Modern, historic letters showcase love in dangerous times

Love is in the air at Oseredok.

The Ukrainian cultural and educational centre’s current exhibition, Love Letters: A Timeless Experience, bears witness to the fraught and emotional journeys of past and present Ukrainian-Canadian couples through historical love letters, digital declarations and personal artifacts as they navigated courtship, separation and reunion.

Spanning the 20th and 21st centuries, the exhibition draws on a combination of archival material, including the cultural centre’s collection of rare wedding photographs and studio portraits, and visual installations to trace the love lives of Ukrainian-Canadians across the decades.

A letter-writing manual penned in 1913 by linguist and author F. Dojacek forms the backbone of the immersive show.

Affairs of heart inevitably require less romantic finance talk sooner or later — so why not today?

Valentine’s Day may be for lovers, and a chat about personal finance certainly risks dulling the passions of the day. That is unless you love money.

Yet it is a discussion that nonetheless should happen … eventually. Often sooner is better than later, hopefully, well before popping the big question.

That decisive question could be happening right now. Valentine’s Day is the premier day for couples to get engaged and that big ask (and hopefully affirmative answer) often comes with a hefty capital allocation for a sparkling speck of costly rock set in a ring made of an increasingly high-priced precious metal.

De Beers coined the notion of three months’ salary as the rule of thumb to spend on an engagement ring amid the Great Depression. At the time, diamonds weren’t common for engagement rings. Today, the world’s priciest gem is considered the norm — and the bigger the rock, the greater the profession of your love, according to the marketing.

Province warns of measles exposure at Jets game as cases surge

Manitoba public health officials are warning attendees of a Winnipeg Jets game they may have been exposed to measles, as the province continues to grapple with outbreaks.

Class-action suit against care home, WRHA can proceed, judge rules

A Manitoba judge has certified a class-action lawsuit against the owners of Maples Personal Care Home and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, more than five years after 56 residents died during a COVID-19 outbreak at the north Winnipeg facility.

Manitoba Court of King’s Bench Associate Chief Justice Shane Perlmutter said the suit, put forward by Lawrence Lewsey and Eddie Calisto-Tavares, who each lost a parent during the outbreak, is the best way to deal with the allegations that both defendants were negligent.

“Broadly, the allegations relate to alleged failures to adequately plan for, and respond to, the COVID-19 outbreak at Maples,” Perlmutter wrote in a 24-page decision released last week.

“I am satisfied that the proposed class action would be a fair, efficient, and manageable method of advancing the claim and is preferable to other reasonably available procedures to resolve the common issues.”

West Broadway winter carnival sets the standard, says volunteer

Children and adults in West Broadway celebrated winter with games, skating and even horses on Saturday.

The 22nd annual West Broadway Snoball Winter Carnival brought dozens of area residents together both outdoors and indoors at the centre and park just south of Broadway at Young Street.

“It is definitely a joyful activity,” Kelly Frazer, executive director of the West Broadway Community Organization, said on Saturday.

“Winter can be isolating for people. We want people to get out and see their neighbours and enjoy their time. This is a great event because everything is free. You can come and ride in the horse-drawn carriages, you can get a good meal, you can play lots of games, and everything is free.”

Stage-fighting the system in touching madcap comedy 'Holland'

One of Winnipeg’s funniest playwrights and an ensemble of five of the city’s strongest comic actors spin gold from parental rage in Holland, a guns-blazing production full of righteously madcap decision-making at the Tom Hendry Warehouse.

Full-day kindergarten returning to city’s largest school division in the fall

Manitoba’s largest school division is bringing back full day, every day kindergarten in the fall.

Four years after scaling back early years options, the Winnipeg School Division — now under new leadership — has confirmed the U-turn.

Chief superintendent Matt Henderson said he’s “not convinced” an internal study used to justify cuts in 2022 was afforded the time or energy it required to be conclusive.

The results zoned in on academics rather than holistic benefits, such as how full-time instruction builds a young student’s confidence and gives parents more flexibility to work, he said.

LRSD says 12 per cent increase needed to avoid layoffs if provincial funding frozen

St. Vital homeowners are being warned about a “worst case scenario” property education tax hike of nearly 12 per cent.

The Louis Riel School Division laid out a range of 2026-27 budget scenarios for residents during a 90-minute meeting on Wednesday.

The event was held two weeks after the division issued a bleak warning about its finances and called on community members to lobby the province to top up its funding.

“Worst case scenario is an 11.53 per cent mill rate increase for the ratepayer,” said Jamie Rudnicki, secretary-treasurer and chief financial officer of the division in southeast Winnipeg.

Predator used Snapchat to lure children for sexual abuse; girls struggling now, court told

A Winnipeg man who used the social media app Snapchat to lure his young victims into having unprotected sex with him filmed some of the encounters.

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.

Donning the vest: Young crossing guards take up safety tradition

Georgia Donachuk and the rest of her all-girls squad have given up their lunch hour for the greater good.

Equipped with flags, vests and, at this time of year, lots of layers, five girls can be found scanning the perimeter of Isaac Brock School on weekdays.

What motivates them to clock in daily for the 12:30 p.m. shift, even when it’s -25 C?

“I like keeping people safe when they cross the street,” Georgia, 10, said after shedding her CAA vest and hanging it on a hook in her school’s front lobby on a recent weekday. “Also, every time we go out, we see a cat!”

Attention-grabbing screens demean us, bit by bit

The first time I read Oryx and Crake, Canadian author Margaret Atwood’s haunting dystopic novel, I couldn’t put it down. I devoured it in just days, engrossed by the fictional world Atwood wove from the most discomfiting new threads of our own.

Over the years, I returned to the book many times, always finding new depth in its pages. Each time, I finished it at the same brisk pace. I was a fast reader as a child, and for most of my life, that didn’t change.

Until now. In November, as part of an effort to calm my restless mind, I put Oryx and Crake on my nightstand, and made a pledge to myself to read a little bit every night. This time, it’s been over two months, and I’ve made it through only 92 pages.

It would be easy to say I’ve been too busy, but that would be a lie. I’ve had time to read. The problem is now, unlike when the book came out in 2003, I struggle to read more than a page without checking my phone quickly; and checking it once means falling into the chasm of raw content the internet has become.

Province hunting for web-based system to better assess and help youth with mental-health, addiction issues

As a drug crisis rages in Manitoba, the province is looking for a better web-based mental-health and addictions assessment tool for youth to help connect them to the services they need.

Shared Health said it’s seeking an evidence-based assessment system that focuses on mental health and substance use challenges in youth. On Monday, it posted on the public-sector tendering site MERX that it’s looking for systems and tools that are secure and ready to go.

A spokesperson for Shared Health said the authority is trying to determine whether there are any stronger screening tools and digital platforms than what is currently in use. The Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth has sounded the alarm over substance use among children and youth, and the need for the province to do more and better.

Shared Health currently has a screening tool and digital platform — the Child Behavior Checklist and the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA-Web), the spokesperson said.

Denmark plans to severely restrict social media use for young people

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — As Australia began enforcing a world-first social media ban for children under 16 years old this week, Denmark is planning to follow its lead and severely restrict social media access for young people.

The Danish government announced last month that it had secured an agreement by three governing coalition and two opposition parties in parliament to ban access to social media for anyone under the age of 15. Such a measure would be the most sweeping step yet by a European Union nation to limit use of social media among teens and children.

The Danish government's plans could become law as soon as mid-2026. The proposed measure would give some parents the right to let their children access social media from age 13, local media reported, but the ministry has not yet fully shared the plans.

Many social media platforms already ban children younger than 13 from signing up, and a EU law requires Big Tech to put measures in place to protect young people from online risks and inappropriate content. But officials and experts say such restrictions don’t always work.

Two midwives hired in Selkirk, province announces

The province has delivered midwifery services to Manitoba’s Interlake-Eastern Health region.

On Monday, Premier Wab Kinew and Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara announced two full-time midwives will be based in Selkirk.

“For far too long, families in this region have not had access to midwifery care,” Asagwara said at a news conference in Selkirk, noting it’s been 25 years since services were available.

“Expectant parents have all too often had to travel elsewhere for the kind of personalized, expert care that they really need,” the minister said.

Elementary students share struggles with reading after report reveals education system failing

The Manitoba Human Rights Commission published the long-awaited results of a probe into how schools are teaching children to read — or failing to do so — at the end of October.

The 70-page report represents Phase 1 of a special project that’s become known as “Manitoba’s Right to Read.” A followup on the implementation of investigators’ recommendations is expected in 2026-27.

Local investigators concluded many teachers do not have training in structured literacy, a neuroscience-backed philosophy founded on explicit instruction in phonics, which stresses recognizing the connection between sounds and letters/letter combinations.

The structured-literacy method of teaching had all but lost the so-called “reading wars” by the 2000s, amid concerns memorizing letter-sound associations was repetitive and, as a result, was destroying students’ motivation to learn. Schools pivoted to prioritizing exposing children to a wide variety of interesting and increasingly difficult texts.

Investment regulator funds program to help Indigenous youth manage settlement money

Sudden wealth isn’t a topic that would typically be part of a basic financial literacy course. It seems like even more of an odd fit for a new program for low-income Manitobans.

“We’ve been picking up on what people we worked with in the community have been asking about,” says Lisa Forbes, manager of social enterprise and fund development at SEED Winnipeg Inc.

Called “Sudden Wealth and Investing Basics,” the pilot is a response to what SEED has been hearing from Indigenous youth who may soon be recipients of legal settlements, she says.

These notably include a $530-million settlement to compensate children in care from 2005 to 2019 in Manitoba who had grant money unfairly clawed back and a $23-billion federal settlement over discriminatory child welfare practices and chronic underfunding.

Need for winter clothes outstripping supply

Despite Winnipeg’s mild fall, the bitter cold is coming — and already the demand for winter clothing donations is outstripping supply, United Way Winnipeg says.

Seven Oaks pool closing at least a year for repairs, renovations; parents worry about dried-up swim-lesson opportunities

Parents in northwest Winnipeg say they’re worried about losing access to swimming lessons after the city announced it will close Seven Oaks Pool for more than a year in order to complete extensive repairs.

Winnipeg-based organization injects federal funds into innovative, women-powered business in Bolivia

With practised grace, Antonia Olpo slides down the bank of the long, shallow pond and plunges fully clothed into the muddy water. On the grass above, other women and their male helpers unfurl the net, stretching it across the pond from edge to edge, and let it sink below the surface.

A friend is a friend is a friend

My mother has a friend she does not know. For privacy’s sake I’ll call her Peggy, but that is not her name.

Black-led non-profit developer gets federal funds for affordable housing units in north part of city

A Black-led real estate developer has become the first in Canada to secure federal funding, paving the way for 30 affordable housing units within a new 72-unit development in north Winnipeg.

Non-profit Inuka Community Inc. received $23.3 million through the Affordable Housing Fund, administered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. The CMHC set aside $50 million specifically for Black-led organizations to help create more than 500 units.

The new rental complex at 1510 Main St., will include 30 one-bedroom, 30 two-bedroom and 12 three-bedroom units. Thirty of those units, in a mix of sizes, will be designated affordable and aimed at newcomers to the city, with available supports such as debt management, credit building and driver training.

“Lots of sleepless nights to get here,” said Naomi Gichungu, Inuka’s chief executive officer.