7 min. readThough Eva Wasney may be new around these parts, she’s been cooking up incredible reporting for more than a decade (pun intended).
Eva’s past life as a food, arts and culture reporter at the Winnipeg Free Press has taken her to a wide array of places, including a black bear rescue facility, and given her a seat at a table staring down a sickly-coloured banana meatloaf (more on that later).
On top of years’ worth of deeply reported features, one of which earned her a spot on the shortlist for a National Newspaper Award in 2023, her resumé also includes a plethora of multimedia experience like hosting virtual book clubs, producing mini-documentaries and eating the aforementioned banana meatloaf on camera (still more on that later).
Eva has joined the team as our Manitoba reporter in partnership with the Winnipeg Free Press. Though her life will have fewer concert reviews and horrifying taste tests (probably?), Eva says she’s excited to tap into a big throughline between her past journalistic life and the one she’s now venturing into.
“Paying attention to the culture and what’s happening in the moment means paying attention to how people are reacting to the world around them,” she said.
“With environmental journalism, you’re talking to people about things that are happening in the place that they live and how that’s impacting them. There’s some commonality there for sure.”
For more tasty morsels of info on Eva, including her best itinerary recommendations for her darkhorse hometown of Winnipeg, her badass women’s weightlifting class and that insane banana meatloaf, keep on reading!
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Tell me about yourself! Where did you grow up?
I was born and raised in Winnipeg. I spent a couple of years living in Brandon, Man., while I worked at the paper out there, but I have been in Manitoba my entire life. I really love living in this province. I’ve never felt that pull to go live somewhere else. I’ve travelled, but I always love coming back to Manitoba. It feels like home.
What drew you to journalism?
I kind of fell into it accidentally. I always loved writing, but never thought of it as a career until I got to the University of Winnipeg and started writing for the school paper, The Uniter. And then I heard about the creative communications program at Red River College. I was hooked after my first couple of journalism classes.
I was excited about talking to people I might not otherwise cross paths with and being trusted to tell their stories. I also enjoyed shining a light on issues affecting everyday people and holding those in power to account.
The job is different every single day, and I think that is what has kept me doing it for more than a decade. I’ve learned so much and have been privileged to share that with readers.
As The Narwhal’s Manitoba reporter, in partnership with the Winnipeg Free Press, what stories are you excited to dig into?
Manitoba is a really big, diverse province with a lot of competing interests and issues. I’m looking forward to digging into the current state of affairs. We have a provincial government that has made a bunch of climate and net-zero emissions targets, but is also promoting new energy and critical minerals projects and an LNG pipeline up to Churchill.
I’m interested in exploring how those competing priorities are going to impact people across the province, especially in rural and northern communities and First Nations.
Prior to joining The Narwhal, you wrote about all sorts of things for the Winnipeg Free Press — including a deep dive into the small-town secrets of Elma, Man., and a profile of Anishinaabe artist Jordan Stranger that was shortlisted for a National Newspaper Award in 2023. What’s the story you’re most proud of?
Two stick out in my mind, both of which were big, in-depth, multi-story series. One was about farming in Manitoba, and it followed three different farmers through a whole growing season, exploring all of the ins and outs of agriculture in this province. It was really interesting to see how the people who work the land experience it — what their year looks like and how they’re thinking about the future.
The other was about a black bear rescue facility near Stonewall, Man. It was a very cute story about an orphaned black bear cub nicknamed Vinny and his rehabilitation journey. He got big and fat, and then we went up north and released him into the wilderness. It was neat to focus on an animal that’s so ubiquitous in Manitoba that people don’t really think about their conservation.
Prior to the Winnipeg Free Press, you worked in a plethora of multimedia spheres, for The Brandon Sun and the University of Winnipeg. Where do you find your multimedia inspiration?
I’ve worked with a lot of really talented photojournalists and I follow a lot of documentary filmmakers. I think that helps inform how I approach the whole package of a story. My priority is the writing, but I also like to think about how the visuals will enhance the storytelling. It feels like a big puzzle.
As a Winnipegger, what do you think people get wrong about Manitoba’s capital, and what would you suggest first-time visitors do, eat, experience?
Winnipeg has had an underdog reputation for a long time, but I genuinely don’t think that’s true anymore.
I think word has gotten out about how cool and scrappy the city is. Like any place, we have social and civic issues, but we also have a lot of passionate people working to improve things. We have such a vibrant arts, culture and music scene. There are shows happening basically every night. We have world-class art galleries and cultural institutions.
Most tourists will visit The Forks — and I think that’s for good reason. It’s where the Assiniboine and Red rivers meet, and there are a lot of ways to get onto the water: you can hop on a water bus in the summer or go skating on the river trail in the winter. The rivers are an important part of the city’s identity, so I think it’s nice to explore Winnipeg from that vantage point.
I would also recommend going to a show at the Times Change(d) High And Lonesome Club. There’s a great shop in the South Osborne area called Black Market Provisions — they have excellent snacks. Old House Revival Company is my favourite spot for antique and vintage shopping. It’s got four floors of weird stuff. I could spend a whole day there. Kilter in St. Boniface is one of my top craft breweries, and Shirley’s in Osborne Village is one of my favourite restaurants at the moment.
Speaking of food, you created a community cookbook filled with 150 recipes submitted by Winnipeg Free Press readers. What recipe do you return to most often?
That project was so special. A lot of people submitted really beloved family recipes, and it was an honour to read through their anecdotes and memories while putting the book together.
But the recipe that sticks out in my mind is one for banana meatloaf that I found in the Free Press archives from 1945.
It was a meatloaf that included mashed bananas, saltine crackers and was topped with bacon. I was like, “There’s no way these things could possibly go well together.” So, obviously, I had to make it and subject my colleagues to a taste test. It was surprisingly good, despite all these weird ingredients that nobody would put together today.
How do you spend your free time?
I do a lot of adventuring with my dog and my partner. We spend a lot of time camping and being outdoors. I’m also learning how to bake (I’m truly terrible) and am tending to an unruly vegetable garden. Trying to grow food in my backyard has been a fun experiment.
I play a lot of rec league sports. I’m on a softball and a curling team. In the last couple of years, I joined a women’s weightlifting class. So I also lift heavy weights with a bunch of badass women.