Supporters of removing barriers at Portage and Main excited to take steps 46 years in the making

Brent Bellamy plans to be one of the first to cross Portage and Main — and he plans to do so in style.

The Winnipeg intersection will open to pedestrian traffic Friday morning for the first time since 1979, and Bellamy will be wearing a custom T-shirt with results from the 2018 plebiscite in which 65 per cent of Winnipeggers voted to keep the streets closed.

“I’ll be there first thing in the morning. I might cross back and forth all day, actually, just for fun,” Bellamy said Thursday. “It’s obviously long overdue.”

The creative director for Number Ten Architectural Group and Free Press columnist has been one of many long-standing advocates for removing the concrete barricades that prevented Winnipeggers from crossing the intersection for nearly 50 years.

Celebrating cats and the pet parents who love them

The cats have come back to the big screen.

Commuter traffic stops for whales on Australia’s humpback highway

PORT STEPHENS, Australia (AP) — The ferry was late, but not because of the usual traffic. Sydney commuters watched from an idling boat this month as humpback whales the size of buses surfaced nearby, halting the vessel’s passage across the harbor. The curious mammals seemed to be watching them back.

In June and July, it’s not uncommon for whales to stop water traffic in Sydney. Winter heralds the opening of the so-called humpback highway, a migratory corridor along Australia's east coast used by about 40,000 of the massive creatures as they travel from feeding grounds in freezing Antarctica to tropical breeding areas off Queensland state.

“It’s blubber to blubber,” said Dr. Vanessa Pirotta, a wildlife scientist at Macquarie University in Sydney and author of the book “Humpback Highway.” During peak traffic periods the bustling coastal city of 5.5 million people becomes one of the world’s few urban centers where you might see a breaching whale on your morning walk, while buying a coffee, or waiting at a bus stop – anyplace you can see the ocean.

Whales cruise close to shore

Hackathon teams race to solve defense tech challenges as Europe boosts military capabilities

SANDHURST, England (AP) — Hunched over laptops, the team of four raced to solve a challenge: how to get a set of drones to fly themselves from one place to another when GPS and other signals are jammed by an enemy.

Elsewhere around the hall, groups of people — engineering students, tech workers and hobbyists — gathered around long tables to brainstorm, write computer code or tinker with more drones and other hardware.

Most of them were strangers when they first gathered last month at Britain's Sandhurst Military Academy to compete in a 24-hour “hackathon" focused on defense technology. Many were drawn to the event because they wanted to use their technical skills to work on one of the biggest challenges confronting Europe: the continent's race to beef up its military capabilities as Russia's war in Ukraine threatens to widen global instability.

“Given the geopolitical climate, defense tech is relevant now more than ever,” said Aniketh Ramesh, a startup founder with a Ph.D. in robotics in extreme environments and one of the drone team members. The hackathon, he said, “is a good place to sort of go and contribute your ideas.”

Long-awaited Winnipeg Transit network overhaul goes live Sunday

Winnipeg’s bus network will undergo a massive one-day transformation on Sunday that alters virtually every route.

Botterill gets call from Hockey Hall

That Jennifer Botterill found herself enjoying a beautiful summer day at the family cottage at West Hawk Lake when the call from the Hockey Hall of Fame came seems rather appropriate.

As Botterill returned from a boat ride, the Winnipegger noticed that someone was trying to get in touch with her.

“I got back and checked my phone and I had all of these misssed calls. I was looking at my phone and the same number came through, moments after I got off the boat. I answered it and it was Lanny McDonald and Ron Francis,” Botterill said Tuesday afternoon after the news became official that she was part of the 2025 Hockey Hall of Fame induction class.

Other inductees include Winnipeg-born and Fort Frances, Ont. raised Duncan Keith, Brianna Decker, Zdeno Chara, Joe Thornton, Alexander Mogilny, Jack Parker and Daniele Sauvageau.

Gordon Bell students make history as first team from outside Quebec to win national finals at inter-school cooking competition

A group of local high schoolers are savouring the sweet taste of victory.

Earlier this month, five student chefs from Gordon Bell High School made history as the first team from outside Quebec to win the national finals of La Tablée des Chefs Canadian Culinary Competition, an inter-school cooking contest now in its 12th year.

“It’s a great honour,” says Matea Thiessen-Unger, who shares the win with her Grade 10 and 11 classmates Sebastian Salter, Avery Van Solkema, Yevhen Zinchenco and Cailyn Olshevski.

The competition is the grand finale of Kitchen Brigades, an extracurricular program designed by La Tablée des Chefs to foster an interest in cooking and healthy eating among secondary students across the country.

Humane society treats evacuees to free pet food, supplies

Evacuees preparing to return home alongside their four-legged companions were given some much-needed pet supplies on Monday.

Toys, leashes, blankets, and dog food were among the free items the Winnipeg Humane Society was giving out to those displaced from their homes. Dozens stopped by the Hurst Way building Monday to treat their furry friends.

“It’s absolutely amazing,” said Valerie Hershmiller, an evacuee from Bakers Narrows. “People don’t realize how expensive it is being out of your home, let alone feeding kids and feeding cats. The stress that has been on our pets alone has been crazy, so being able to have litter and food for them is awesome.”

Two years ago, Hershmiller, a teacher, discovered a fluffy kitten lying alone in a school playground. She couldn’t bear to leave the animal outside with no place else to go, so she took him home to her husband, two sons and cat, Minnie. The new feline was named Oliver.

Brandon man taking on punishing 3,500-km cycling route for cancer research

A Brandon cyclist is gearing up for the ride of a lifetime in support of cancer research.

Grant Hamilton is heading to Europe this week to join Tour 21, an annual event that sees a team of amateur cyclists ride the full Tour de France route, one week ahead of the professionals.

The team will pedal more than 3,500 km in 21 days, including climbs and summits in the Pyrenees mountains and the French Alps. It’s part of an effort to raise nearly $2 million for Cure Leukaemia, the official charity partner of the Tour de France.

Cure Leukaemia funds clinical trials, driving global advancements in blood cancer treatment and impacting those affected by the disease.

Graham Avenue stretch to get pedestrian, bike-only trial when buses vanish

The city will turn a four-block stretch of Graham Avenue into a living lab when Winnipeg Transit’s network overhaul pulls buses off the downtown street.

It will be cyclists and pedestrians only between Carlton and Garry streets in an indefinite pilot project scheduled to begin after June 29.

“In July 2025, buses will be removed from four blocks, creating a rare opportunity to transform the street into a safer, pedestrian-first space. With a focus on recreation, public gathering areas, and cultural programming, Graham Avenue can become a dynamic hub of activity in the heart of downtown,” a city document states.

Without changes, the area risks becoming a neglected corridor with minimal foot traffic once buses leave, it warns.

Hockey hero coming home: Jonathan Toews to make comeback with Jets

The homecoming is happening for Jonathan Toews. The St. Vital product has decided to make his NHL comeback with the Winnipeg Jets, agreeing to terms on a one-year contract as he returns to the league after a two-year absence related to his health.

Racing in her blood: Rookie rider knows she has ‘big shoes to fill’ as she follows in jockey dad’s footsteps

Ciera Pruitt had pictured the scene since she was a little girl running wild on the grounds of Assiniboia Downs — her backyard, really — while her parents were hard at work nearby. Back then, she was the wide-eyed Winnipeg kid peering over the paddock railing, watching the colourful parade of jockeys from faraway places like Bermuda, Venezuela and Mexico leading majestic thoroughbreds toward the track while the bugle call to the post played over the loudspeakers.

Music streaming service Deezer adds AI song tags in fight against fraud

LONDON (AP) — Music streaming service Deezer said Friday that it will start flagging albums with AI-generated songs, part of its fight against streaming fraudsters.

Deezer, based in Paris, is grappling with a surge in music on its platform created using artificial intelligence tools it says are being wielded to earn royalties fraudulently.

The app will display an on-screen label warning about “AI-generated content" and notify listeners that some tracks on an album were created with song generators.

Deezer is a small player in music streaming, which is dominated by Spotify, Amazon and Apple, but the company said AI-generated music is an “industry-wide issue.” It's committed to “safeguarding the rights of artists and songwriters at a time where copyright law is being put into question in favor of training AI models," CEO Alexis Lanternier said in a press release.

Growing up Bombers: Football increasingly a family affair in Winnipeg

Nine months after a serious knee injury put his career in jeopardy, an emotional Chris Streveler stood before reporters, searching for words to describe what it meant to lead the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to a season-opening victory last week.

He could’ve started with what it felt like to suit up in front of 32,343 Blue and Gold supporters again after a gruelling rehab, or spoken about his three touchdown passes and how they helped his team prevail 34-20 over the B.C. Lions.

Instead, the first place the quarterback went was his daughter, Sunny, and how much it meant to him to play in front of her for the first time.

“I think it’s just really different having a daughter now, and after the injury, I just think my perspective is really different on the game, and life in general, and I have more appreciation for these moments,” Streveler told the Free Press earlier this week as the Bombers prepare to meet the Lions in a rematch on Saturday at BC Place.

‘Elio’ is an intergalactic tale — but for Toronto’s Domee Shi, it hits close to home

TORONTO - For Domee Shi, making a movie about an introverted kid getting abducted by aliens felt oddly familiar.

Not because she’s had any close encounters, but because she remembers being a teenager longing to be taken away to a world where her weirdness was understood.

The Toronto native co-directs “Elio,” a Pixar animated sci-fi film about an 11-year-old orphan who yearns to be snatched by extraterrestrials to escape his loneliness — and gets his wish when an interplanetary organization mistakes him for Earth’s ambassador.

“He's this lonely artsy kid who just wants to belong somewhere. I definitely felt that way growing up,” says the Oscar-winning animator behind 2022’s coming-of-age Toronto-set hit “Turning Red.”

Flin Flon’s school year comes to disappointing end for graduating evacuees

Homesick evacuees from the Flin Flon area were dealt another blow Monday when they learned an out-of-control forest fire had cancelled the rest of the school year in northwestern Manitoba.

Graduates far from home ‘grateful’ for honour at school powwow

Grade 12 Tataskweyak Cree Nation student Jonah Wavey was among several wildfire evacuees honoured Monday during a special celebration of Indigenous graduates at the University of Winnipeg’s Duckworth Centre.

How the humble water gun became the symbol of Barcelona’s anti-tourism movement

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — A group of tourists were sitting at an outdoor table in the Spanish city of Barcelona, trying to enjoy their drinks, when a woman raised a cheap plastic water gun and shot an arc of water at them.

Her weapon of choice — the cheap, squirt-squirt variety — is an increasingly common fixture at anti-tourism protests in the southern European country, where many locals fear that an overload of visitors is driving them from their cherished neighborhoods.

How did the humble water gun become a symbol of discontent?

From refreshing to revolutionary

Community groups join forces to help the hungry

A handful of community groups are coming together this week for a campaign to benefit hungry Manitobans.

The food drive in south Winnipeg kicks off Monday and runs until Saturday. People are invited to drop off donations of non-perishable food items at Align, a student housing building at 2537 Pembina Hwy.

All donations will go to Harvest Manitoba, the non-profit charitable organization committed to ensuring no one in the province goes hungry.

Participating in the food drive is a way for the Winnipeg Chinese Senior Association to turn its values into action, says Songyan Liu.

Pray for rain — and plant more trees

As I write this, Saskatchewan is under another air-quality alert as smoke from Alberta and B.C. drift over to cast a shadow on what would typically be a sunny June day.

L’impro comme tremplin pour la jeunesse en immersion

Le 5 juin, dix élèves d’écoles d’immersion française ont brillé sur scène lors du tout premier “Match des étoiles” de la FLIIP, une nouvelle ligue d’improvisation scolaire qui allie humour, spontanéité et passion francophone.

Après quelques essais ponctuels dans le passé, le Conseil jeunesse provincial (CJP) a lancé cette année la première ligue officielle d’improvisation destinée aux écoles d’immersion française du Manitoba. La Fabuleuse ligue d’improvisation immersive et passionnante (FLIIP) a couronné cette première saison par un “Match des étoiles” présenté le 5 juin au Centre culturel franco-manitobain.

Mélanie Bédard, responsable de projet au CJP, explique: “Nous voulions relancer l’idée d’une ligue d’improvisation pour les écoles d’immersion. Nous avons donc envoyé un courriel pour dire que nous étions prêts à les soutenir s’ils voulaient créer des clubs d’impro au sein de leur école.”

Le projet FLIIP avait vu le jour il y a plusieurs années, mais la pandémie avait stoppé net son développement. Cette année, il a enfin pu se concrétiser, avec plusieurs activités et formations déjà en place.

Like mother, like daughter: Sunshine Fund camp experience runs in the family

Peyton Toth is weeks away from graduating from Grade 3 and heading to summer camp for the first time.

And the bubbly outgoing eight-year-old will soon be on her way to Camp Arnes, on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg north of Gimli, thanks to the Sunshine Fund.

Peyton’s mom, Lindsay, said she knows firsthand the type of experience her daughter will get. Three decades ago, when she was eight years old, she went to camp for the first time — at Camp Arnes.

“I wanted her to go to camp so I began looking at the camps out there,” she said. “But I didn’t realize (camping fees) would be that much. It costs $800 for the week.

The bully is a person in our neighbourhood

A new kid moves into your neighbourhood. A loudmouth, pretty darned full of himself; “I’m the best, the bigly-est, the smartest person ever,” but you’re used to all sorts, even windbags, so you don’t pay him much mind.

And then one day as you’re walking by, he punches you in the face.

Later, he’s all smiles, and says “Let’s let bygones be bygones, we could be the bestest of friends.” And things get better for a bit, though he’s still insufferable.

Not long after, as you’re walking by, he comes up and punches you in the face, saying that you were mean to him.

Community disappointed after teepee stolen from school lawn

Parents were upset to discover a teepee that had been erected on the lawn of an East Kildonan elementary school had been stolen.

Staff at Angus McKay School, at 850 Woodvale St., reported the theft on Monday, a Winnipeg Police Service spokesperson said Thursday.

The teepee was part of a two-week installation for National Indigenous History Month in which land-based learning was to be highlighted, principal Jean-Paul Rochon said in a statement.

Chelsea Dyck, whose nine-year-old daughter and six-year-old son attend the school, was shocked when she learned about the theft.