‘Exciting and meaningful’: St. James Collegiate track replacement nears starting line

St. James Collegiate students circled the edge of the school’s 400-metre track on Thursday morning as Couns. Shawn Dobson and Brian Mayes stood nearby, announcing a plan to rebuild the surface beneath their feet.

The logic of saving for a rainy day

We get it. It’s hard to be responsible, and it’s hard to pinch pennies when there’s so much pressure on your wallet.

Louis Riel School Division embraces AI agents of change

End-of-year report cards will be drafted using a new digital assistant made by and for teachers working in St. Vital and surrounding communities in southeast Winnipeg.

The Louis Riel School Division’s data team has spent much of the 2025-26 school year designing and piloting secure artificial intelligence-powered tools to address common problems for staff and students.

Curriculum-Linked Assessment and Reporting Assistant is one of its five new “AI agents.”

“Teachers put in all their assessment data and it helps them create meaningful, curriculum-aligned, jargon-free comments for parents,” said Marnie Wilson, data strategy officer for the division.

SCO-led app Miikahnah Connect links Indigenous workers to labour demand

As Jay Sanderson turned to face his job site, evidence of his work stared back — plywood replacing windows at the former Hudson’s Bay Co. flagship store downtown.

Lately, he’s been in the basement.

He’s working with several First Nations members on the construction of Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn, the Southern Chiefs’ Organization’s revamp of the old Bay site.

Construction on the facility — which will include housing and a childcare centre, among other things— is slated for another two-and-a-half years, according to SCO’s grand chief.

Ottawa pumps the brakes on proposed changes to major project environmental reviews

OTTAWA - The federal government is pumping the brakes on its proposed changes to how major projects are reviewed, and says it won't table legislation on the changes until the fall.

Last month Ottawa released two discussion papers which proposed, among other things, approving major projects before they’re reviewed and exempting certain projects from laws meant to protect species at risk.

It also proposed taking the responsibility for reviewing pipelines, transmission lines and offshore renewable energy projects away from the Impact Assessment Agency and handing it to the Canada Energy Regulator.

The federal government has said it has been told by industry that the level of expertise on energy projects that lived at the Canada Energy Regulator couldn’t be found at the Impact Assessment Agency.

Teaching, learning are unrealistic expectations in intolerably hot classrooms

There is something fundamentally wrong with a province that can find room for tax cuts yet still sends thousands of children and teachers into classrooms that feel more like saunas than places of learning.

AP exclusive: Iran players describe how the war affects their World Cup preparations

ANTALYA, Turkey (AP) — Iran is heading to the World Cup while the country is at war with the primary host nation, a situation that is unique in the tournament’s history.

In exclusive interviews with The Associated Press during a team camp in Turkey, two members of Iran’s squad described how the conflict is affecting its World Cup preparations.

“Well, to be honest, it’s not easy,” said Saeid Ezatolahi, a 29-year-old midfielder who also played for Iran in the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

“That’s going to be my third World Cup. So for me and some of the other players, it might be easier to manage these kind of things,” he said in English on the sidelines of a training session on Wednesday. “But at the end ... it is going to be difficult for us because at the same time, we are following the news in our country and the political things, of course, can affect the mind of the players and the people."

Brazilian players from a Rio de Janeiro favela find hope and opportunities thanks to soccer

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — When Brazilian João Victor Gonçalves began playing soccer in one of Rio de Janeiro ’s poorest and most violent favelas, little did he know the game would one day allow him to travel abroad and play in an international competition.

Last month, along with nine other young boys, he flew to Mexico to represent Brazil in the Street Child World Cup, a tournament with teams from 30 countries composed of boys from impoverished backgrounds, organized ahead of this year’s FIFA World Cup.

“I never could have imagined that one day this would happen, that I would represent my country, doing what I most love — playing soccer — in another country,” said Gonçalves, who is 18. The Brazil team went undefeated and won the tournament, enhancing the thrill of the experience.

Like many Brazilians, Gonçalves and his teammates grew up kicking a ball around and closely following members of the Seleção, Brazil’s national soccer team. They dream of one day becoming professional soccer players like their heroes.

Treating the fever while ignoring the infection

Manitoba’s health-care system has a fever. It shows up as emergency room waits, crowded hallways, ambulance delays and patients waiting too long for care. A fever, however, is not the infection. It is the symptom.

Goldeyes hosted second school game of the season Wednesday

A sizeable chunk of inhabiting schools from around Friendly Manitoba came out to the Blue Cross Park to get a taste of what baseball is all about Wednesday.

The Winnipeg Goldeyes hosted their second school day of the year, filling the crowd with students from 78 different schools located throughout the province.

Goldeyes general manager Andrew Collier looks forward to these events every year as the stands are filled with smiling kids, whether they have a deep love for the sport or are just being introduced to it.

“They are really successful days of the year. Kids have a great time,” Collier said. “It’s nice to have a field trip and get out of school.”

Lumi the lynx finds new home at Assiniboine Park Zoo

An orphaned and disabled lynx has found a new home at Assiniboine Park Zoo.

Premier Wab Kinew was on hand Wednesday morning to welcome Lumi the lynx and announce a $650,000 grant for the wildlife rehabilitation centre that rescued it.

Lumi was helped by the Wildlife Haven Rehabilitation Centre as a baby last year after its mother was killed in a dog attack. Lumi entered its public enclosure at the zoo for the first time Wednesday after receiving medical treatment at its health centre since March.

“What a beautiful animal,” said Kinew, as he and a zoo official let the wildcat out from a crate into the public habitat.

Heat wave leaves schools sweltering

Classes are being cancelled as thermostats spike — up to 42 C, in one case reported to the teachers union — in schools without building-wide air conditioning.

AFN chief rebukes Alberta separation talks in meeting with King Charles

OTTAWA - The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations rebuked the Alberta separation movement during a meeting with King Charles at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.

"The King was there with us in unison, that First Nations are foundational partners in the creation of Canada, and our relationship cannot be changed or moved just from politics," Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak told The Canadian Press in an interview.

"As long as the sun shines, the grass grows and the river flows, we're all treaty people in Canada."

The Alberta government is putting forward a referendum in October asking voters if they want to remain part of Canada or to pursue a second binding referendum on separating from Canada.

Division unveils plans for transport and learning hub south of Perimeter

The Louis Riel School Division has released details outlining its multimillion-dollar plan to transform its new rural property into a transportation and land-based learning hub.

Its blueprint for 3280 St. Mary’s Rd. — a nearly 8.3-acre plot south of the Perimeter Highway in St. Germain — was shared at a public open house last week.

Attendees were “on board” and supportive of outdoor education on the grounds, but some neighbours voiced concerns related to noise, fumes and privacy, said Jamie Rudnicki, secretary-treasurer and chief financial officer of the division.

“We’re listening. We’re going to make some small modifications to our plans to address some of those concerns,” Rudnicki said, noting the redevelopment team is already discussing ways to adjust berms and fencing.

Meteor as heavy as an elephant causes widespread speculation across New England

When the double boom rang out in New England over the weekend, shaking homes and sending pets fleeing, questions started flooding social media.

“Did anyone else hear that boom?”

“Anyone feel that?”

NASA let people know over the weekend that the cause of the commotion was a meteor, but on Monday they revealed even more stunning details.

Peace, justice and bringing this country together

From the War of 1812 to today, no one has stood up for this country and worked for unity in this place more than Indigenous Peoples.

Doors Open to Winnipeg’s mystery, history

It’s easy to travel past the Manitoba Buddhist Temple and not even notice it.

City taking steps to reduce speeding in 30 km/h school zones

A pair of 30-kilometre-per-hour school zones known as speeding hot spots are getting safety upgrades this summer amid a citywide probe into posted speed limits.

Winnipeg school officials were recently briefed on hot spots for collisions and photo-radar tickets issued near elementary buildings between the months of September and June, when the maximum limit drops.

“There’s no cookie-cutter kind of solution, unfortunately,” said Denae Dorge, the city’s road safety outreach co-ordinator.

“You need to have lots of different tools in your toolbox and also, work with the families that attend your school.”

North End puts its best foot forward with Culture Fest

Fostering friendship is one of the most important parts of Melanie McKay’s day.

At the Winnipeg Indigenous Friendship Centre, she serves as a program co-ordinator, where she organizes bingo nights, drop-ins for elders and craft sessions. She spent Saturday afternoon at the third annual North End Neighbours Culture Fest, where a dozen organizations serving the neighbourhood gathered at the Ukrainian Labour Temple to share food, watch performances and celebrate each other.

“These are the people that we represent, and these are the people that we want to help out,” McKay said Saturday. “I think being here shows that we’re out there in the community, and we’re willing to help any way we can.”

The Indigenous Friendship Centre began operating out of 410 McGregor St., May 1, while they renovate their former home at 45 Robinson St. They’re holding an open house June 5 in hopes of letting more people know their resources are available to the North End, regardless of their cultural background.

Even residential school couldn’t erase who Christina Henderson was

Over her life, Christina Gladys Henderson was known by a few names.

She was born Aug. 6, 1948, as Teenie Cook, to Adam Cook and Violet Quill, and lived her early years in Sapotaweyak Cree Nation, on the shore of Lake Winnipegosis, about 600 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.

She would later adopt the name Tina, which most people called her, and later, Christina. In marriage, she would trade the surname Cook for Henderson.

Over her 77 years, however, one part of her identity did not change: Henderson would hold fast to her first language, Swampy Cree, despite more than a decade spent in residential schools — institutions that routinely punished and humiliated First Nations children for speaking their own languages.

Indelible imprint: Prolific architect’s early-20th century works helped shape our city

Excerpt from John D Atchison: His Works and Times (Winnipeg Architecture Foundation) by Gail Perry. A book launch will be held June 6 at McNally Robinson’s Grant Park location, beginning at 7 p.m.