Life & Style – Winnipeg Free Press

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A song book sits in a pew at the Augustine United Church.

Pew research

John Longhurst 5 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

There’s been lots of media attention recently about the idea of youth religious revival — that young people, especially those from Gen Z, are flocking to church.

It all started in April last year, when the Bible Society in the United Kingdom shared the results of a poll it commissioned from YouGov, a prominent online marketing organization. That poll showed a 16 per cent increase in church attendance in the U.K. by young people ages 18-24.

This was, the Bible Society contended, “dramatic” proof of a “quiet revival” among youth in that country.

Skeptics quickly pushed back. The reason it was “quiet,” they said, was because there was no other poll, including those done by the U.K. Anglican and Catholic churches themselves, that had found anything like the Bible Society’s results. Not only that, they pointed out that anyone who visited most any church on a Sunday morning could see for themselves how few young people were in attendance.

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B.C. bears emerge from their dens, sparking excitement and heightened monitoring

Nono Shen, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

B.C. bears emerge from their dens, sparking excitement and heightened monitoring

Nono Shen, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Updated: 3:14 PM CDT

VANCOUVER - B.C. Grouse Mountain's beloved grizzly bears have woken up from their long nap this week after about 144 days of hibernation.

Grouse Mountain took to its Facebook page to share the excitement, saying that Grinder and Coola, which were rescued as orphaned cubs and arrived at the Grouse Mountain Refuge in 2001, emerged from their 25th dormancy.

Grouse Mountain says Grinder and Coola are happy and healthy, and they are thrilled to see the snow following their 144-day-long winter nap.

The ski resort says this year also marks a big milestone for both bears as they both turned 25 and will also hit the quarter-century mark at the refuge.

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Updated: 3:14 PM CDT

Two of three orphaned grizzly bear cubs play at the Greater Vancouver Zoo, in Aldergrove, B.C., on Wednesday, July 8, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Obituary: John Fefchak always intent on doing the right thing

Janine LeGal 6 minute read Preview

Obituary: John Fefchak always intent on doing the right thing

Janine LeGal 6 minute read 6:00 AM CDT

Even from his hospital bed, nearing the end of his life, army veteran and environmentalist John Fefchak was writing letters to the editor on issues involving the environment and water quality. His focus? Justice.

For the father, grandfather, storyteller and tireless advocate giving his heart and soul and time, it was all about doing what was right.

“John was not only a frequent letter-to-the-editor writer, but also one who was passionate about that section where readers got their say,” said Paul Samyn, Free Press editor. “He would often let me know what he had submitted in hopes that letter would soon be published. I was so touched when I realized that passion never dimmed even when he was hospitalized and he was nearing death, as he was still submitting letters and asking for my help to get them published.”

Fefchak died on June 10, 2025, at age 91.

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6:00 AM CDT

Supplied
At the Wall of Remembrance in Brandon, where his name is among those of local military veterans.

Trump signs order to speed review of psychedelics, including the controversial drug ibogaine

Matthew Perrone And Seung Min Kim, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Trump signs order to speed review of psychedelics, including the controversial drug ibogaine

Matthew Perrone And Seung Min Kim, The Associated Press 6 minute read Updated: 12:02 PM CDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Saturday directed his administration to speed up reviews of certain psychedelic drugs, including ibogaine, which recently has been embraced by combat veterans and conservative lawmakers despite having serious safety risks.

Ibogaine and other psychedelics remain banned under the federal government's most restrictive category for illegal, high-risk drugs. But the administration is taking steps to ease restrictions and spur research on using the drugs for medical purposes, including conditions like severe depression.

“Today’s order will ensure that people suffering from debilitating symptoms might finally have a chance to reclaim their lives and lead a happier life,” Trump said as he signed an executive order on the drugs. The Republican president said his directive will help “dramatically accelerate” access to potential treatments. "If these turn out to be as good as people are saying, it's going to have a tremendous impact,” he said.

Veteran organizations and psychedelic advocates have long contended that ibogaine, which is made from a shrub native to West Africa, has great promise for hard-to-treat conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder and opioid addiction.

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Updated: 12:02 PM CDT

President Donald Trump holds up a signed executive order in the Oval Office of the White House, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Perennials in the zone

Colleen Zacharias 5 minute read Preview

Perennials in the zone

Colleen Zacharias 5 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

The reputation of Manitoba’s cold climate precedes us into nearly every major North American plant-breeding company. You could almost say, if a plant survives winter in Winnipeg, it will survive anywhere.

Dummen Orange is a leading global breeder and propagator of ornamental flowers and plants. It has been in operation in North America for 26 years. The company’s True North Perennials program differentiates Dummen Orange from other breeders on our continent, many of whom test their plants in places where winter temperatures do not exceed -34.4 C — in other words, Zone 4.

Hence, many new plant introductions are classified as hardy to Zone 4 because they have not been tested in our Zone 3B climate. Vanstone Nurseries in Portage la Prairie is a key regional testing ground for the True North Perennials program, which is focused on our zone.

“This has become a very big deal,” says Duayne Friesen, Winnipeg-based sales representative for Ball Seed Company, a major North American supplier of seed and young plants to commercial greenhouses. “There is significant demand, especially in Canada and the northern United States, for plant varieties that are guaranteed cold-hardy.”

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2:00 AM CDT

Gaillardia SpinTop Orange Halo Improved is an exceptional new perennial from the True North Perennials collection. It looks equally good in landscapes or containers.

Ritual of remembrance: Saying names aloud keeps memories of Holocaust victims alive

Sharon Chisvin 4 minute read Preview

Ritual of remembrance: Saying names aloud keeps memories of Holocaust victims alive

Sharon Chisvin 4 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

On a designated spring morning for more than three decades, members of Winnipeg’s Jewish community, representatives of other faith communities, high school students and local government officials have met near the Holocaust Memorial on the grounds of the Manitoba Legislature to take turns reading aloud the names of men, women and children whose lives ended more than 80 years ago.

The reading of the names is the main component of Unto Every Person There is a Name, a program organized and hosted by the League for Human Rights of B’nai Brith Canada for Holocaust Remembrance Day. That day, which commemorates the six million Jewish victims of the Nazi genocide, fell this year on April 14.

“Six million is a staggering number,” says Ruth Ashrafi, B’nai Brith Canada’s regional director for Manitoba. “It is hard to fully comprehend the scale of the killings. Reading the names of the individuals out loud, together with the location of their murder — and in the case of children their age of death — puts a human face on this number. ”

This year’s event was chaired by Winnipegger Rob Berkowits, a second-generation Holocaust survivor who has been one of the name readers since the program’s inception in 1990.

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2:01 AM CDT

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
Judith Lavitt lights a candle at the Yom HaShoah annual Holocaust commemoration at the Manitoba Legislative Building, April 14.

B.C. supportive housing bill targets problem tenants. Critics fear it may worsen woes

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview

B.C. supportive housing bill targets problem tenants. Critics fear it may worsen woes

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press 6 minute read 3:00 AM CDT

VANCOUVER - Housing researcher Alina McKay knows there are "tensions" in British Columbia's supportive housing buildings, as tenants face disruptive violence flowing from poverty and other issues that beleaguer a sector aimed at keeping vulnerable people off the streets.

The B.C. government is moving to ease those tensions through changes to residential tenancy law to make supportive housing buildings safer for tenants, health-care workers, contractors and staff.

But McKay is among a growing chorus of opposition to the legislation known as Bill 11, which she and others fear will drive up evictions, increase homelessness and push problems onto the streets.

McKay, a housing researcher at the University of British Columbia's law school, fears the changes to the Residential Tenancy Act will contribute to the very problems they aim to solve.

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3:00 AM CDT

B.C. NDP Leader David Eby, back right, and Housing Minister Christine Boyle walk past the Bloedel Conservatory as they arrive for a campaign stop in Vancouver, on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

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What consumers can do as the Iran war impacts the cost and availability of flights

Rio Yamat, The Associated Press 7 minute read Preview

What consumers can do as the Iran war impacts the cost and availability of flights

Rio Yamat, The Associated Press 7 minute read Updated: 3:50 PM CDT

As the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran squeezes global oil supplies, travelers have valid reasons to worry about the cost and availability of flights as they plan their late spring and summer trips.

The head of the International Energy Agency has warned that European countries could run low on jet fuel within weeks, forcing the continent's airlines and carriers that fly to Europe to significantly reduce flights. Many airlines have already raised checked bag fees or added fuel surcharges as the global price of jet fuel increased from about $99 per barrel at the end of February to as high as $209 a barrel at the beginning of April.

In a sign of the conflict’s ongoing repercussions for travel, Air Canada said Friday it planned to suspend its service to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport from June 1 until Oct. 25 to lower its fuel costs. Other airlines, ranging from U.S. carriers like United and Delta to Air France-KLM, SAS, Philippine Airlines and and Cathay Pacific in Europe and Asia, have reduced routes and either increased ticket prices or said they would hike them if the war keeps oil from passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

“It’s very hard for the airlines to make predictions in this environment, so they’re going to be conservative, and that’s why it’s likely that their prices will remain elevated for some time until things really stabilize,” said Shye Gilad, a former airline captain who now teaches at Georgetown University’s business school.

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Updated: 3:50 PM CDT

A Philippine Airlines plane takes off from Los Angeles International Airport in El Segundo, Calif., on Friday, April 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

UK police investigate an arson attempt on a building once used by the Jewish community

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

UK police investigate an arson attempt on a building once used by the Jewish community

The Associated Press 2 minute read 9:43 AM CDT

LONDON (AP) — British counterterrorism police are investigating an attempted arson attack in London, one of a string of recent incidents targeting Jewish and Iranian premises in the city.

Police said Saturday that they aren't currently linking the incident to recent attacks on Jewish charity ambulances and a Persian-language media organization.

The Metropolitan Police force said that detectives weren't treating the incidents as acts of terror, but Counter Terrorism Policing London is leading the investigation “due to the similarities of each attack.”

Police said that on Friday night a man was spotted leaving a bag containing three bottles of fluid outside a building, which was previously used by the Jewish community. He attempted to light the contents, which failed to ignite fully, and then fled. No arrests have been made.

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9:43 AM CDT

FILE - A sign stands in front of the New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police, in London, Sept. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

Pope Leo XIV says ‘not in my interest at all’ to debate Trump but will keep preaching peace

Nicole Winfield, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Pope Leo XIV says ‘not in my interest at all’ to debate Trump but will keep preaching peace

Nicole Winfield, The Associated Press 4 minute read Updated: 10:41 AM CDT

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Leo XIV said Saturday that it was “not in my interest at all” to debate U.S. President Donald Trump about the Iran war, but that he would continue preaching the Gospel message of peace.

Leo spoke to reporters aboard the papal plane flying from Cameroon to Angola as part of his 11-day tour of Africa.

He addressed the spiraling back-and-forth saga of Trump’s critiques of his peace message, which have dominated news headlines this week. But the American pope also sought to set the record straight, insisting that his preaching isn’t directed at Trump, but reflects the broader Gospel message of peace.

“There’s been a certain narrative that has not been accurate in all of its aspects, but because of the political situation created when, on the first day of the trip, the president of the United States made some comments about myself,” he said.

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Updated: 10:41 AM CDT

Pope Leo XIV arrives in procession to celebrate Mass at Yaounde Ville Airport, Cameroon, Saturday, April 18, 2026 on the sixth day of his 11-day pastoral visit to Africa. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Record US drought sparks worries about fires, water supply and food prices

Seth Borenstein, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Record US drought sparks worries about fires, water supply and food prices

Seth Borenstein, The Associated Press 4 minute read 7:59 AM CDT

Drought in the contiguous United States has reached record levels for this time of year, weather data shows. Meteorologists said it's a bad sign for the upcoming wildfire season, food prices and western water issues.

More than 61% of the Lower 48 states is in moderate to exceptional drought — including 97% of the Southeast and two-thirds of the West — according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. It's the highest levels for this time of year since the drought monitor began in 2000.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's comprehensive Palmer Drought Severity Index not only hit its highest level for March since records started in 1895, but last month was the third-driest month recorded regardless of time of year. It trailed only the famed Dust Bowl months of July and August 1934.

Because of record heat, much of the West has had exceptionally low levels of snow in the first few months of the year, which is usually how the region stores water for the summer. A different drought — connected to the jet stream keeping storms further north — has put the South from Texas all the way to the East Coast into a separate drought that just happens to coincide with what's going on in the West, said Brian Fuchs, a climatologist with the National Drought Mitigation Center.

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7:59 AM CDT

FILE - Philip Anderson walks across a dry stock pond March 31, 2026, in Walden, Colo. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson, File)

Pope Leo XIV challenges Angola’s leaders while delivering a message of encouragement for its people

Nicole Winfield And Gerald Imray, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Pope Leo XIV challenges Angola’s leaders while delivering a message of encouragement for its people

Nicole Winfield And Gerald Imray, The Associated Press 5 minute read Updated: 6:36 PM CDT

LUANDA, Angola (AP) — Pope Leo XIV challenged Angola’s leaders to break the "cycle of interests” that have plundered and exploited Africa for centuries as he arrived in the southern African country on Saturday with a message of encouragement for its long-suffering people.

Leo's arrival in Angola, the oil-and-mineral rich former Portuguese colony, marked the third leg of his four-nation African voyage. En route from Cameroon, he spoke again of the ongoing back-and-forth with U.S. President Donald Trump over the Iran war.

Leo, history’s first U.S.-born pope, said that it was “not in my interest at all” to debate Trump, but that he would continue preaching the Gospel message of peace, justice and brotherhood in Africa.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance later wrote on social media that “I am grateful to Pope Leo for saying this.” Vance, a Catholic convert, suggested earlier in the week that Leo “be careful” when speaking about theology.

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Updated: 6:36 PM CDT

Pope Leo XIV arrives to celebrate Mass at Yaounde Ville Airport, Cameroon, Saturday, April 18, 2026 on the sixth day of his 11-day pastoral visit to Africa. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

States eulogize Charlie Kirk with new laws promoting religion and free speech

David A. Lieb, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

States eulogize Charlie Kirk with new laws promoting religion and free speech

David A. Lieb, The Associated Press 6 minute read 12:46 AM CDT

A new Kansas law will allow college students to sue their schools for free-speech violations. In Tennessee, a new law will encourage teachers and professors to include “the positive impacts of religion” in American history courses.

The common factor: Both are being done in the name of Charlie Kirk.

The laws are among the first of what could become multiple state tributes to the conservative activist who was killed while speaking at a Utah university last year. More than 60 Kirk-themed bills have been proposed in over 20 states seeking to promote his ideology, establish official days of remembrance or affix his name to roads and public places, according to an Associated Press analysis using the bill-tracking software Plural.

Just like Kirk, who was known for his provocative campus debates, the measures are not without controversy.

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12:46 AM CDT

FILE - A well-wisher places flowers at a makeshift memorial set up for Charlie Kirk at Turning Point USA headquarters, Sept. 11, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

The Latest: Iran fires on ships in Strait of Hormuz as Tehran imposes restrictions again

The Associated Press 16 minute read Preview

The Latest: Iran fires on ships in Strait of Hormuz as Tehran imposes restrictions again

The Associated Press 16 minute read Updated: 5:40 PM CDT

Iran reversed its decision to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and fired on a tanker attempting to pass the waterway on Saturday. It also warned that it would continue to block transit through the strait as long as the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect.

Confusion over the critical chokepoint threatened to deepen the energy crisis roiling the global economy and push the two countries toward renewed conflict, even as mediators expressed confidence a new deal was within reach.

Iran’s joint military command said on Saturday that “control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state ... under strict management and control of the armed forces.”

Two gunboats from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard opened fire on a tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. It reported the tanker and crew as safe, without identifying the vessel or its destination. TankerTrackers.com reported vessels were forced to turn around in the strait, including an Indian-flagged super tanker, after they were fired on by Iran.

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Updated: 5:40 PM CDT

A local resident walks among debris inside a mosque destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Jibchit, southern Lebanon, Friday, April 17, 2026, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Weapons-grade chemical carfentanil surges as dangerous substitute for fentanyl

Hallie Golden And Jim Mustian, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Weapons-grade chemical carfentanil surges as dangerous substitute for fentanyl

Hallie Golden And Jim Mustian, The Associated Press 6 minute read Yesterday at 10:59 PM CDT

Nearly two decades after drug addiction sent him to rehab as a teenager, 36-year-old Michael Nalewaja had settled into a quiet life in Alaska where he worked as an electrician.

That all came crashing down days before Thanksgiving 2025, when he and a mutual friend unknowingly took a lethal cocktail of fentanyl and carfentanil they may have mistaken for cocaine.

“I heard the word ‘autopsy’ and I literally just collapsed to the floor,” his mother, Kelley Nalewaja said, recalling the call she received from his wife. “Even if somebody had been there prepared with Narcan — even if somebody had called 911 in time — he was not going to survive.”

Carfentanil, a weapons-grade chemical that authorities say is 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times stronger than fentanyl, has seen a drastic resurgence across the U.S., killing hundreds of unsuspecting drug users.

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Yesterday at 10:59 PM CDT

Kelley Nalewaja stands by a memorial for her son, Michael Nalewaja, seen in the photo, who died after unknowingly taking a lethal cocktail of fentanyl and carfentanil in November 2025, at her home in El Dorado Hills, Calif., Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

You can put beef tallow and salmon sperm on your face. But should you?

Aya Diab, Amy Taxin And Melina Walling, The Associated Press 7 minute read Preview

You can put beef tallow and salmon sperm on your face. But should you?

Aya Diab, Amy Taxin And Melina Walling, The Associated Press 7 minute read Updated: 9:23 AM CDT

Bryan Vander Dussen spent years as a dairy farmer before shifting to selling farm-raised beef. In the past year, he and his wife have been making another transition: Cooking up recipes in their kitchen that turn organ fat from his animals into tallow balm that buyers are eager to slather on their skin.

One tricky bit: Coming up with formulas that don’t smell like pot roast.

“You see it everywhere, so we were like, ‘Why don’t we do this?’” he said. “Some of the feedback is, ‘We don’t want to smell like beef,’ so we add things like lavender and wild orange to kind of counter that potential beef smell.”

From moisturizers made with beef tallow to salmon sperm facials, consumers have become more interested in animal-based skin care products in recent years. Promoted as natural alternatives to synthetics, they're gaining popularity across social media and high-end spas as well as at farmers’ markets and in home kitchens.

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Updated: 9:23 AM CDT

April 18, 2026

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