Role of news media

Please review each article prior to use: grade-level applicability and curricular alignment might not be obvious from the headline alone.

A few Transit tweaks help, but aren’t a solution

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

A few Transit tweaks help, but aren’t a solution

Editorial 4 minute read Tuesday, Sep. 16, 2025

Winnipeg Transit has made some adjustments to its overhauled route system, the first since the original summer rollout that has left many riders frustrated.

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Tuesday, Sep. 16, 2025

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

A Winnipeg Transit bus leaves the Fort Rouge garage.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
                                A Winnipeg Transit bus leaves the Fort Rouge garage.

The American Right has its martyr — what’s next?

David McLaughlin 6 minute read Preview

The American Right has its martyr — what’s next?

David McLaughlin 6 minute read Tuesday, Sep. 16, 2025

Every revolution needs heroes and martyrs. Heroes to follow and martyrs to look up to. MAGA is no exception.

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Tuesday, Sep. 16, 2025

Jeffrey Phelps / Associated Press Files

Charlie Kirk, head of Turning Point USA, speaks during a town hall meeting on March 17 in Oconomowoc, Wis. Kirk’s shooting death last week has made him a martyr in MAGA land.

Jeffrey Phelps / Associated Press Files
                                Charlie Kirk, head of Turning Point USA, speaks during a town hall meeting on March 17 in Oconomowoc, Wis. Kirk’s shooting death last week has made him a martyr in MAGA land.
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Early childhood educators give high marks to job satisfaction: poll

Maggie Macintosh 3 minute read Preview
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Early childhood educators give high marks to job satisfaction: poll

Maggie Macintosh 3 minute read Monday, Sep. 15, 2025

Despite eight in 10 early childhood educators reporting high levels of job satisfaction, many employers in the sector continue to struggle with staffing shortages.

The Manitoba Child Care Association has released the results of an online survey of its members that took place between Feb. 4 and 18.

Probe Research Inc. led the project — a decade after the Winnipeg-based polling firm conducted an initial workforce survey for the association.

This time around, 830 people, including front-line early childhood educators, centre directors and family child-care providers, submitted responses.

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Monday, Sep. 15, 2025

RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES

49.8 Feature photos on Early Childhood Educators working with kids at Splash Child Enrichment Centre on McGregor Street. More info to follow. Early childhood educator Sharon Desamero sweeps up the locker area at centre. See Mary Agnes Welch story. April 28, 2015

RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES
                                49.8 Feature photos on Early Childhood Educators working with kids at Splash Child Enrichment Centre on McGregor Street. More info to follow. Early childhood educator Sharon Desamero sweeps up the locker area at centre. See Mary Agnes Welch story. April 28, 2015
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Province creates hunting buffer zone on Bloodvein First Nation

Carol Sanders 3 minute read Preview
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Province creates hunting buffer zone on Bloodvein First Nation

Carol Sanders 3 minute read Monday, Sep. 15, 2025

The Manitoba government is creating a buffer zone restricting where non-Indigenous hunters can harvest moose on Bloodvein First Nation’s traditional lands.

Manitoba Natural Resources and Indigenous Futures Minister Ian Bushie announced the change late Monday as moose season began for game hunting areas 17, 17A and 17B that includes the traditional areas of the First Nation, located 285 kilometres north of Winnipeg.

The community, which established a check stop to prevent illegal drugs and contraband from entering the First Nation, warned “outside hunters” on social media weeks ago that they’re not welcome to take moose on their traditional lands.

The Manitoba Wildlife Federation has questioned the First Nation’s authority to block licensed hunters with a moose tag from the area and called on the provincial government to intervene.

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Monday, Sep. 15, 2025

A moose grazes in a field of canola bordering the Trans-Canada Highway west of Brandon last year. On Monday, the Manitoba Wildlife Federation applied for a judicial review of the province’s decision to reduce the number of available moose tags for four hunting areas in northern Manitoba. (File)

A moose grazes in a field of canola bordering the Trans-Canada Highway west of Brandon last year. On Monday, the Manitoba Wildlife Federation applied for a judicial review of the province’s decision to reduce the number of available moose tags for four hunting areas in northern Manitoba. (File)
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Province accuses mining company of negligence in Lynn Lake wildfire

Tyler Searle 3 minute read Preview
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Province accuses mining company of negligence in Lynn Lake wildfire

Tyler Searle 3 minute read Monday, Sep. 15, 2025

Manitoba Conservation investigators believe a massive wildfire that prompted an evacuation of Lynn Lake started at the nearby Alamos Gold Inc. mining site, accusing the company of negligence because it did not use water to extinguish burn piles.

The allegations are outlined in court documents filed by a sergeant working for the conservation service. They stem from an investigation into the wildfire, which is said to have started May 7 after a burn pile reignited at the Toronto-based gold producer’s MacLellan mine site, located about 7.5 kilometres northeast of Lynn Lake.

The blaze burned more than 85,000 hectares and got to within five kilometres of Lynn Lake later that month. The community, home to nearly 600 residents and located about 800 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, was evacuated and dozens of properties were destroyed.

“The investigation showed that Alamos Gold Inc. was negligent in ensuring that the fires that occurred on May 7, 2025, from burn piles on the MacLellan Mine site set on earlier dates were properly extinguished,” allege the documents, obtained by the Free Press.

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Monday, Sep. 15, 2025

SUPPLIED

View from Sherritt Ave of wildfires near Lynn Lake.Wednesday night, May 28, 2025.

SUPPLIED
                                View from Sherritt Ave of wildfires near Lynn Lake.Wednesday night, May 28, 2025.
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New documentary revisits Lilith Fair, gives it the overdue kudos it deserves

Jen Zoratti 8 minute read Preview
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New documentary revisits Lilith Fair, gives it the overdue kudos it deserves

Jen Zoratti 8 minute read Monday, Sep. 15, 2025

In the opening moments of Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery, a new documentary about the pioneering all-women touring festival co-founded by Canadian icon Sarah McLachlan in the late 1990s, there’s a series of TikTok videos fronted by gen Z women expressing wonder and astonishment that something like that ever even existed.

“There was an all-female music festival from 1997 to 1999 — and I am shook to my core,” one woman says.

Ally Pankiw, the film’s director, is not surprised younger generations have never heard of Lilith Fair.

“It was not celebrated for how massive it was,” says the Canadian film/TV writer and director (Feel Good, Shrill). “It was so commercially successful. It changed so many artists’ trajectories and careers. It raised so much money for charity.

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Monday, Sep. 15, 2025

Crystal Heald Photo

Lilith Fair finale show in 1998, feauring Diana Krall, Sarah McLachlan, Angelique Kidjo, Lisa Loeb, Sam Bettens, Tara Maclean

Crystal Heald Photo
                                Lilith Fair finale show in 1998, feauring Diana Krall, Sarah McLachlan, Angelique Kidjo, Lisa Loeb, Sam Bettens, Tara Maclean

Family mourns couple struck on side of Kenaston, man charged with impaired driving

Erik Pindera and Scott Billeck 5 minute read Preview

Family mourns couple struck on side of Kenaston, man charged with impaired driving

Erik Pindera and Scott Billeck 5 minute read Tuesday, Sep. 16, 2025

A man with a prior conviction for drunk driving is accused of being impaired while behind the wheel in a high-speed collision that killed two people on Kenaston Boulevard Saturday night.

Winnipeg Police Service traffic officers were called to the vicinity of Kenaston and Enterprise Drive around 9:30 p.m. Saturday, where they found a 31-year-old man dead and a 25-year-old woman seriously injured, police spokesman Const. Pat Saydak said Monday.

“Two people are dead because of an impaired driver,” said Saydak.

Paramedics rushed the woman to hospital, in critical condition, but she later died.

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Tuesday, Sep. 16, 2025

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

“Two people are dead because of an impaired driver,” police spokesman Const. Pat Saydak said Monday.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
                                “Two people are dead because of an impaired driver,” police spokesman Const. Pat Saydak said Monday.
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Rogers wins gold, sets Canadian record in hammer throw at world championships

The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview
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Rogers wins gold, sets Canadian record in hammer throw at world championships

The Canadian Press 4 minute read Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025

TOKYO - Camryn Rogers set the tone early in the women's hammer throw at the world athletics championships Monday with an impressive opening toss of 78.09 metres.

Good enough for a world title. Not good enough for Rogers.

The 26-year-old from Richmond, B.C., put the competition out of reach with her second throw of 80.51 metres to claim her second straight world championship gold medal in dominant fashion.

Rogers's winning throw broke her own Canadian record and is the second longest ever behind the world record of 82.98 set by Poland's Anita Wlodarczyk in 2016. Rogers's previous personal best was 78.88 metres.

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Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025

Canada's Camryn Rogers reacts after an attempt in the women's hammer throw final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Canada's Camryn Rogers reacts after an attempt in the women's hammer throw final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

New St. B ER great, but where are all the doctors to staff it?

Tom Brodbeck 5 minute read Preview

New St. B ER great, but where are all the doctors to staff it?

Tom Brodbeck 5 minute read Monday, Sep. 15, 2025

When governments announce a major hospital expansion, it’s usually billed as a silver bullet solution to long wait times and overcrowding.

The latest example is St. Boniface Hospital’s newly expanded and renovated emergency department, expected to open officially on Oct. 2. (It was supposed to open next week, but there’s been a delay).

On paper, it looks impressive: more treatment spaces, updated facilities, a modern design intended to improve patient experience.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: the facelift won’t do much — if anything — to cut ER wait times. If history is any guide, the experience for patients at St. Boniface will look remarkably similar to what it’s been for years — hours-long waits, gurneys lined up in hallways and admitted patients languishing in the emergency department because there’s no staffed hospital bed to move them into.

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Monday, Sep. 15, 2025

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES

The new emergency entrance to the St. Boniface Hospital includes a ramp that goes down to a garage for ambulances, but it looks like a very tight and possibly impossible turning radius for ambulances to go through the door. Reporter: Maggie Macintosh 241206 - Friday, December 06, 2024.

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES
                                The new emergency entrance to the St. Boniface Hospital includes a ramp that goes down to a garage for ambulances, but it looks like a very tight and possibly impossible turning radius for ambulances to go through the door. Reporter: Maggie Macintosh 241206 - Friday, December 06, 2024.
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‘Doggie dates’ give four-legged friends a break from shelter life

Aaron Epp 8 minute read Preview
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‘Doggie dates’ give four-legged friends a break from shelter life

Aaron Epp 8 minute read Monday, Sep. 15, 2025

Whenever Kendra Drever has a day off or free time before class, she likes to go on a “doggie date.”

The 30-year-old Red River College Polytech student volunteers at the City of Winnipeg’s Animal Services Agency, which allows members of the public to take dogs who are up for adoption out for a walk in the community to get a break from the confines of the shelter.

“I love just getting to meet the dogs, seeing all their different personalities, taking them out and giving them new experiences and getting to relay some new information to the shelter,” Drever says.

Volunteers keep an eye on the dog’s behaviour during the dates, to give shelter staff intel that could be key to placing the dog in the right home, such as whether the animal is obedient while on a leash.

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Monday, Sep. 15, 2025

RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS

VOLUNTEERS Photo of Kendra Drever with Xena, a 2-year-old lively stray that she took on a walk from the Animal Services Agency. Kendra Drever volunteers with the Animal Services Agency’s Doggie Dates program. This program allows volunteers to take dogs out for a day or week. Volunteers bring them to parks, their homes, workplaces, malls, etc. The dogs wear a vest that says “adopt me” during the outings. This is for the Sept. 15 volunteers column. Sept 9th, 2025

Ruth Bonneville / Free Press
                                VOLUNTEERS Photo of Kendra Drever with Xena, a 2-year-old lively stray that she took on a walk from the Animal Services Agency. Kendra Drever volunteers with the Animal Services Agency’s Doggie Dates program. This program allows volunteers to take dogs out for a day or week. Volunteers bring them to parks, their homes, workplaces, malls, etc. The dogs wear a vest that says “adopt me” during the outings. This is for the Sept. 15 volunteers column. Sept 9th, 2025