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Civic Election

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS Winnipeg Police Service headquarters were temporarily closed to the public due to flooding after vandals opened an emergency water valve in a stairwell of the downtown office tower on Saturday evening.

Gillingham pledges police, firefighter staffing increases to serve growing population

Joyanne Pursaga 5 minute read Wednesday, Sep. 16, 2026

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Scott Gillingham is promising to set long-term staffing targets to raise the ratio of firefighters and police officers to Winnipeg’s population, if re-elected as mayor next month.

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BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS FILES United Way Winnipeg president and CEO Matthew Cutler says the charity’s donor base has shrunk significantly over several decades.

Demand grows but cash dwindles

Three per cent of United Way donors account for 55 per cent of individual donations

Scott Billeck 8 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

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Maggie Macintosh / Free Press Ryan Smith, along with kindergartner Hannah and Grade 4 student Owen, all voted for Little Bluestem to be their school’s name.

Fiddling and a jig mark ceremony to rename Wolseley-area school

Maggie Macintosh 5 minute read Preview

Fiddling and a jig mark ceremony to rename Wolseley-area school

Maggie Macintosh 5 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

Beckoned by a fiddle, students broke out into a jig behind Little Bluestem School on Thursday evening to mark the end of a multi-year renaming process.

“I couldn’t help myself. I just had to dance,” eight-year-old Stevie Morrison said at a ribbon-cutting event to celebrate the new signage at 511 Clifton St., formerly known as Wolseley School.

Stevie and Fallon Lovelace Sharkey, 7, were out of breath after bouncing up and down to the beat, attempting to execute the Red River Métis dance moves they were taught at school.

There were cheers and tears as adults watched jigging on school grounds once named after a man who did not believe in Métis peoples’ right to self-determination.

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2:00 AM CDT

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ROBERT LEE / FREE PRESS FILES During the first eight months of 2026 Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service crews were dispatched a combined 1,771 times to the two Siloam Mission properties at 303 Stanley St. and 300 Princess St.

Siloam Mission, WFPS discussing on-site paramedic to reduce staggering number of emergency calls

Scott Billeck 5 minute read Preview

Siloam Mission, WFPS discussing on-site paramedic to reduce staggering number of emergency calls

Scott Billeck 5 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

Winnipeg’s fire-paramedic service and its largest homeless-serving organization are discussing what it would look like to station at least one paramedic at Siloam Mission, as emergency calls to the downtown facility surge.

The ongoing discussions come as Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service crews were dispatched 1,771 times during the first eight months of the year to the two adjacent Siloam properties at 303 Stanley St. and 300 Princess St.

WFPS said most of the calls were related to overdoses or other consequences of substance use, with the total nearly double the 854 calls recorded over the same period last year. By comparison, there were 831 calls during the same span in 2024, and 591 in 2023.

“The number of emergency calls isn’t sustainable for us as a service, but it’s certainly not sustainable for them as an agency trying to provide services,” WFPS chief Ryan Sneath told the Free Press. “And they recognize that they’re impacting emergency services, not them specifically, but the site in a significant way.”

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2:00 AM CDT

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Free Press Files Agnieszka Ciochon-Newton.

‘She was looking to destroy me’: convicted harasser faces new charges

Dean Pritchard 6 minute read Preview

‘She was looking to destroy me’: convicted harasser faces new charges

Dean Pritchard 6 minute read Yesterday at 6:54 PM CDT

When Agnieszka Ciochon-Newton moved into the 55-plus apartment building on Stradbrook Avenue last year, she came across as “timid, soft-spoken and sensitive,” said building manager Tanya Owen.

Little did Owen know the meek-looking 58-year-old woman would soon turn her life and the lives of many of her tenants upside down and threaten her career and family.

“She was looking to destroy me for a simple tenant disagreement,” Owen said Thursday.

Court records show Ciochon-Newton was arrested earlier this month and charged with seven counts of criminal harassment, two counts of uttering threats and one count each of fraud, breaking and entering, attempting to obstruct justice, intimidation of a justice official, mischief and defamatory libel.

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Yesterday at 6:54 PM CDT

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Ruth Bonneville / Free Press Manitoba will move to permanent daylight saving time after listening to the views of Manitobans on seasonal time changes, Premier Wab Kinew announced today.

No turning back

Manitobans mostly optimistic about time change

Nicole Buffie 5 minute read Yesterday at 6:47 PM CDT

News Briefs

News briefs for Thursday, September 17, 2026

3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 3:19 PM CDT

A collection of breaking news briefs filed on Thursday, September 17, 2026

Snack Haüs lands on Air Canada's list of best new restaurants

3:19 PM

Winnipeg’s Snack Haüs has been included in the list of 30 finalists for Air Canada’s Best New Restaurants, the airline’s annual roundup of “dining destinations worth flying across the country for.”

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Ruth Bonneville / Free Press Premier Wab Kinew: “We heard from Manitobans loud and clear — no more changing the clocks in Manitoba.”

Manitoba abandoning spring, fall clock changes

Carol Sanders 8 minute read Preview

Manitoba abandoning spring, fall clock changes

Carol Sanders 8 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 5:36 PM CDT

Time’s up for the time change in Manitoba.

Manitobans won’t be setting their clocks back an hour in November. The province has decided to permanently stay on daylight time after surveying residents on the twice annual clock adjustment.

“We heard from Manitobans loud and clear — no more changing the clocks in Manitoba,” Premier Wab Kinew said in a news release Thursday.

Most of the 72,000 votes submitted in an online EngageMB survey — 92 per cent — said they would like to see the practice end. The survey asked if they preferred earlier sunrises in winter with standard time or the later sunsets in summer with daylight time. More than half of survey participants (58 per cent) indicated a preference to stay on permanent daylight time; 34 per cent voted to eliminate the time change but stay on standard time.

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Updated: Yesterday at 5:36 PM CDT

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Rain causing poor harvest conditions for farmers

Rain causing poor harvest conditions for farmers

Connor McDowell 5 minute read Preview

Rain causing poor harvest conditions for farmers

Connor McDowell 5 minute read Yesterday at 2:00 AM CDT

BRANDON — Farmers are dealing with poor harvest conditions owing to the high amount of rain this month.

Brandon had received 74.7 millimetres of rain by Sept. 15, a spokesperson for Environment and Climate Change Canada said Wednesday. The amount is equal to 173 per cent of average rainfall for Brandon.

The wet conditions are causing crop loss and delays in harvesting, several Westman farmers said this week.

“At this point, it (could be) six figures of loss. And that all happens in days,” Cassandra Lepp, a Rivers-area wheat and canola farmer, said. “We have good crops out there, and they are disappearing.”

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Yesterday at 2:00 AM CDT

Civic Election

‘Parental rights’ issue resurfaces

‘Parental rights’ issue resurfaces

Maggie Macintosh 5 minute read Preview

‘Parental rights’ issue resurfaces

Maggie Macintosh 5 minute read Yesterday at 2:00 AM CDT

Trustee campaign material that condemns rainbow flags is being met with outrage of all kinds, written complaints and, in one case, a cease-and-desist order.

“Parental rights,” including questions about classroom diversity, equity and inclusion policies, are resurfacing heading into school board elections across Manitoba.

“People are trying to advance their politics and their issues while simultaneously calling teachers ideologues and brainwashers,” said Shannon Moore, an associate professor at the University of Manitoba who studies sexual health education. “And I find that rich.”

Moore said parents have a right to choose independent school or homeschool, but they do not have a right to dictate curriculum that is currently developed using research and mainstream morals.

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Yesterday at 2:00 AM CDT

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