Winnipeg Free Press – Breaking News, Sports, Manitoba, Canada

Education minister’s reasons for revoking teacher’s licence ‘not good enough,’ judge decides

Maggie Macintosh 5 minute read Yesterday at 6:25 PM CDT

A Manitoba judge has rejected the education minister’s decision to end a teacher’s career because he repeatedly messaged with a 13-year-old girl on social media.

New

‘We feel lucky — and a bit traumatized’: Tornado confirmed in River Heights Sunday

Malak Abas 5 minute read Preview

‘We feel lucky — and a bit traumatized’: Tornado confirmed in River Heights Sunday

Malak Abas 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 6:10 PM CDT

Tanner Lemieux wasn’t surprised to learn the violent winds that tore through River Heights and reached their peak near his home Sunday night have been classified as a tornado.

While driving back to his Lindsay Street home from a shopping trip with his wife Sunday, it became clear they were not in the middle of an ordinary thunderstorm when rain and wind started coming from every direction and hit every side of their truck.

The forceful wind made it impossible for him to open his door after they had parked. He climbed through the window, over the top of his vehicle, and the couple struggled to fight the whipping winds to make it into the house.

“As we were running in, the wind started pulling me backwards out of the door,” he told the Free Press while cleaning debris from his yard Thursday.

Read

Updated: Yesterday at 6:10 PM CDT

Local

Jordan Carruthers photo Storm chaser Jordan Carruthers said he saw the tornado touch down near Swan Lake after following the storm from the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border as it tracked eastward. He saw other funnel clouds along the way.

Manitoba has recorded 15 tornadoes this year, roughly twice the annual average

Eva Wasney 8 minute read Preview

Manitoba has recorded 15 tornadoes this year, roughly twice the annual average

Eva Wasney 8 minute read Yesterday at 6:50 PM CDT

It’s been a whirlwind year for tornado researchers in Manitoba.

“It’s the busiest we’ve ever been, by far,” John Hanesiak, a professor in the department of environment and geography at the University of Manitoba, says.

Hanesiak is a collaborator with the Northern Tornadoes Project, a national research program based at Western University in London, Ont., that aims to better understand tornadoes in Canada.

Since late May, Hanesiak and his team have spent 43 days in the field surveying damage caused by tornadoes and severe weather events across Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Previous seasons have required a maximum of 19 days on the road.

Read

Yesterday at 6:50 PM CDT

Local

SUPPLIED Christine Egan, left, with Ellen Judd in Rankin Inlet beneath its Inukshuk when she was there on her last posting in Nunavut as Director of Research and Education for the Keewatin Regional Health and Social Services Board.

Lone Manitoba 9/11 victim's legacy lives on helping Inuit students become nurses

Melissa Martin 13 minute read Preview

Lone Manitoba 9/11 victim's legacy lives on helping Inuit students become nurses

Melissa Martin 13 minute read Yesterday at 5:24 PM CDT

On the night before the morning that everyone remembers, Ellen Judd spoke to her partner, Christine Egan, several times on the phone. Egan was in New York, where she’d gone to look after her nephews so her beloved brother, Michael, and his wife, Anna, could treat themselves to an anniversary vacation.

Usually, Judd would have been there, too. The couple had been together for more than 15 years, and loved sharing all the good parts of life. But at the time, she was an anthropology professor at the University of Manitoba, and the school year was just starting; she had classes the next day. Staying connected by phone would have to suffice.

In their calls that night, Judd remembers, Egan was happy. Christmas was the main topic. They were planning to spend the holiday with Judd’s family in Ontario, and talked about when to book flights. Egan was looking forward to that visit; Judd’s family “loved her to bits,” the now-retired professor says, and the affection was mutual.

The next day, Egan said, she planned to go into Manhattan with Michael. He was an executive at Aon, a global risk, retirement and health services corporation, and had an office on the 105th floor of the World Trade Centre’s South Tower.

Read

Yesterday at 5:24 PM CDT

Amateur

Closure of Nomads field massive upset for north end

Joshua Frey-Sam 4 minute read Preview

Closure of Nomads field massive upset for north end

Joshua Frey-Sam 4 minute read Yesterday at 6:08 PM CDT

The North Winnipeg Nomads have a flag on the field.

The long-standing minor football club was recently informed that its field is unfit to host games and that it would need to find a new home for its five youth and adult teams until repairs are made to the playing surface.

“Our board has made every effort to address the condition of our home field,” the club wrote in a statement. “Unfortunately, following a professional assessment, the field has been determined to be unsafe and unstable for our athletes.”

All five of the club’s teams will play their 2026 season at Frank Whyte Field, part of the Northwood Community Centre, with no confirmed date for when they can play on their home field again.

Read

Yesterday at 6:08 PM CDT

Local

‘We’ll get there’: retired sportscaster Scott Oake determined as fundraising for women's addictions treatment facility enters home stretch

Melissa Martin 4 minute read Preview

‘We’ll get there’: retired sportscaster Scott Oake determined as fundraising for women's addictions treatment facility enters home stretch

Melissa Martin 4 minute read Yesterday at 7:08 PM CDT

For now, the patch of land just east of the Victoria Hospital doesn’t look like much: just a field of rocks, mounded dirt, and concrete piles driven into the earth. Yet when Scott Oake looks over the site, he can already imagine how it will look in just over a year’s time, when the new Anne Oake Family Recovery Centre is expected to open.

It’s easier to picture this time around. In 2020, when the recently-retired CBC sportscaster and his late wife, Anne, were building their first labour of intermingled grief and love, the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre for men, it was hard for him to wrap his mind around how a raw construction site could transform into a welcoming addictions treatment facility.

When that centre opened in 2021, Oake found it looked “almost identical” to the architect’s renderings. So it’s easy to hope the Anne Oake Centre will be the same. It will be the first facility of its kind, its founders believe, not only in Canada but in North America: a place where 50 to 70 women can pursue sobriety while staying with their children.

“At Bruce Oake there’s a culture of love, and most of all a culture of hope,” Oake said, speaking at the site Thursday after a media conference to announce the final push of the centre’s fundraising campaign. “I can feel it every time I walk into that building. And I know it will be the same here.”

Read

Yesterday at 7:08 PM CDT

Opinion

Cancelling court erodes access to justice — just ask Matt Wiebe Dan Lett Updated: Yesterday at 4:04 PM CDT
The plane truth about a dangerous president Editorial Updated: Yesterday at 7:27 AM CDT
Growing pains? Maybe, but it’s worth it Dan Hendry Updated: Yesterday at 7:27 AM CDT

Bomber Report

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES
Winnipeg Blue Bombers rookie tight end Dante Daniels Manitoba-born foster dad, Joel Fillion, educated him on the Blue and Gold-White and Green rivalry.

Bombers rookies embracing rivalry in lead up to Banjo Bowl

Taylor Allen 6 minute read Preview

Bombers rookies embracing rivalry in lead up to Banjo Bowl

Taylor Allen 6 minute read Yesterday at 6:35 PM CDT

Dante Daniels has been doing his homework on the Battle of the Prairies.

The rookie tight end for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers recently went back and studied Labour Day Classics and Banjo Bowl games from previous years to better understand what the annual back-to-back series means to people around these parts.

“I want to know why it’s so important to the fans and why it’s so important in Winnipeg and I want to be a part of that,” Daniels told the Free Press after Thursday’s closed practice.

“I don’t want to be a person that comes in here and goes, ‘OK this is just another game.’ I want to be someone who embraces the rivalry.”

Read

Yesterday at 6:35 PM CDT

Local

City rapped for taking five days to remove animal carcass

Morgan Modjeski 2 minute read Yesterday at 8:34 PM CDT

A Winnipeg resident said she’s upset it took the city five days to retrieve a dead fawn from her yard after she reported it to 311.

Amy Gelhorn said she and her family noticed the animal carcass in her garden on Saturday. She called 311 and was told it would be picked up after the long weekend.

“It was removed this afternoon,” the north River Heights resident said Thursday. “So it took six days to remove it and we had to basically phone every day.”

She said neighbours on both sides of her house told her they saw the animal acting strangely on Friday and reported their concerns to 311. It’s believed the animal died overnight. As the days dragged on, the body continued to rot.

Learn more about Winnipeg Free Press Advertising solutions

Local

First wave of eligible students snap up more than 18,000 free annual Winnipeg Transit passes

Chris Kitching 5 minute read Preview

First wave of eligible students snap up more than 18,000 free annual Winnipeg Transit passes

Chris Kitching 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 9:20 PM CDT

More than 18,000 free Winnipeg Transit passes have been handed out to Grade 11 and 12 students so far as part of a provincial pilot program, the NDP government announced Thursday.

Schools started distributing annual youth passes (valid until Aug. 31, 2027) to those students this week, with children in grades 6 to 10 next in line as part of a staggered rollout.

“This youth pass can be used to get to school, to get to work, to visit your friends and, really, anything that you want to do,” Education Minister Tracy Schmidt told reporters at Grant Park High School Thursday.

City of Winnipeg spokesman David Driedger said 60,000 passes have been sent to schools. Winnipeg Transit initially planned for about 30,000 passes.

Read

Updated: Yesterday at 9:20 PM CDT

Local

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES
Very little information has been made public about a ransomware attack on Health Sciences Centre Aug. 10.

Transparency paramount after cyberattacks to prevent future breaches: tech expert

Carol Sanders 4 minute read Preview

Transparency paramount after cyberattacks to prevent future breaches: tech expert

Carol Sanders 4 minute read Yesterday at 5:59 PM CDT

After a ransomware attack, no news isn’t always good news, a tech expert warns.

Little public information has emerged since a cybersecurity breach last month affected door access and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning at Health Sciences Centre.

“It’s critical for all of us to ask for greater levels of communication after events like this so that we can minimize the potential for these events to recur,” said Ontario tech analyst Carmi Levy.

During a ransomware attack, cybercriminals use malicious software to encrypt, steal or delete data, then demand payment to restore it.

Read

Yesterday at 5:59 PM CDT

Business

Denim-focused firm Duer sets up Winnipeg shop

Aaron Epp 4 minute read Preview

Denim-focused firm Duer sets up Winnipeg shop

Aaron Epp 4 minute read Yesterday at 8:16 PM CDT

A Canadian apparel brand known for its “performance jeanswear” is one of the newest tenants in Winnipeg’s largest mall.

Duer opened a retail shop in CF Polo Park at the end of August. It’s the first Manitoba storefront for the Vancouver-based company, which offers clothing for men and women, with a focus on denim.

Company founder Gary Lenett says Duer has built a demand in the province for its products through its wholesale and e-commerce channels, which drove the company’s decision to open a retail store in Winnipeg.

“We landed on Polo Park because it’s the busiest mall in the city and the best way to reach a wide group of people in one place,” Lenett said in an email.

Read

Yesterday at 8:16 PM CDT

Business

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
Grand Chief Jerry Daniels called for mining deals between companies and First Nations to include employment strategies and impact benefit agreements.

Mining, mineral exploration projects ramp up, First Nations training lags

Gabrielle Piché 3 minute read Preview

Mining, mineral exploration projects ramp up, First Nations training lags

Gabrielle Piché 3 minute read Yesterday at 8:19 PM CDT

Mark Fedikow hunts for gold. Skilled labour can become a secondary search.

“You can find lots of folks on the reserves that are willing to work and learn, no question about it,” Fedikow, president of Mount Morgan Resources Ltd., said Thursday in Winnipeg.

“They need to get some training, they need to get some education in exploration.”

Fedikow and his team have been surveying roughly 7,400 acres in the Snow Lake area in northern Manitoba. They’re in “early days” of gold exploration. Results over the past two years of work have been promising, Fedikow said.

Read

Yesterday at 8:19 PM CDT