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Neepawa Titans head coach and general manager Ken Pearson coached his 1,500th game in the Canadian Junior Hockey League in a 4-2 win over the Dauphin Kings at Credit Union Place on Sunday night. The victory also gave the hometown product his 750th career regular season win. (Submitted)
Neepawa Titans head coach and general manager Ken Pearson coached his 1,500th game in the Canadian Junior Hockey League in a 4-2 win over the Dauphin Kings at Credit Union Place on Sunday night. The victory also gave the hometown product his 750th career regular season win. (Submitted)

Pearson relishing time behind bench

By Massimo De Luca-Taronno 8 minute read Preview

Pearson relishing time behind bench

By Massimo De Luca-Taronno 8 minute read Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026

If you asked Ken Pearson when he began his career behind the bench 30 years ago how long he’d last in the business, he wouldn’t have had a clue.

Now, it’s safe to say it’s become more than anything he would have ever expected.

The head coach and general manager of the Neepawa Titans checked off two big milestones on Sunday night after coaching his 1,500th game in the Canadian Junior Hockey League following a 4-2 win over the Dauphin Kings at Credit Union Place. The victory was the Titans 18th of the season and was also the 750th of Pearson’s career in the regular season.

It’s hard to put into words what significance just a pair of numbers means to a person, but for Pearson, it’s rather simple.

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Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026

Advocacy groups call for inquest after plasma donor deaths

By Malak Abas 4 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

WINNIPEG — The provincial government is being urged to call an inquest into the deaths of two people who had donated plasma at for-profit collection centres in Winnipeg.

Health Canada has promised to investigate the deaths, which occurred in October and January at two Grifols Plasma Donation Centres in Winnipeg.

However, the Manitoba Health Coalition said Health Canada licenses Grifols and it has a conflict of interest.

“We want as independent and (thorough) an investigation as possible for the loved ones of these Manitobans who died, to get real answers and so that harm like this doesn’t happen in the future,” coalition executive director Noah Schulz said at a news conference Friday.

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The mobile MRI unit is based at Thompson’s hospital. (Supplied)

Delay keeps northern mobile MRI grounded

By Carol Sanders 4 minute read Thursday, Mar. 12, 2026

WINNIPEG — An MRI unit meant to be mobile and travel from Thompson to The Pas to lower wait times and keep families close to home hasn’t budged from its base.

The Thompson-based MRI has completed 1,900 scans since it launched June 6, Shared Health said this week. It has served patients from communities across the Northern Health Region — including Flin Flon, The Pas, Split Lake, Cross Lake and Gillam — with wait times for a scan at just over four weeks. That’s compared to a median wait of more than 25 weeks elsewhere in the province.

The plan for the mobile unit to spend time in The Pas “remains a priority” but has hit a bump in the road, a Shared Health spokesman said.

“The original procurement process for connecting the mobile unit to the hospital resulted in a single bid that exceeded the project’s approved budget, which forced the extension of the project by requiring a second (request for proposal) process,” he said in an email.

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THE BATTLE FOR HOME ICE

1 minute read Wednesday, Mar. 11, 2026

Here are the teams in fourth, fifth and sixth place in the Western Hockey League’s Eastern Conference.

CALGARY

• 35-18-8-1.

• 4th, 79 points.

Progressive Conservative finance critic Lauren Stone says raising taxes for Manitoba’s wealthiest may scare them away. (Mikaela MacKenzie/Winnipeg Free Press files)
Progressive Conservative finance critic Lauren Stone says raising taxes for Manitoba’s wealthiest may scare them away. (Mikaela MacKenzie/Winnipeg Free Press files)

Province may target top earners, Kinew hints

By Carol Sanders 5 minute read Preview

Province may target top earners, Kinew hints

By Carol Sanders 5 minute read Saturday, Mar. 7, 2026

WINNIPEG — Premier Wab Kinew’s suggestion that the provincial budget on March 24 may squeeze the “top one per cent” — the richest Manitobans — was met with both positive and negative responses Friday.

Kinew, who dropped the hint in a local radio interview without providing more details, wasn’t made available Friday to clarify who or how, “We’re going to have some help in the budget on the education property tax front, and we might be asking the top one per cent to help us out with that.”

The NDP government is staring down a $1.6-billion deficit while vowing to balance the province’s books in its first term. If the plan is to lean on some of Manitoba’s top earners, how big are those incomes, and will that drive those people away?

To get into Manitoba’s top one per cent of income earners in 2023 required an income of $235,100 or about $244,000 in inflation-adjusted terms, University of Manitoba economics professor Jesse Hajer said Friday.

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Saturday, Mar. 7, 2026

“I want the public to trust in the fact that we will hold members accountable,” Winnipeg Police Service Chief Gene Bowers says. (Mikaela MacKenzie/Winnipeg Free Press files)
“I want the public to trust in the fact that we will hold members accountable,” Winnipeg Police Service Chief Gene Bowers says. (Mikaela MacKenzie/Winnipeg Free Press files)

WPS chief unveils anti-corruption plan

By Tyler Searle 5 minute read Preview

WPS chief unveils anti-corruption plan

By Tyler Searle 5 minute read Saturday, Mar. 7, 2026

WINNIPEG — Winnipeg’s top cop hopes enhanced oversight of officers will help the service regain public trust after its reputation was tarnished by the corruption of a disgraced officer and his co-accused colleagues.

“The trust that the public has in the police is paramount. Without it, we can’t do our job,” Chief Gene Bowers said Friday after meeting with the Winnipeg Police Board.

Among other things, the Winnipeg Police Service has added three investigators to its professional standards unit and the top brass have met with all members to reaffirm the service’s standards and expectations of professionalism and integrity, the chief said.

“The vast majority of our members work with integrity and they’re dedicated, but when somebody does step out of line … I want the public to trust in the fact that we will hold members accountable.”

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Saturday, Mar. 7, 2026

Winnipeg restaurant owner Ravi Ramberran and others want the province to give restaurateurs a wholesale discount on spirits as relief for the struggling industry. (Ruth Bonneville/Winnipeg Free Press files)
Winnipeg restaurant owner Ravi Ramberran and others want the province to give restaurateurs a wholesale discount on spirits as relief for the struggling industry. (Ruth Bonneville/Winnipeg Free Press files)

Restaurant sector pushes for liquor discount

By Nicole Buffie 4 minute read Preview

Restaurant sector pushes for liquor discount

By Nicole Buffie 4 minute read Friday, Mar. 6, 2026

WINNIPEG — Ravi Ramberran thinks he spends too much money on booze.

The Winnipeg entrepreneur estimates he spends about $250,000 annually on beer and spirits across the two restaurants he owns. He said if it was a bit cheaper to buy from the province’s supplier, the Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corp., he could pass on the savings to customers or use it for business improvements.

“(The hospitality sector is) the province’s biggest customer,” Ramberran said. “In any other industry, the biggest customer gets treated differently, period.”

The Manitoba Restaurant & Foodservices Association is lobbying the government to introduce a wholesale discount on spirits to provide some much-needed relief to a sector struggling to rebound since shutdowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Friday, Mar. 6, 2026

The NDP government introduced more than a dozen bills on Thursday at the Manitoba legislature. (The Canadian Press files)
The NDP government introduced more than a dozen bills on Thursday at the Manitoba legislature. (The Canadian Press files)

Government introduces wide array of proposed legislation

By Gabrielle Piché 4 minute read Preview

Government introduces wide array of proposed legislation

By Gabrielle Piché 4 minute read Friday, Mar. 6, 2026

WINNIPEG — The province is looking to crack down on puppy mills and pepper spray in proposed government legislation.

The New Democrats introduced more than a dozen bills Thursday that are set for debate later this year.

Under Bill 19 (The Animal Care Amendment Act), people would need a licence to sell or transfer ownership of pets when selling a large quantity.

That number of pets requiring a licence hasn’t been established yet; licensing requirements for kennels and for breeding or retailing pets would be repealed.

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Friday, Mar. 6, 2026

1 minute read Friday, Mar. 6, 2026

Haelin Taylor died on Jan. 23, 2016. Incorrect information appeared on Page A1 of the March 5 edition of the Sun.

Arthur Riazuddin made a permanent move from Winnipeg to Dubai a year ago, after splitting time between the two cities. (Supplied)
Arthur Riazuddin made a permanent move from Winnipeg to Dubai a year ago, after splitting time between the two cities. (Supplied)

Ex-Winnipeggers take war in the Middle East in stride

By Chris Kitching 5 minute read Preview

Ex-Winnipeggers take war in the Middle East in stride

By Chris Kitching 5 minute read Thursday, Mar. 5, 2026

WINNIPEG — Former Winnipeg resident Arthur Riazuddin was relaxing on a Dubai beach with fellow Canadians Saturday when they started hearing loud bangs and seeing puffs of smoke in the sky.

The echoing booms were the sound of the United Arab Emirates’ air defence systems taking out some of the first ballistic missiles fired from Iran while a new war flared in the Middle East.

“We slowly made our way out of there and back home,” Riazuddin, 39, said from Dubai Wednesday. “Obviously, that first evening was a little bit uneasy just because we didn’t know what was going on.”

Iran fired missiles and drones toward the UAE, an American ally, and other countries in the region after the U.S. and Israel launched air strikes against Tehran’s regime Saturday. The UAE is located across the Persian Gulf from Iran.

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Thursday, Mar. 5, 2026

Four beds reserved for people in meth-induced psychosis opened Wednesday at the province’s detox centre at 190 Disraeli Fwy. (Mikaela MacKenzie/Winnipeg Free Press)
Four beds reserved for people in meth-induced psychosis opened Wednesday at the province’s detox centre at 190 Disraeli Fwy. (Mikaela MacKenzie/Winnipeg Free Press)

Meth-psychosis beds open at 72-hour detox centre

By Gabrielle Piché 3 minute read Preview

Meth-psychosis beds open at 72-hour detox centre

By Gabrielle Piché 3 minute read Thursday, Mar. 5, 2026

WINNIPEG — Four beds reserved for people in meth-induced psychosis opened Wednesday at the province’s new 72-hour detox facility.

“We all see what goes on in our streets with meth,” Premier Wab Kinew said. “Well, today, we have a facility to be able to hold people until they’re not able to be a danger to other(s).”

The 20-bed facility at 190 Disraeli Fwy., which the province refers to as a protective-care centre, is operated by Main Street Project and fully operational.

The other 16 detox suites are for alcohol detentions and opened in December, which is when the province had hoped to have the entire facility operational.

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Thursday, Mar. 5, 2026

School division holds firm on religious exemption refusal

By Maggie Macintosh 4 minute read Thursday, Mar. 5, 2026

WINNIPEG — The Portage la Prairie School Division is upholding a decision to reject a family’s request for a religious exemption from activities related to Indigenous spirituality.

Sharon Sanders Zettler and Vince Zettler have spent the better part of the academic year seeking accommodations for their children at Yellowquill School.

“I have raised my kids in the Catholic faith from Day 1 and I am just looking for respect for that,” said Sanders Zettler, a mother of students enrolled in Grades 5 and 7 in Portage la Prairie.

Her husband echoed those comments while noting they are not interested in policing what other children learn.

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