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.

MIKE MCINTYRE / FREE PRESS Switzerland’s Kaitlyn McGregor credits her grandmother mailing her Free Press newspaper clippings of Winnipeg’s Cindy Klassen’s historic 2006 Turin Games run as inspiring her long track speed skating career.
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Manitoba roots go deep for Swiss sensation

Mike McIntyre 8 minute read Preview
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Manitoba roots go deep for Swiss sensation

Mike McIntyre 8 minute read Friday, Feb. 6, 2026

MILAN — Her birth certificate may say Switzerland, but make no mistake: Olympic speed skater Kaitlyn McGregor’s roots are firmly planted in Manitoba.

For starters, there’s the strong family connection. Her parents, Mark and Faye, hail from MacGregor, a small farming community about 130 kilometres west of Winnipeg. Aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents are there as well. Yes, the McGregors have heard the jokes. No, the town isn’t named after them.

But secondly — and arguably more importantly — McGregor’s inspiration to reach this grand sporting stage can be traced directly to Winnipegger Cindy Klassen.

Remember the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, when Klassen set a Canadian Olympic record by winning five medals? McGregor certainly does, albeit from after the fact. She was 12 at the time, and it was that epic performance — brought to her attention by her grandmother through Free Press newspaper articles — that ultimately lit the fire.

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Friday, Feb. 6, 2026
THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Manitoba is “upgrading” its messaging to strongly encourage parents of infants between six and 12 months to get an early measles vaccine dose.
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Manitoba has most measles cases in Canada — and it’s likely much worse, doctors say

Chris Kitching 6 minute read Preview
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Manitoba has most measles cases in Canada — and it’s likely much worse, doctors say

Chris Kitching 6 minute read Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026

Manitoba has the country’s highest number of reported measles infections in 2026 — a year after the province’s outbreak began — while a surge brings stronger messaging from the government.

Dr. Davinder Singh, who is Manitoba’s public health lead on measles, said the province is seeing its highest monthly totals since May.

“Unfortunately, we’re seeing an increase in the number of detected or reported cases. We also know the number of cases that are diagnosed are only a relatively small fraction of the true number of cases out in the community,” he said Wednesday.

“We can estimate that there may be about 10 times as many infections as we have that get reported to us or that get detected.”

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Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026
Shoppers pass a permanently closed Toys 'R' Us store in Toronto, on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy Kogan
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Independent toy shops ready to fill void from Toys “R” Us Canada closures

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview
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Independent toy shops ready to fill void from Toys “R” Us Canada closures

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026

TORONTO - For tots, teens and anyone in between, Cowtown Kids Toys & Candy is a dream.

The Maple Creek, Sask., shop spanning four buildings is jammed with more than 30,000 toys ranging from classic books and puzzles to trendy plushies, trucks and other curios.

Owner Bob Siemens says the vast array of products is proof his business — like many other independent shops — is ready to fill the void created by Toys "R" Us Canada closures.

"Even if it looks like the toy industry is suffering, there's still a vibrancy in the independents that have been there and have stood the test of time. They're going to be eager to meet the folks still looking for toy shops," Siemens said mere hours before Toys "R" Us Canada announced it had filed for creditor protection Tuesday.

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Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026
A sign for the Washington Post is seen at the company's offices, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Washington Post cuts a third of its staff in a blow to a legendary news brand

David Bauder, The Associated Press 7 minute read Preview

Washington Post cuts a third of its staff in a blow to a legendary news brand

David Bauder, The Associated Press 7 minute read Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026

The Washington Post laid off one-third of its staff Wednesday, eliminating its sports section, several foreign bureaus and its books coverage in a widespread purge that represented a brutal blow to journalism and one of its most legendary brands.

The Post's executive editor, Matt Murray, called the move painful but necessary to put the outlet on stronger footing and to weather changes in technology and user habits. “We can't be everything to everyone,” Murray said in a note to staff members.

He outlined the changes in a companywide online meeting, and staff members then began getting emails with one of two subject lines — telling them their role was or was not eliminated.

Rumors of layoffs had circulated for weeks, ever since word leaked that sports reporters who had expected to travel to Italy for the Winter Olympics would not be going. But when official word came down, the size and scale of the cuts were shocking, affecting virtually every department in the newsroom.

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Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026
ADAM GRAY / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS People demonstrate outside the Graduate by Hilton Minneapolis hotel, where it’s believed ICE agents are staying.

Defiant Minneapolis citizenry delivers aspirational message

Melissa Martin 7 minute read Preview

Defiant Minneapolis citizenry delivers aspirational message

Melissa Martin 7 minute read Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026

There have been many times over the last several years where I’ve felt myself losing hope. War, turmoil, disinformation, rising authoritarianism; so much suffering with no clear road out. It’s a dangerous position. Despair is a killer; hope is an antidote. Yet it can be so hard to find, when the state of the world seems so dark.

If you’re looking for hope right now, turn your gaze south. Because right now, it shines bright in Minneapolis.

What’s happening on the ground in Minneapolis could be one of the most inspiring stories of our generation; an incredible grassroots response to a brutal and unwanted federal occupation, organized and led by ordinary residents. And it lays out a framework from which people in all cities could draw beautiful lessons.

Since December, when a surge of 3,000 heavily armed and armoured Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents began in the city, the citizens of Minneapolis have held their streets, united to comfort those affected, and remained undaunted by the frigid -25 C weather which Winnipeggers know well.

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Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Tataskweyak Cree Nation Chief Doreen Spence
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First Nation says Hydro misuse of river diversion destroying sturgeon population

Chris Kitching 5 minute read Preview
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First Nation says Hydro misuse of river diversion destroying sturgeon population

Chris Kitching 5 minute read Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026

A northern First Nation is calling on Manitoba Hydro to alter its use of the Churchill River diversion to protect a lake sturgeon population allegedly decimated by hydroelectric operations.

Tataskweyak Cree Nation Chief Doreen Spence said the culturally significant species is facing extinction on the river system without immediate intervention, 50 years after Manitoba built the diversion to send water to large power generating stations.

“The diversion has artificially altered the flow of the water… so much that the river is barely able to sustain life as it once did,” Spence told reporters in Winnipeg Thursday.

“Manitoba Hydro must operate the diversion in sync with the natural flow regime of the river for the sturgeon to survive.”

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Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026
Dan David, as shown in this handout photo, a renowned Mohawk journalist and the first news director at the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, has died. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout-Loreen Pindera (Mandatory Credit)
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Dan David, Mohawk journalist and Indigenous news trailblazer, dies at 73

Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview
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Dan David, Mohawk journalist and Indigenous news trailblazer, dies at 73

Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Monday, Jan. 19, 2026

Dan David, a renowned Mohawk journalist who helped establish the news department of the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, has died.

His sister Marie David said he died Jan. 12 after a long struggle with cancer.

He was 73.

Karyn Pugliese, an APTN host and producer and David's friend and colleague, said his death is a huge loss for the dozens of Indigenous journalists he mentored and whose careers he helped launch.

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Monday, Jan. 19, 2026
John Woods / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Pimicikamak Cree Nation Chief David Monias, left, and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Inc. (MKO) Grand Chief Grand Chief Garrison Settee speak to the media during a tour with politicians and media at Pimicikamak Cree Nation, Man., last Wednesday.
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First Nation’s power-outage misery ‘frozen like a rock’

Kevin Rollason 3 minute read Preview
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First Nation’s power-outage misery ‘frozen like a rock’

Kevin Rollason 3 minute read Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026

An army of plumbers, engineers and members of the Canadian Armed Forces are continuing to assess damages after a lengthy power outage at Pimicikamak Cree Nation froze water and sewage pipes.

Chief David Monias said it is going to take months to repair damage to homes and years to install new water and sewage treatment plants and systems.

“They have frozen pipes — the sewage plant is completely frozen,” Monias said Wednesday. “The raw sewage has frozen like rock, it is as hard as rock. There is enough (methane) gas in there that we can’t even enter the building. So they are trying to figure out a way how to air out that building so that they can assess the sewage problem.”

Monias said the experts are going to try to get the water and sewage systems up and running while the community works with government on a longer term solution. He said the plants will eventually need to be decommissioned.

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Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026
AIRAM DATO-ON / PEXELS.COM A planned January digital detox starts with deleting time-wasting apps, including social media, and occasionally going phone-free.

Attention-grabbing screens demean us, bit by bit

Melissa Martin 8 minute read Preview

Attention-grabbing screens demean us, bit by bit

Melissa Martin 8 minute read Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026

The first time I read Oryx and Crake, Canadian author Margaret Atwood’s haunting dystopic novel, I couldn’t put it down. I devoured it in just days, engrossed by the fictional world Atwood wove from the most discomfiting new threads of our own.

Over the years, I returned to the book many times, always finding new depth in its pages. Each time, I finished it at the same brisk pace. I was a fast reader as a child, and for most of my life, that didn’t change.

Until now. In November, as part of an effort to calm my restless mind, I put Oryx and Crake on my nightstand, and made a pledge to myself to read a little bit every night. This time, it’s been over two months, and I’ve made it through only 92 pages.

It would be easy to say I’ve been too busy, but that would be a lie. I’ve had time to read. The problem is now, unlike when the book came out in 2003, I struggle to read more than a page without checking my phone quickly; and checking it once means falling into the chasm of raw content the internet has become.

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Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth, Sherry Gott.

Province hunting for web-based system to better assess and help youth with mental-health, addiction issues

Carol Sanders 3 minute read Preview

Province hunting for web-based system to better assess and help youth with mental-health, addiction issues

Carol Sanders 3 minute read Friday, Jan. 2, 2026

As a drug crisis rages in Manitoba, the province is looking for a better web-based mental-health and addictions assessment tool for youth to help connect them to the services they need.

Shared Health said it’s seeking an evidence-based assessment system that focuses on mental health and substance use challenges in youth. On Monday, it posted on the public-sector tendering site MERX that it’s looking for systems and tools that are secure and ready to go.

A spokesperson for Shared Health said the authority is trying to determine whether there are any stronger screening tools and digital platforms than what is currently in use. The Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth has sounded the alarm over substance use among children and youth, and the need for the province to do more and better.

Shared Health currently has a screening tool and digital platform — the Child Behavior Checklist and the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA-Web), the spokesperson said.

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Friday, Jan. 2, 2026