News for young children

Hot diggity dog! Wienermobiles put on riveting race in Wienie 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Dave Skretta, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Hot diggity dog! Wienermobiles put on riveting race in Wienie 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Dave Skretta, The Associated Press 3 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Give the Borg-Wiener Trophy at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to the Wienermobile affectionately known as Slaw Dog.

In a down-to-the-wire race among the six iconic Wienermobiles that serve as goodwill ambassadors for Oscar Mayer, the hot dog-on-wheels representing the Southeast proved to be the big dog on Carb Day ahead of Sunday's running of the Indianapolis 500.

It made a dramatic pass of the Wienermobile repping Chicago at the finish line to win the inaugural Wienie 500 on Friday.

The margin was about a half a bun.

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

The Oscar Mayer Wienermobiles head into the first turn as they compete in the Wienie 500 following the practice session for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

The Oscar Mayer Wienermobiles head into the first turn as they compete in the Wienie 500 following the practice session for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

‘Special to the world’: Supporters hope to save beloved Drumheller dinosaur

Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

‘Special to the world’: Supporters hope to save beloved Drumheller dinosaur

Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Monday, Sep. 22, 2025

DRUMHELLER - A plan to send Tyra the tyrannosaurus, the popular tourist attraction that towers over the skyline in Drumheller, Alta., into proverbial extinction has sparked demands that she be spared.

The town of 8,400 northeast of Calgary bills itself as the Dinosaur Capital of the World. Home to the famed Royal Tyrrell Museum, the community also has statues of dinosaurs that look like they've crawled out of "The Flintstones" cartoon greeting people on the streets.

There's an extinct reptile riding a motorcycle. A triceratops in a frilly dress sits on a bus bench. Another dinosaur wearing a fireman's hat and holding a hose is poised outside a fire station.

The biggest is Tyra, standing across from the intersection of Gorgosaurus Street and Tyrannosaurus Drive near a visitor information centre. A nearby ice cream stand offers fossils, T-shirts and dino toys.

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Monday, Sep. 22, 2025

Tyra the Tyrannosaurus, the lovable landmark that towers over the Drumheller skyline in the heart of the Canadian Badlands, is facing an extinction-level event and is pictured in Drumheller, Alta., Tuesday, April 1, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Tyra the Tyrannosaurus, the lovable landmark that towers over the Drumheller skyline in the heart of the Canadian Badlands, is facing an extinction-level event and is pictured in Drumheller, Alta., Tuesday, April 1, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Anti-racism activist hopes to make our communities mutually respectful

AV Kitching 7 minute read Preview

Anti-racism activist hopes to make our communities mutually respectful

AV Kitching 7 minute read Monday, Feb. 24, 2025

Dr. Rehman Abdulrehman is a clinical and consulting psychologist at Clinic Psychology Manitoba. He has a consulting and coaching firm called Lead with Diversity, he is the assistant professor with the department of clinical health psychology at the University of Manitoba and he has just written his first book, Developing Anti-Racist Cultural Competence, which aims to help people develop practical skills, insight and better empathy when working with diverse groups.

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Monday, Feb. 24, 2025

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

Rehman Abdulrehman believes we are seeing obvious examples of racism all over the world these days.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
                                Rehman Abdulrehman believes we are seeing obvious examples of racism all over the world these days.

Paleontologist makes strides toward understanding the way mosasaurs behaved

AV Kitching 6 minute read Preview

Paleontologist makes strides toward understanding the way mosasaurs behaved

AV Kitching 6 minute read Monday, Jan. 20, 2025

Maximilian Scott is a vertebrate paleontologist who focuses on extinct animal behaviour and behavioural evolution. Scott, 27, from Ovid, Mich., is in the last year of his master’s degree at the University of Manitoba studying mosasaurs, an ancient marine lizard that lived in Manitoba during the late-Cretaceous period.

He also offers tutoring in geology, biology, animal behaviour and conservation to people of all ages. You can find him on Instagram.

Our story doesn’t start with the first book that was written, our story starts a long time before that, a long time before the first humans. It’s all one long story.

Humans have only existed for 200,000 years. The Earth has been around for 4.5 billion years. Life has been around for three billion years, and complex life has been around for 542 million years.

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Monday, Jan. 20, 2025

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

Vertebrate paleontologist Maximilian Scott handles the fossilized jaw of a tylosaurus (a type of mosasaur) jaw in the University of Manitoba paleontology lab.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
                                Vertebrate paleontologist Maximilian Scott handles the fossilized jaw of a tylosaurus (a type of mosasaur) jaw in the University of Manitoba paleontology lab.

Classrooms don’t have to be smartphone-free zones, tech-fluent educators tell province

Maggie Macintosh 5 minute read Preview

Classrooms don’t have to be smartphone-free zones, tech-fluent educators tell province

Maggie Macintosh 5 minute read Friday, Feb. 9, 2024

A group of tech-savvy teachers is calling on the province to create guidelines on cellphone use in schools and offering to help get it done.

The Manitoba Association of Education Technology Leaders has taken a firm stance against introducing a sweeping ban of personal wireless devices in kindergarten-to-Grade 12 buildings.

Manitoba Education has no policy in place. School divisions create their own appropriate use policies, while most buildings allow teachers to make rules for their own classrooms.

Tuxedo’s Laidlaw School, Collège Béliveau in Windsor Park and West Kildonan Collegiate are among Winnipeg facilities that have imposed stricter measures this year.

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Friday, Feb. 9, 2024

BROOK JONES / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Grade 12 student Amy Klos puts her cell phone in a cell phone storage pouch fastened to the wall while in her pre-calculus classroom at West Kildonan Collegiate in Winnipeg, Man., Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. West Kildonan Collegiate is one example among a number of schools across school divisions in Winnipeg that are implementing strict cell phone guidelines for the second semester.

BROOK JONES / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
                                Grade 12 student Amy Klos puts her cell phone in a cell phone storage pouch fastened to the wall while in her pre-calculus classroom at West Kildonan Collegiate in Winnipeg, Man., Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. West Kildonan Collegiate is one example among a number of schools across school divisions in Winnipeg that are implementing strict cell phone guidelines for the second semester.

Frustrated educators disconnecting distracted students from devices

Maggie Macintosh 4 minute read Preview

Frustrated educators disconnecting distracted students from devices

Maggie Macintosh 4 minute read Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024

More school leaders across Manitoba are asking students to unplug themselves entirely during lesson times and requesting staff to be role models around positive phone-use.

Tuxedo’s Laidlaw School, Collège Béliveau in Windsor Park and West Kildonan Collegiate are among those that have announced stricter guidelines surrounding personal devices in 2024.

“Ultimately, we want our kids to disconnect with their devices and reconnect with their classmates and teacher,” said Adam Hildebrandt, principal of West Kildonan Collegiate. “We think this really is the best thing for their learning.”

Hildebrandt began his career at the high school in 2004. It was around 2010 when it became commonplace for his students to carry personal devices everywhere they went, and his classroom was no exception.

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Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024

BROOK JONES / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Grade 12 students Calan Duchart, Amy Klos and Rachel Mickall put their cell phones in a cell phone storage pouch fastened to the wall while in their pre-calculus classroom at West Kildonan Collegiate in Winnipeg, Man., Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. West Kildonan Collegiate is one example among a number of schools across school divisions in Winnipeg that are implementing strict cell phone guidelines for the second semester.

BROOK JONES / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
                                Grade 12 students Calan Duchart, Amy Klos and Rachel Mickall put their cell phones in a cell phone storage pouch fastened to the wall while in their pre-calculus classroom at West Kildonan Collegiate in Winnipeg, Man., Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. West Kildonan Collegiate is one example among a number of schools across school divisions in Winnipeg that are implementing strict cell phone guidelines for the second semester.

Little things in life can take on big meaning

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Aug. 9, 2021

Every once in a while, I have to try extra hard to look for the good things around me, especially lately.

I remind myself to poke my head outside of my echo chamber, and remember that even though the world seems to be on fire (literally and figuratively) there is still goodness and my soul needs to be nourished by it.

Sometimes, the brightest spot on my day is a jackpot — something like going on a vacation or finding a $5 bill in my pocket.

It’s the days that I easily make a connection with someone or have so much fun doing something that I forget about all the chaos around me.

Pas facile, le baseball au féminin

Manella VILA NOVA de La Liberté pour le Winnipeg Free Press 4 minute read Saturday, Aug. 4, 2018

Quand elle était enfant, Sophie Bissonnette n’avait pas d’intérêt évident pour un sport particulier. Ses parents ont donc décidé de l’inscrire au baseball, la passion de son père, Marc Bissonnette. Devenue elle-même amoureuse du sport, elle a joué pendant 15 ans dans des équipes masculines, puis féminines.

À ses débuts, le baseball était surtout l’occasion pour Sophie Bissonnette de passer du temps avec son père. “Il m’a toujours entraînée, et ça me plaisait beaucoup d’avoir ces moments avec lui. Dans ma première équipe, il y avait six filles et un garçon. Au fil des années, il y a eu de moins en moins de joueuses, jusqu’à ce que je sois la seule de mon équipe.”

Une situation qui a quelque peu préoccupé ses parents. “Ma mère était inquiète que je ne sois qu’avec des garçons. Mes parents m’ont proposé de passer au softball, pour être avec d’autres filles. Mais pour moi, c’est un sport complètement différent, et je ne voulais pas arrêter le baseball.”

Sophie n’a senti une différence que quand elle a commencé à jouer à haut niveau. “L’entraîneur me traitait comme les autres joueurs. Mais je n’étais pas la meilleure, et je sentais que je devais travailler plus fort, parce qu’il y avait des préjugés. Quand il y a 12 garçons et une fille sur le terrain, on remarque la fille et on prête plus attention à ce qu’elle fait. Mais j’avais ma place dans l’équipe, et j’étais prête à tout pour y rester.”

Peut-on se fier au narrateur?

Daniel Bahuaud de La Liberté pour le Winnipeg Free Press 4 minute read Preview

Peut-on se fier au narrateur?

Daniel Bahuaud de La Liberté pour le Winnipeg Free Press 4 minute read Saturday, Jun. 24, 2017

En l’espace d’un an, Max et son père déménagent cinq fois. Le père change non seulement de ville et d’emploi, mais de prénom et de nom de famille! Un mystère qui est au cœur de Max Lastname, le premier roman publié par Thea Wortley, auteure de 16 ans.

Pour Thea Wortley, l’auteure du roman pour ados et jeunes adultes Max Lastname écrire, c’est avant tout “jouer avec les points de vue.”

“Quand j’ai lu Les portes tournantes de l’auteur québécois Jacques Savoie, j’étais fascinée par le personnage d’Antoine Blaudelle. C’est un des deux narrateurs du roman, un naïf en qui il ne faut pas mettre toute sa confiance. Au bout de quelques pages, comme lectrice, je commençais à me demander si ce qu’il disait collait vraiment à la vérité,” Thea dit.

D’où l’idée de créer Max, un garçon de 10 ans.

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Saturday, Jun. 24, 2017