Grim discovery postpones announcement on future of controversial inner-city housing complex

A long-awaited housing announcement involving a once-promising core-area housing complex shuttered out of safety concerns after years of neglect and criminal behaviour was called off at the last minute Friday after a body was discovered inside.

Housing Minister Bernadette Smith, Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine and Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs representatives were scheduled to begin the event at Centre Village on Balmoral Street at 9 a.m.

It had to be cancelled when Winnipeg Police Service officers arrived at the Manitoba Housing apartment complex at about 8:30, responding to a report of a body inside, spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen said, adding the person appeared to be a male and the death is believed to have been medical matter, not a criminal one.

“I’m not seeing anything… suspicious in nature,” he said, offering no other details.

Indigenous MLA ‘worried’ about First Nations gaining control of child welfare

A First Nations government backbencher, who is also a foster parent, worries about who will speak up for children in care once their communities assume complete control over child welfare. “As an Indigenous woman and former Indigenous chief and council member, I can say this: I’m really worried about the First Nations handling this authority,” northern NDP MLA Amanda Lathlin told the legislative affairs committee, which is reviewing of the Advocate for Children and Youth Act, on Friday. “I’m worried about the nepotism that’s currently going on in every office,” Lathlin said, referring to “band politics” and “bullshit” before apologizing […]

Winkler Flyers ride OT victory to first MJHL title in 26 years

The Winkler Flyers scratched a 26-year itch Friday night.

Spurred on by a boisterous sellout crowd of 1,300 at Centennial Arena, the Flyers captured their first Turnbull Cup title since 1998 with a 5-4 overtime triumph over the Steinbach Pistons.

Zach Nicolas’ sixth goal of the MJHL post-season, coming during a 5-on-3 power play 4:59 into extra time, allowed Winkler to sweep the best-of-seven MJHL final from the defending league champs.

“It’s huge — not just for the team, not just for the coaching staff but the community here,” said Nicolas. “They’ve been waiting a long time and we brought it in this year.”

Witness complications result in plea deal for machete killers

A Winnipeg man and woman who admit attacking and killing a woman with machetes have dodged possible convictions for first-degree murder after one of the main witnesses against them died and another disappeared.

Amos Joe Kematch and Leah Carol Clifton entered guilty pleas to second-degree murder Thursday in the February 2022 slaying of 26-year-old Heather Marie Cheyane Beardy. The pair’s guilty pleas came as the result of a plea bargain reached shortly before a jury was to be selected that same day in their impending trial.

The mandatory sentence for first-degree murder is life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. A conviction for second-degree murder also results in a mandatory life sentence, but parole eligibility can be set anywhere between 10 and 25 years.

The distinction between first- and second-degree murder is that first-degree murder refers to a killing that is both planned and deliberate, while second-degree murder refers to a killing that is deliberate, but not planned.

‘There’ll be a lot of people watching’: sell-off of Scott-Bathgate inventory begins

Scott-Bathgate, parent company of the recently shuttered Nutty Club, is selling off its assets via online auctions. Items from its Calgary, Edmonton and Delta, B.C., locations are up first.

Brandon Sun shines with pair of national awards

The Brandon Sun took home awards for editorials and photography while the Globe and Mail was the big winner Friday night at the National Newspapers Awards in Toronto.

The Free Press was nominated for four awards, including combined coverage with the Brandon Sun of the Trans-Canada Highway crash in Carberry that killed 17 seniors in June 2023.

Montreal’s La Presse won the breaking news category for its coverage after a bus driver killed two children and injured six others when a vehicle crashed into a Laval daycare centre.

The Free Press was a finalist in the columns category for Niigaan’s Sinclair’s writing on Manitoba politics; in the explanatory category for Melissa Martin’s feature on men and women trying to break the cycle after years in the criminal justice system; and in the sports photo category for John Woods’ picture of women’s Manitoba Marathon winner Dawn Neal with a fallen competitor behind her.

Taking lacrosse to a new level

A game of online poker more than three years ago between Kelson Borisenko and his pals turned into a three-hour tirade about the underwhelming hand Manitoba lacrosse players were being dealt.

The group of 20-somethings, who all played at a high level, agreed that while the province’s talent pool was on par with the rest of the country, the opportunity here to get noticed was not.

“For us, it was really frustrating to see all those guys around us that had that talent, who wanted to compete at that next level, but were never given that opportunity,” said Borisenko, who was drafted by the Saskatchewan Rush of the National Lacrosse League in 2020 after spending four years at Manhattan College (New York), a Division 1 program in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

Out of those discussions came a plan for a local training program.