Pucker up for this oh-so-sweet and easy lemon trifle

Property tax promise will be hardest pledge to keep

The majority of the promises made by Brian Pallister and the PC party in the provincial election campaign were modest ones. Most should be easy to implement.

The pledges, including spending $2 billion more on health care over four years, building 20 schools and working closer with police to fight crime, are largely continuations of what government was already doing.

This election was more about Pallister seeking approval for his government’s agenda – especially in health care – than getting a new mandate.

But there was one surprise election commitment – phasing out education property taxes – that will be far more difficult and controversial to implement.

Winnipeg Olympic hopeful Wog a natural in the pool

Vlastik Cerny has overseen hundreds of swimmers in his more than four decades in the sport. Occasionally, a special talent emerges.

Kelsey Wog was nine years old in 2007, just getting her start in the sport when she made just such an impression.

"She just pushed off the wall and she just glided right across the pool and I said, 'Well, there's a fish right there,'" recalls Cerny, the long-time coach of the University of Manitoba swim team. "I've been in the sport basically my whole life and you recognize that kind of gift right away."

It's a talent that allows Wog to remain at the surface of the water with little effort that caught Cerny's eye that day. And it's the basis of a skill set that should put her in contention for a podium finish in her signature event, the women's 200-metre breaststroke, at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo next month.

Brewers question province’s plan for trade missions to open markets

INSTEAD of a travel itch, confusion and frustration have emerged among some Manitoba brewers while the province plans interprovincial trade missions for the sector.

The government has slated $500,000 for its initiative.

Work is just beginning. The Manitoba Chambers of Commerce and Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries have been tapped to assist.

Delegations may land in Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia or Ontario, a government spokesperson said.

Grade 6: Twilight of the age of innocence

It's Friday morning at Windsor School and we are in the guitar room doing the Chicken Dance while singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

I say "we" because there are no observers allowed at circle time, only participants.

Silly song-and-dance combos might seem like a strange way to start a morning meeting in your world, but that's how we roll in the Circle of Power and Respect -- CPR as it's known in the Responsive Classroom approach to elementary education. That approach is based on the premise children learn best when they have both academic and social-emotional skills.

In CPR, we connect as a class and listen to each other's stories, hopes and fears without putting each other down. Everyone is seen, heard and acknowledged.

Pucker up for this oh-so-sweet and easy lemon trifle

Homemade Holidays is back for another year of festive cookies, cakes and treats.

From now until Dec. 17, we’ll be sharing a sweet daily recipe to inspire your holiday baking. This year’s batch of 12 recipes include Free Press Favourites shared by newsroom staff and a selection of previously unpublished reader recipe submissions from our 2022 Homemade community cookbook project.

We’re kicking things off with an impressively easy trifle recipe from Free Press office manager extraordinaire Margaret McMillan. It’s light and fruity, making it an ideal end to a heavy holiday feast.