Jensen’s Nursery & Garden Centre celebrates 60 years of sowing community connections

RURAL MUNICIPALITY OF MACDONALD — It’s been 60 years since the seeds that became Jensen’s Nursery & Garden Centre were planted — and 10 years since its owners faced one of their biggest challenges.

At around 8 p.m. one day in July 2016, a thunderstorm hit the family-run garden centre and gift shop at 2550 McGillivray Blvd., beyond the southwest edge of Winnipeg. Susan Jensen Stubbe and Susan MacPherson, two members of the company’s ownership group, watched as it did major damage over the next 30 minutes.

The storm destroyed the main greenhouse, tore the tops off a few smaller greenhouses and damaged part of the gift shop’s roof.

“These windows were actually bowing in from the pressure of the rain,” Jensen Stubbe recalls as she sits at a table in the gift shop, recounting the storm.

Linking Hope creates nonprofit connections to build a better future

Standing atop a plastic chair in a bustling warehouse on the edge of downtown Winnipeg, Breena Courchaine projects her voice to coordinate dozens of volunteers and thank them for the day’s work.

The morning has been a frenzy of piling clothes atop tables, moving donations around the room and finding permanent homes for things at Linking Hope’s new, permanent home.

By 12:30 p.m. Saturday, more than 100 volunteers had moved Linking Hope’s inventory into its new home at 323 Edwin St., across the road from its former space at 190 Disraeli Fwy., and the team was well ahead of schedule — a testament to the organization's support, staff say.

“We literally could not do this without our volunteers,” Courchaine said. “Every idea that has made this place better is mostly coming from the volunteers.”

Youth unemployment more than just an economic statistic

For many young Canadians, getting a first job is no longer a simple rite of passage. It has become a source of stress, frustration and uncertainty about the future.

Across Canada, teenagers and young adults are sending out resumés, applying online for hours at a time and following up with employers, only to hear nothing back. For students trying to save for tuition, get experience or simply gain independence, the struggle to find work is becoming increasingly discouraging.

Statistics Canada reported the national unemployment rate for youth ages 15 to 24 reached 14.3 per cent in April, far above the overall unemployment rate of 6.9 per cent. The youth unemployment rate remains significantly higher than the pre-COVID-19 pandemic average of 10.8 per cent.

Behind those numbers are young people who are eager to work but unable to gain a foothold in the labour market. Many employers continue to ask for experience even for entry-level positions, leaving students and recent grads trapped in a cycle where they cannot gain experience because nobody will hire them.

Quartet of vintage ventures makes the old new on Main Street

There’s something new/old going on in the heart of downtown Winnipeg.Since the beginning of April, 468 Main St. has been home to four businesses specializing in retro clothing, furniture and housewares.

Small businesses’ capacity to hire youth being constrained: CFIB survey

TORONTO - A weaker economy and rising costs are leaving little room for small businesses to hire and train inexperienced youth, a new report suggests.

While small businesses remain the "training ground" for many young people entering the workforce, a survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business says small businesses are facing challenges from weak demand and rising payroll costs.

That's leaving many business owners with fewer resources to hire and train young workers.

"For many small businesses, taking a chance on someone with no experience, especially when training requires considerable time and effort, is simply not feasible in the current climate," the report said.

Only unions consulted about jobs deal for provincial builds: industry

The Manitoba government is being accused of consulting only with a union collective before adopting a jobs policy that governs contracts involving the construction of public projects, including four new schools.

Construction industry associations representatives said Tuesday they learned through a freedom-of-information request that the government met only with Manitoba Building Trades, which proposed a labour framework in July 2025. The two parties discussed the jobs agreement in August, and it was signed 13 days later, the associations said.

They now want the provincial ombudsman to pause the Manitoba Jobs Agreement and conduct a review.

“I was extremely disappointed that there was little rigour in the negotiation,” said Darryl Harrison of the Winnipeg Construction Association.

Coming up roses: City gardeners put ‘petal’ to the metal every spring to help Winnipeg blossom

They get little recognition, but the work they do every summer is admired by thousands across Winnipeg.

As the overnight frost clears for the season, flower beds and pots across the city will be filled and refreshed. Behind the effort is a team of 40 gardeners, injecting splashes of purple, gold, yellow and red into the cityscape.

David Domke, the city’s manager of parks and open space, said like the gardens they tend to, the team of green thumbs is diverse.

“It’s really a mixture of experienced and inexperienced people. A lot of the time, we’ve got some pretty serious gardeners,” he said. “We get them all over the place really, but they all have one thing in common; and that’s a real love of plants.”

People for Education explore convergence of public education and truth and reconciliation

A national charity is putting Manitoba’s school system under the microscope as it develops a plan to protect and bolster publicly funded classrooms across Canada.

Alain Boucher: insuffler l’espoir au coeur du traitement

Pour Alain Boucher, rien n’est plus essentiel à la guérison qu’un grand sourire et un cœur léger. Au cours des six dernières années comme bénévole chez Action Cancer Manitoba, il a mis cette philosophie en pratique. Et avec beaucoup de succès!

Au moins deux fois par semaine, il apporte ce sourire, son attitude positive, sa sensibilité et sa capacité de bien connecter à travers le dialogue avec les clients de l’organisme.

Il affirme que c’est, avant tout, son engagement à reconnaître l’humanité de chacun de ses clients qui le rend fier du travail qu’il accomplit.

“Apporter une touche humaine à leur situation, je vois que ça fait une énorme différence. Puis ça, c’est bien la meilleure récompense. Pas besoin de salaire pour ça,” dit-il en souriant.

The barista is human but an AI agent runs this experimental Swedish cafe

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The coffee might be poured by a human hand, but behind the counter something far less traditional is calling the shots at an experimental cafe in Stockholm.

San Francisco-based startup Andon Labs has put an artificial intelligence agent nicknamed “Mona” in charge at the eponymous Andon Café in the Swedish capital. While human baristas still brew the coffee and serve the orders, the AI agent — powered by Google’s Gemini — oversees almost every other aspect of the business, from hiring staff to managing inventory.

It is not clear how long the experiment will last, but the AI agent appears to be struggling to turn a profit in Stockholm’s competitive coffee trade. The cafe has made more than $5,700 in sales since it opened in mid-April, but less than $5,000 remains from its original budget of $21,000-plus. Much of the cash was spent on one-time setup costs, and the hope is that it eventually levels out and makes money.

Many cafe patrons have found it amusing to visit a business that's run by AI. Customers can pick up a telephone inside the cafe and ask the agent questions.

Record-setting volunteer army invades downtown to clean up trash

An annual event to clear away downtown trash attracted more than 1,200 volunteers Thursday and also sparked a new program that will offer additional cleanups.

The single-day Downtown Winnipeg BIZ spring cleanup attracted about 1,265 participants, setting a record. About 900 volunteers participated last year.

The agency cut off registration early this year to ensure there weren’t more volunteers than available supplies.

Due to the surge in interest, the BIZ is now offering to help set up smaller community cleanups over the next few months to keep the work going.

Manitoba Construction Career Expo draws students from across province with goal of ‘AI-resilient’ career options

More than 1,200 students from across Manitoba hammered nails, operated miniature machinery and even tried their hand at masonry at a hands-on career fair organizers called a pitch for the “AI-resilient” jobs of the future.

The Manitoba Construction Career Expo has been organized by the Winnipeg Construction Association for more than 15 years. As Canada’s career landscape has changed for youth, there’s been an increasing interest in logging out of the virtual world and finding a more tactile profession, said Darryl Harrison, the association’s director of stakeholder engagement and advocacy.

“There’s a lot of opportunities in construction, whether you pursue an apprenticeship or take another path toward the industry, but it generally leads to well-paying jobs and it leads to a career that we’re now calling AI-resilient,” Harrison said at the event at Red River Exhibition Place on Wednesday.

“There’s a lot of careers where it’s questionable what the impact of AI will be, and we will always need hands-on work sites to build the buildings that we need.”

Introducing students to the wonderful world of volunteering

Jasmin Knight has built her career around giving back to the community.

Fuelled by her own history of helping, the student concierge at Heartland International English School began organizing volunteer placements for mature students on a casual basis.

The positive feedback from students, many of whom have never volunteered before, led to the creation of the school’s Volunteer + Study program, which launched last year.

Now Knight, 31, says she can offer students a more formal method of applying for volunteer positions in the city.

Study probes experiences of Indigenous grads

Brandon Murdock recalled thinking in 2020 that, despite his struggling academic performance, he had “a solid case” to remain enrolled at the University of Winnipeg.

Murdock was mistaken — it didn’t matter that he’d missed a voluntary course withdrawal date because he’d been overwhelmed with grief amid a wave of COVID-19-related deaths in Fisher River Cree Nation, the 31-year-old said.

There was little slack for a student who had already been suspended once before. His arts degree program, which he began in 2012, was initially put on hold in 2015 because his attendance, grades and motivation suffered during a family health crisis.

Murdock shared those challenges, among others he’s faced as a first-generation university student who grew up in foster care, as part of a recent study about the experiences of Indigenous and racialized Grade 12 graduates in Winnipeg.

Project brings seniors, students together over love of gardening

Seniors and high school students in North Kildonan are growing vegetables and community through a unique indoor gardening project.

RRC Polytech program cuts take bite out of hospitality, tourism sector

Manitoba’s tourism industry is bracing for the disappearance of hospitality training programs — once-popular courses among international students.

Citing budgetary challenges related to a shift in federal immigration policy, Red River College Polytechnic is scrapping 11 programs and scaling back three others in 2026-27. Its hospitality business management diploma is one of seven permanent casualties.

The announcement, while unsurprising, is but the latest blow to a sector trying to “build back the workforce” in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Michael Juce, president of the Manitoba Hotel Association.

“Are people going to go outside of Manitoba for training? And if they leave, are they going to come back?” Juce said, adding that rural hotels in particular are already grappling with staffing shortages.

More time at work is not always more productive work

Canada’s productivity conversation has increasingly focused on a simple but important measure: output per hour worked. In other words, what are we actually producing for the time we are putting in?

Winnipeg photographer captures striking stills that market major motion pictures

Eric Zachanowich is the most famous photographer you’ve probably never heard of.

He’s worked with Tinseltown heavyweights such as the late Robert Redford, Ralph Fiennes, Laura Linney, Woody Harrelson and Anya Taylor-Joy, and even appeared in Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson’s wrestling biopic The Smashing Machine, disguised as, you guessed it, a photographer.

“It was for one of the opening scenes so I could shoot Dwayne Johnson walking to the ring. I made the final cut of the movie — although it’s hard to place me — and also got a spectacular photo that was used heavily during marketing,” says Zachanowich, 32.

More often than not, he operates as a silent observer on the sets of cinema blockbusters and prestige television dramas alike, his lens capturing the world’s biggest A-listers at their most vulnerable and intense moments.

West Kildonan 7-Eleven latest to close in city; crime the issue, area councillor says

Crime is again being blamed as another Winnipeg 7-Eleven convenience store has been shut down, adding to a growing list of closures across the city.

Winnipeg to host three-day World Indigenous Business Forum in late October, delegates can expect ‘Manitoba experience’

After playing host to the World Indigenous Business Forum around the world, founder Rosa Walker is bringing the annual conference to her home city for the first time.

Winnipeg will host this year’s event Oct. 26-28. The conference will bring together Indigenous entrepreneurs, leaders, innovators and allies from across the globe to share knowledge, build relationships and explore opportunities for economic growth and collaboration.

Since launching the conference in 2010 in New York City, Walker has held the event in places such as Namibia, Guatemala and New Zealand. This year marks the third time a Canadian city has hosted.

Indigenous Leadership Development Institute, Inc., Walker’s non-profit company, is hosting the conference in collaboration with Winnipeg Economic Development & Tourism.

North End vocational school opens ‘cultural learning lab’ creative design studio

A North End warehouse has been converted into a multi-purpose design studio where students can sew ribbon skirts, print 3D models and launch businesses.

The Winnipeg School Division celebrated the grand opening of its Waabishkaa-Makwa Lab last week.

The first-of-its-kind “cultural learning lab” embeds Indigenous teachings into project-based learning activities.

For more than a decade, the 4,500-square-foot space inside R.B. Russell Vocational School had been collecting dust and housing broken equipment.