Melissa Ridgen

Network Managing Editor - National News

Author Archives

• Tracker honoured for decades of search and recovery work in northern Manitoba

  Wilson Moore of Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation has spent well over 40 years in the bush and on the water searching for missing people — and with great success.

  Canada

  Nov 8
• ‘This is fraud’: Indigenous leaders sound off on federal procurement program

  A Global News investigation found significant loopholes in a multi-billion dollar procurement program aimed at helping develop First Nations, Inuit and Métis companies.

  Canada

  Nov 1
• Advertisement
• ‘You have to see with your own eyes’: A rescue dog and the kitten she befriended

  A rescue dog spontaneously produces milk to feed an orphaned kitten.

  Canada

  Oct 30
• Advertisement
• Executive director of Manitoba group that helps Yazidi refugees arrested for sexual assault

  Yazidi Association of Manitoba executive director Hadji Hesso was arrested on Oct. 4.

  Canada

  Oct 29
• Hajdu won’t say if non-Indigenous companies should pay back Indigenous contracts

  Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu repeatedly dodged questions on Monday over non-Indigenous companies accessing federal contracts meant for First Nations, Inuit and Métis.

  Politics

  Oct 28
• Manitoba Inuit Association in turmoil ahead of AGM amid toxic workplace allegations

  The Manitoba government's Workplace Safety and Health is investigating three complaints at the Manitoba Inuit Association involving allegations of a toxic workplace

  Canada

  Oct 18
• Manitoba chief justice says getting it right — and fixing past wrongs — key to judicial reconciliation

  Manitoba Chief Justice Glenn Joyal sat down with media to discuss judicial reconciliation and steps the courts have taken to do better, while also cleaning up from historic wrongs.

  Perspectives

  Oct 16
• Patient claims he was treated like addict and denied care for deadly infection

  A Winnipeg man nearly died in emergency room where he says staff mistook him for a drug addict with kidney stones when he actually had a severe staphylococcus infection.

  Health

  Sep 16
• Advertisement
• ‘It’s not right’: Indigenous leaders call on Ottawa to clean up procurement system

  A joint Global News investigation revealed significant loopholes in a multi-billion dollar program intended to boost Indigenous businesses in Canada.

  Canada

  Aug 26
• Advertisement
• Billions in federal contracts awarded to ‘Indigenous’ enterprises without verification

  The Canadian government mostly relied on an honour system when it awarded billions of dollars in contracts to enterprises identifying as Indigenous.

  Investigations

  Aug 22
• Premier Wab Kinew signs deal to return land to Manitoba Métis

  Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew returned 100 acres of land to the Manitoba Metis at the site of Ste, Madeleine, a village destroyed by government to make way for a community pasture

  Features

  Jul 19
• Arson suspect killed by police at popular beach park in Kenora, Ont.

  Ontario's Special Investigations Unit is investigating after OPP in Kenora, Ont., fatally shot an arson suspect believed to have set fire to an ice cream shop at a popular beach.

  Crime

  Jun 26
• ‘Everybody’s just in shock’: Winnipeg apartment residents ordered to vacate over unsafe conditions

  The City of Winnipeg has ordered residents of a Portage Avenue apartment block to vacate the building due to its unsafe condition.

  Canada

  May 9
• Free-roaming feathered friends (mostly) welcomed with aplomb in Manitoba town

  A flood in 2011 put one tourist attraction at risk while creating a new one and the town of Souris has leaned in to being the place where wild peacocks roam free

  Canada

  Apr 29
• Advertisement
• Businesses, lake users fear ‘knee-jerk’ action by Parks Canada to combat zebra mussels

  As ice continues its spring thaw in many parts of the country and boaters and paddlers gear up to hit the water, an invasive species that’s been slowly making its way westward across Canada for nearly four decades threatens to end the boating season before it even begins in Riding Mountain National Park. Parks Canada...

  Canada

  Apr 28
• Advertisement
• Man acquitted in Tina Fontaine murder found dead, says her aunt

  Raymond Cormier, a career criminal and the man police believed killed Tina Fontaine, has reportedly died and “took all the answers with him” said Fontaine’s aunt Thelma Favel.

  Crime

  Apr 23
• CEO parts ways with Indigenous women’s advocacy organization after feds slash funding

  The Native Women's Association of Canada has seen its federal funding cut by nearly $50 million to just $10 million, resulting in its staff of 75 being reduced to 30.

  Canada

  Apr 12
• ‘Psychopathic’ Manitoba AI Easter Bunny ‘maybe just dealing with a lot,’ says creator

  Canadian History Ehx podcast used AI to generate an Easter Bunny suited to each province. Most are depicted as noble adventurers but Manitoba's is disturbing.

  Trending

  Mar 26
• Staff sound alarm over at-risk teens being “scooped” in group home dispute

  "We've had suicide attempts, AWOLs, drug use. Destabilization all around the unknown. It's very heartbreaking to see," Adara Curtis, an employee at one of the homes said.

  Perspectives

  Mar 15
• Parents support Manitoba group home currently under fire for giving teens weed

  A Manitoba group home is under investigation by the province for giving teens cannabis as a form of harm reduction. But some parents support the practice.

  Canada

  Mar 8
• Advertisement
• ‘Highway out was on fire’: Calls for inquest grow into ‘slow’ N.W.T fire response

  Last summer was the worst wildfire season on record for the Northwest Territories with 70 per cent of the population being evacuated. Residents are seeking accountability.

  Environment

  Feb 5
• Advertisement
• Dementia projected to surge 273% in Indigenous communities while support services lacking

  New research from the Alzheimer Society projects dementia to surge 273% among Indigenous people in the coming decades

  Health

  Jan 22
• Cold snap draws attention to need for home maintenance on First Nation

  A cold snap and a viral video have put the First Nations housing crunch back in the spotlight.

  Canada

  Jan 16
• Ontario woman found dead after police allegedly don’t respond to 911 call

  Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit is looking into the death of a woman in Thunder Bay, Ont., after they say the local police force didn't respond to a domestic call.

  Crime

  Jan 4
• Police in Ontario looking for Grinch who cut down community Christmas tree

  Kenora OPP are investigating a mischief after someone cut down the community's traditional Main Street Christmas tree. Mayor Andrew Poirier says residents are shocked and angered.

  Crime

  Dec 31, 2023