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

Port of Churchill celebrates first grain shipment in six years

Aaron Epp 5 minute read Yesterday at 6:02 PM CDT

Approximately 30,000 tonnes of Canadian durum wheat from Saskatchewan-based AGT Foods is being loaded at the northern Manitoba port and will be shipped to customers in Europe.

New

Winnipeg teacher disciplined for ‘liking’ student’s post

Maggie Macintosh 5 minute read Preview

Winnipeg teacher disciplined for ‘liking’ student’s post

Maggie Macintosh 5 minute read Yesterday at 6:05 PM CDT

A Winnipeg teacher has been reprimanded for accidentally clicking ‘like’ on a student’s year-old social media post during a late-night scroll.

A recent investigation by Manitoba’s independent teacher commissioner found Jordan Nelson, a hockey coach in the Pembina Trails School Division, engaged in professional misconduct by viewing online profiles of students who were following a team account he was managing on behalf of his school.

“Using information associated with the school’s hockey team account to access and review a student’s social media account, without any legitimate educational or workplace purpose, was inappropriate and inconsistent with the professional boundaries expected of a teacher,” commissioner Noni Classen wrote.

A five-page report, better known as a consent resolution agreement, details agreed-upon facts about an October 2025 incident and subsequent disciplinary action.

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Yesterday at 6:05 PM CDT

Local

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
Officers arrived at the 600 block of McMeans Avenue East and, after a search, found a naked man who, police said, refused their commands and ran away.

Naked man dies after jolt from police Taser

Scott Billeck 5 minute read Preview

Naked man dies after jolt from police Taser

Scott Billeck 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 6:49 PM CDT

A Transcona man says he was lucky to be awake early Sunday when, shortly after 4 a.m., a stranger smashed through his screen door and kicked in the front door of his home.

“It’s all I can think about, like what if I was sleeping?” said the man, whom the Free Press is not naming to protect his identity. “Being awake gave me just a couple of extra seconds to deal with him before he got his whole body in.”

He was sitting on his couch when he heard the glass shatter and saw someone trying to force his way inside.

“Glass flew in and this guy — he was a big guy — tried to climb through the screen door,” the man said. “I hopped off the couch and just remember screaming for help. Well, of course it’s four in the morning, so nobody’s going to help, right? I wasn’t thinking straight.”

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Updated: Yesterday at 6:49 PM CDT

Local

KELVIN SIEMENS PHOTO
A tornado damaged several buildings on a farm near the community of Kola, which is just south of Elkhorn.

Heavy rain, wind sweep across Manitoba as tornado takes out barn near Elkhorn

Malak Abas 6 minute read Preview

Heavy rain, wind sweep across Manitoba as tornado takes out barn near Elkhorn

Malak Abas 6 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 7:32 PM CDT

Kelvin Siemens hoped he was dreaming when a tornado touched down near his home Sunday evening.

When he woke up the next morning, the southwestern Manitoba farmer confirmed it was no dream, as his barn and hay shed were toppled and a pile of rubble was left behind.

“This kind of devastation can really test your constitution,” Siemens, 65, told the Free Press from his farm just south of Kola, a small community in the Rural Municipality of Wallace-Woodworth.

The tornado was reported near Elkhorn, about 105 kilometres west of Brandon, at about 6:30 p.m. Sunday. A second tornado touched down near Maryfield, Sask., located southwest of Elkhorn.

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Updated: Yesterday at 7:32 PM CDT

Health

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
Michelle Finley had to have her foot amputated due to an aggressive sarcoma — a type of cancer that starts in the body’s connective and supportive tissues.

Rare and tough to notice, sarcomas may lurk in the body

Jen Zoratti 11 minute read Preview

Rare and tough to notice, sarcomas may lurk in the body

Jen Zoratti 11 minute read Yesterday at 6:00 AM CDT

Last summer, Michelle Finley was going about a normal day.

She had just dropped her car off at a garage and was walking back to her office building downtown when, suddenly, she was stopped in her tracks by a searing cramp on the bottom of her right foot.

“It was so painful it took my breath away,” says Finley, now 52. “I stopped and held on to the side of a building for a second — like, it was bringing tears to my eyes.”

Finley thought she had a really bad case of plantar fasciitis. Nine months later she would lose her foot to sarcoma.

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Yesterday at 6:00 AM CDT

Local

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES
A house fire at 344 St. Johns Ave. last week left two injured while a third person died from his injuries Saturday. Ismail Abdihakim Ali has been charged with first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder and arson.

Man charged with murder, arson in North End blaze

Morgan Modjeski 4 minute read Preview

Man charged with murder, arson in North End blaze

Morgan Modjeski 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 7:01 PM CDT

A 22-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder and arson in connection with a North End fire Thursday.

Ismail Abdihakim Ali was arrested at the scene of a blaze at a home at 344 St. Johns Ave. just before 10:30 p.m., a Winnipeg Police Service news release said Monday.

Mark Bosadas Marmeto, 35, died from his injuries Saturday.

“It’s devastating to hear somebody has passed,” said Nestor de Quiroz, whose uncle owns the home.

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Updated: Yesterday at 7:01 PM CDT

Opinion

Health care needs long-term planning Editorial, Aug. 31 Updated: Yesterday at 7:21 AM CDT
Knowing history — and not repeating it Peter McKenna Updated: Yesterday at 8:06 AM CDT
Carney’s defence of Lake Ontario carries enormous weight Niigaan Sinclair Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026

Local

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS Viv Ketchum, ambassador with Impact Security at Portage Avenue Dollarama, is photographed outside the store Monday, August 31, 2026. Impact Security has hired an indigenous advocate to work as an ambassador alongside security staff. reporter: chris

Security company rolling out Indigenous ambassador program

Chris Kitching 6 minute read Preview

Security company rolling out Indigenous ambassador program

Chris Kitching 6 minute read Yesterday at 5:53 PM CDT

A Winnipeg security firm has put an Indigenous community ambassador in a downtown Dollarama store, as companies and advocates seek new ways to build bridges and prevent trouble.

Impact Security owner Ron D’Errico said he is planning to expand the new program to additional retailers and communities, and hire up to 20 more ambassadors to work alongside his company’s security guards.

“Security companies need to be better. That’s just the nature of this industry,” he said. “We’re far gone from the days where we hire a guy to sit in a store or watch an empty building. We’re at an age now where people need to understand cultural sensitivity, roots of the problems, layers of why crimes happen and how to deal with challenges such as confrontation.”

D’Errico said the program is the first of its kind in Manitoba. It stems from a Feb. 28 incident where an Impact Security guard allegedly used brass knuckles while assaulting an Indigenous man at the Dollarama at 295 Portage Ave.

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Yesterday at 5:53 PM CDT

Local

PRAIRIE MOUNTAIN HEALTH
The Dauphin Regional Health Centre’s temporary emergency department will operate on the main floor. It is scheduled to open Sept. 7 and will provides services 24-7.

Health-care workers worry province rushing to open temporary Dauphin hospital

Morgan Modjeski 4 minute read Preview

Health-care workers worry province rushing to open temporary Dauphin hospital

Morgan Modjeski 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 7:51 PM CDT

The province says it is on track to reopen the flood-damaged Dauphin hospital emergency department on Labour Day, but some of health-care workers worry the reopening is being rushed.

The temporary emergency department will operate on the main floor of Dauphin Regional Health Centre, using temporary power and water while restoration work continues in other areas of the hospital. The facility was forced to close on July 1 after significant flooding hit the region. More than 50 patients had to be evacuated.

When it opens Sept. 7, the temporary emergency department will provide services 24-7, a Manitoba government news release said.

Darlene Jackson, president of the Manitoba Nurses Union, said it’s her understanding crews are “rapidly cleaning” an area of the flooded hospital, but said critical necessities, like running water and flushing toilets, will be missing.

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Updated: Yesterday at 7:51 PM CDT

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From left: Wrestlers Madi Parks, Kaura Coles and Canadian national program coach David Spinney at the U20 worlds in Slovakia in August. Coles became just the fifth Canadian to win a U20 world title on Aug. 19, 2026.

Winnipegger battles through partially torn MCL to claim U20 wrestling world title

Taylor Allen 5 minute read Preview

Winnipegger battles through partially torn MCL to claim U20 wrestling world title

Taylor Allen 5 minute read Yesterday at 6:16 PM CDT

Kaura Coles admits she’s not the strongest, fastest or most athletic amateur wrestler.

But that hasn’t stopped the 19-year-old from Winnipeg from becoming the best in the world.

Coles, representing London-Western Wrestling Club out of London, Ont., won gold in the 53-kg division at the U20 World Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia, on Aug. 19.

She’s only the fifth Canadian to win a U20 world title.

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Yesterday at 6:16 PM CDT

Local

SUPPLIED
Plans for the Louis Riel School Division’s outdoor education facility would include a 10,869-square-foot (1,010-square-metre) building with three classrooms, seven offices, multi-purpose rooms, workstations and common areas and an outdoor classroom on 8.2 acres (3.3 hectares) of land at 3280 St. Mary’s Rd. in the St. Vital Perimeter South neighbourhood.

Committee vote brings outdoor learning facility one step closer for Riel school division

Joyanne Pursaga 4 minute read Preview

Committee vote brings outdoor learning facility one step closer for Riel school division

Joyanne Pursaga 4 minute read Yesterday at 5:18 PM CDT

Plans for an outdoor education facility that would host Indigenous and land-based learning for the Louis Riel School Division are moving forward.

The one-storey, 10,869-square-foot (1,010-square-metre) building would feature three classrooms, seven offices, multi-purpose rooms, workstations and common areas. The site would also offer an entry plaza and an outdoor classroom on 8.2 acres (3.3 hectares) of land at 3280 St. Mary’s Rd. in the St. Vital Perimeter South neighbourhood.

Existing buildings would remain and be used as a bus maintenance shop, outdoor material storage sheds and a covered outdoor work area.

Once the facility is built, students could take field trips to the site to learn about the environment, as well as Indigenous culture.

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Yesterday at 5:18 PM CDT

Canada

Nepalese army soldiers recover bodies of flash flood victims from a river in Chitwan, Nepal, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Ottawa sends officials to Nepal as search for missing Canadians continues: Anand

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Ottawa sends officials to Nepal as search for missing Canadians continues: Anand

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 5:28 PM CDT

OTTAWA - The federal government has 10 officials on the ground in Nepal to support Canadians affected by flooding, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Monday.

In a statement posted on social media, Anand said the officials, which include a member of the RCMP, are working to locate missing Canadians and support affected families.

"Our priority is to locate Canadians and permanent residents and confirm their safety while offering support wherever and whenever possible," she said.

Flash flooding killed some 800 people and left roughly 3,000 missing, after a glacier collapsed in the Himalayan border region between Nepal and China.

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Updated: Yesterday at 5:28 PM CDT

Business

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks as he announces a $11.3 billion contract for icebreakers at the Davie shipyard in Levis, Quebec on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

Carney meets business leaders to discuss U.S. trade, says PM’s office

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Carney meets business leaders to discuss U.S. trade, says PM’s office

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 4:28 PM CDT

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Mark Carney has met with a number of business leaders across different sectors to discuss Canada's trade relationship with the U.S.

A statement from the Prime Minister's Office says the meeting covered recent developments on the file and the government's priorities to spur economic growth and investment in Canada.

The statement says attendees were also invited to share perspectives from their respective industries.

Twenty-three companies were identified as attendees, including RBC, Enbridge, Bell Canada and Bombardier.

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Updated: Yesterday at 4:28 PM CDT