Hydro to cut down more than 260 trees on stretch of Selkirk Avenue

Manitoba Hydro is cutting down 262 mature trees growing near power lines along a north Winnipeg street, drawing objections from the city and disappointment from canopy advocates.

Derelict historic apartment block gets makeover and thumbs up from neighbourhood

Nearly seven years after fire damage forced tenants to evacuate the Ches-Way Apartments, the once-derelict block in the Wolseley-West Broadway nexus has undergone a complete interior renovation and is nearing full capacity.

Encampment residents defiant as new policy takes effect

As the sun broke through the gap between two high-rise apartments on the north side of the Assiniboine River Monday morning, the large encampment tucked behind the Granite Curling Club lay quiet.

Monday marked the first day of the city’s new encampment policy, which bans such dwellings from more than a dozen areas — including anywhere within 50 metres of a nearby child-care centre, which parts of Mostyn Park are.

According to a recent email obtained by the Free Press from Greg MacPherson, the city’s senior co-ordinator of community development, the Mostyn Park encampment will be among those prioritized for dismantling in the coming weeks.

“I’ve been staying here for five years,” said Peter, who didn’t give his last name. “Why are they going to try to evict me now? And evict me from what? There’s no reason I should have to live like this in my own country.”

Author goes far and wide on quest to document all plants native to Manitoba

When Diana Bizecki Robson was growing up in Saskatoon during the 1970s, she enjoyed riding her bike to parks and riverbanks where she spent hours studying the diversity of wild plants and their pollinators.

After deciding to become a biologist, Bizecki Robson worked for a few years as an environmental consultant which allowed her to conduct plant surveys. But it was when the opportunity to work at the Manitoba Museum came along — in October 2003 — that she could finally pursue the type of field work and research she loves.

Today, Bizecki Robson is the curator of botany at the Manitoba Museum. She oversees a herbarium which holds over 50,000 specimens.

“One of the things I discovered as part of a collection assessment project that I did when I first got here was that the museum did not have a specimen of every single species of plant or fungus or lichen (from this province) in its collection,” said Bizecki Robson.

Trustees want say in school zone redesign

Trustees are calling on Winnipeg City Council to redesign 30 km/h school zones to better protect everyone who lives, learns and works in their wards — and they want a say in an infrastructure makeover.

For Ryan Palmquist, an active cyclist, dad and first-term trustee, road safety is both a passion and frequent source of frustration.

His son’s trek to École Varennes serves as a daily reminder of why he remains committed to the cause.

“My oldest son crosses a crosswalk — every single day, twice a day, to go to school — where a kid died,” the father of three said.

Emergency-vehicle traffic technology pilot a success and city should expand it, WFPS says

Winnipeg ambulances and fire trucks could soon automatically trigger green lights through most of the city, allowing faster emergency responses.

An emergency vehicle pre-emption pilot project was a success, so the city should pay to expand it next year, according to a new Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service report.

“It makes travelling through intersections safer and decreases the time it takes first responders to arrive at an emergency scene,” the report says.

WFPS will seek $1.8 million in 2026 capital funding and $200,000 to cover operating costs to expand the program. That would extend its reach to 437 “higher-risk” intersections, including the 17 included in the pilot, out of Winnipeg’s total 693.

2025: a summer of interesting urban changes

Over the last few months, the city has been busy implementing several new progressive city-building initiatives to enhance livability in our communities.

Chinese landscape architect Yu Kongjian among 4 killed in a plane crash in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The crash of a small plane in southwestern Brazil killed four people including Chinese landscape architect and urban planner Yu Kongjian, Brazilian authorities said Wednesday.

The accident happened late Tuesday during a landing attempt at a large farm about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the municipality of Aquidauana in Mato Grosso do Sul state, firefighters said.

Yu, who was known for promoting ecologically sound development, was traveling with two Brazilian documentary makers, Luiz Fernando Feres da Cunha Ferraz and Rubens Crispim Jr., who were making a film about the Pantanal wetlands. All three were killed along with pilot Marcelo Pereira de Barros, authorities said.

Yu was know for developing the concept of “ sponge cities, ” with infrastructure that can absorb rainwater to mitigate flood risks and improve the urban climate.

Motion to rename park withdrawn after MMF complaint

A motion to rename a Glenwood park will be withdrawn after complaints the process would replace a name that honours Métis history.

Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital) had raised a motion to rename Carriere Avenue Park in honour of James Peebles, an astrophysicist and astronomer raised in the St. Boniface neighbourhood. The motion was seconded by Coun. Matt Allard (St. Boniface).

Mayes issued a statement Tuesday that noted he and Allard have agreed to withdraw the motion instead of bringing it forward for a city council vote Thursday.

“(The councillors will instead) move to name a new outdoor classroom in St. George Park for Nobel laureate James Peebles … Both councillors learned last night that the Manitoba Métis Federation had concerns about renaming of the park,” the statement said.

Small changes, big impact

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

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.

Artists, performers open their doors, and their souls, for Culture Days

Culture Days, a national celebration of local arts and culture, kicks off today and runs through Oct. 12.

There are hundreds of free public events taking place across Manitoba over the next three weeks, including in Winnipeg, Morden, Gimli, Flin Flon and beyond. Nuit Blanche Winnipeg, the city’s annual late-night art party, also falls under the Culture Days umbrella and takes place Sept. 27.

Find a sample of the fun below and visit culturedays.ca for more information.

Central Park Moves: Weekend BeatsCentral Park, 367 Ellice Ave.

Discovering public art by chance

A few weeks ago, on a bike ride through St. Boniface with my wife, we veered off the familiar path and stumbled upon something unexpected.

Hydro rejects generator option for evacuated community

The chief of an evacuated northern First Nation that is still without electricity has demanded the provincial and federal governments spend $8 million on a generator so residents can return home, however Manitoba Hydro says the proposal is unrealistic.

Worse-for-wear riverwalk a victim of total neglect

Partway down my well-beaten path from West Broadway to The Forks, I feel a bit like Dorothy navigating Oz. The path ahead is lined with Winnipeg’s version of dancing poppies and flying monkeys: hazards, confrontations and ghostly spectres to which we’ve become perhaps far too accustomed.

Winnipeggers’ pride bruised by crime, broken infrastructure: poll

Life in the big city on the Prairies isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, suggests a new poll that shows Winnipeggers are much less positive about their community than other Manitobans are about theirs.

The poll shows 76 per cent of Winnipeggers agree the city is a great place to live, but a contradictory finding is that they believe conditions in Manitoba’s capital are as bad as they have ever been. Those sentiments are highlighted in a Probe Research poll that found Winnipeggers are “proud, yet profoundly frustrated” about crime and aging infrastructure and their faith in public officials has dwindled.

“We definitely see that there is a palpable sense of frustration with some things, especially for younger folks,” Probe partner Curtis Brown said Tuesday

“This says that there’s work to do. The public expects work to be done to fix some of these big, ongoing challenges that Winnipeg — and all communities, frankly — have been grappling with for years.”

Le centre d’interprétation Saint-Léon: là où souffle l’esprit de la nature et de l’innovation

Avec ses galeries interactives, ses sentiers en pleine nature et son riche contenu éducatif, le Centre d’interprétation Saint-Léon est bien plus qu’un simple musée rural. En 2025, la communauté célèbre les 20 ans du premier parc éolien du Manitoba — une réalisation marquante racontée au cœur du Centre. Entre salamandres mystérieuses, énergies vertes et oiseaux migrateurs, les visiteurs y découvrent un territoire où science, nature et fierté locale se rencontrent.

Situé près du lac Saint-Léon, le Centre d’interprétation Saint-Léon a toujours eu pour vocation d’éduquer les curieux, qu’ils soient touristes ou de la région, mais aussi de rassurer. Lorraine Mabon, la présidente, raconte:

“Le but original, c’était de parler des salamandres et de leur rôle, parce qu’il y en avait énormément dans la région et les gens en avaient un peu peur. Mais les salamandres, qu’on trouve sur les terres humides, sont une bonne chose: elles sont indicatrices de la bonne santé de l’environnement.

“Un autre fait intéressant, c’est que si elles perdent un membre, elles peuvent le régénérer! Beaucoup de scientifiques étudient cette faculté exceptionnelle.”

Explore Indigenous discovery centre opens its doors at The Forks Market

People seeking tourism opportunities in Manitoba have a new resource.

Indigenous Tourism Manitoba and The Forks North Portage Partnership celebrated the grand opening on Friday of Explore Indigenous, a new space that aims to build awareness and understanding of Indigenous-led tourism experiences in the keystone province.

Located at The Forks Market, the downtown Winnipeg discovery centre offers self-guided learning tools and interpretative displays that introduce visitors to Indigenous Tourism Manitoba’s network of operators — who they are, where they’re located and what types of experiences they offer.

A curated product showcase features artisans who have been accredited through the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada’s Original Original program, which highlights businesses and experiences that are at least 51 per cent Indigenous-owned.

Downtown pilot project will add furniture, art, picnic tables to Graham Avenue

Over the next three weeks, the city aims to breathe new life into a four-block stretch of Graham Avenue, with a bright new look, ping pong tables, street furniture and art.

As the Free Press reported last week, a pilot project will see Graham reserved for cyclists and pedestrians between Carlton and Garry streets, once a new primary transit network removes buses from the area on June 29.

On Monday, the city laid out its vision for the pilot, which is expected to continue at least until the end of summer.

“The buses will move off of Graham Avenue and in just three weeks … after that, we will completely transform this stretch of Graham,” said Mayor Scott Gillingham.

Animal Services asks for help building sensory garden

The City of Winnipeg is counting on dog lovers to make life easier for furry companions who end up in its shelter.

Jennifer Medlicott, the communications co-ordinator at the Animal Services Agency, said there’s a desperate need to create a sensory garden in the facility’s outdoor play yards. The agency, at 1057 Logan Ave., generally houses more than two dozen dogs at a time.

“We’re just looking for opportunities to make the lives of the animals in our care better and I just think we just saw an opportunity,” said Medlicott on Friday. “We dream of a future where we have a large-scale transformation, but we were also trying to look at some short-term solutions and that’s where the sensory garden came up.”

A sensory garden is an area designed to stimulate one or more of the five senses: sight, smell, sound, taste and touch. It incorporates trees, flowers, and any other elements in nature to help reduce stress.

Wildfire smoke changing outdoor sports landscape

Air quality concerns due to wildfire smoke are changing the landscape of sporting events in Winnipeg. From community centre-run programs to professional leagues, outdoor sports have been impacted by smoke delays, cancellations and playing in less than ideal conditions, leading some to rethink how summer outdoor seasons should be planned going forward.

Krista Fraser-Kruck, general manager of Riverview Community Centre in South Osborne, which offers baseball, soccer, softball, ultimate (frisbee) and summer day camps, says wildfire smoke has forced cancellations and caused rescheduling challenges, especially difficult in a short summer season.

“The priority is keeping kids safe,” said Fraser-Kruck. “For our community, we just want to keep our kids safe, and so doing what’s in the best interest of their health is our priority.”

For their youth soccer games, Riverview Community Centre follows the Winnipeg Youth Soccer Association’s policy, which calls for citywide cancellations if Environment Canada’s Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) reaches seven or higher.

More than 7,000 elms felled in Winnipeg last year due to disease

A city report reveals elm trees were chopped down more than expected last year due to Dutch elm disease.