedback. He runs a small organic vegetable farm that's relied on wind and solar for decades.

Province to reimburse Brandon school division for evacuee costs

BRANDON — The Brandon School Division will receive financial support from the province to cover the cost of hosting wildfire evacuees in its schools, Education Minister Tracy Schmidt said Thursday.

“We encourage divisions to track… expenses and to be in touch with our department — many of them already have — and we will work with them to make sure that those expenses are covered,” Schmidt said.

In Brandon, 64 students from evacuated communities were enrolled in local schools on Thursday.

As a result, the division is paying for 8.5 additional substitute teachers, a bus driver and gas for a new route, and is buying extra equipment to take on the students, totalling a “rough estimate” of $100,000, the division said.

Smash n Axe Arcade Disco opens in former Nor Villa Hotel banquet room on blueprint of nostalgia

The dream of the ‘90s is alive in North Kildonan, and it’s been given a 2025 twist.

Adam Dudek and Raj Maniar have fond memories of visiting arcades 30 years ago, playing games and seeing the designs on the carpets glow under black lights. So when they were decorating Smash n Axe Arcade Disco, the River East neighbourhood business they opened on Wednesday, they decided to give it a neon splash.

“We really wanted to bring people back in time and give them the feeling they had when they were a kid,” Dudek said.

Located in the basement of the Nor Villa Hotel (1763 Henderson Hwy.), Smash n Axe features more than 20 arcade games, including 11 pinball machines.

Clarity, ‘competitiveness’ key to name change

In some ways, the entity that helped draw the 2023 World Police and Fire Games, a studio for video game publisher Ubisoft and the 2025 Grey Cup to Winnipeg isn’t changing.

Athletes Unlimited softball commissioner Ng excited as sport surges, league prepares for expansion

Kim Ng is excited about how far Athletes Unlimited softball has come in the past year and believes the sport is surging as her league prepares to expand in 2026.

The Athletes Unlimited Softball League’s commissioner is brimming with confidence after the league posted what she called promising numbers in its first year. This was the first time Athletes Unlimited added a traditional team format after five years of crowning only individual champions.

There were 20 sold-out games in a touring format that visited 10 cities. The AUSL website had 5.3 million views during the season, and the championship series had peak viewership of 347,000 on ESPN. There were 240 million impressions on the AUSL’s social channels.

“I think it went really well,” Ng said. “And we were all just incredibly excited, incredibly thrilled about what we were just able to do, and really, for the future of AUSL.”

A few Transit tweaks help, but aren’t a solution

Winnipeg Transit has made some adjustments to its overhauled route system, the first since the original summer rollout that has left many riders frustrated.