Councillor facing sex charges running for re-election

A Winnipeg city councillor who faces sexual assault charges says he is running for re-election.

A day before Tuesday’s deadline, Russ Wyatt registered to run in the Transcona ward where he has served five terms and to which he was first elected in 2002.

“After much reflection, I have decided to stand for re-election in the Winnipeg municipal election,” Wyatt said in a statement Monday.

“Time and time again, I have stood up to the powers that be, and they would love to get rid of me. But I see the mess this city is in today, with the disastrous new bus routes, ever rising water bills, developer largesse, and poverty in our streets,” he said.

Kinew, NDP rise to new heights in Free Press-Abacus Data poll; support for Khan, Tories falls further

Buoyed by a bump outside Winnipeg, support for Premier Wab Kinew’s NDP climbed to its highest level yet, while the Tories lost some ground.

Driver of stolen vehicle facing impairment, other charges after fatal high-speed crash in West Kildonan Sunday

A 19-year-old man faces impaired driving and other charges after a crash involving a stolen vehicle in north Winnipeg killed a 20-year-old woman and another left another woman with life-threatening injuries.

Jets goaltender collects victory in first start for new team

He received the loudest ovation on the team before the puck had even been dropped, with chants of “Stuuuuu” ringing out inside Canada Life Centre during pre-game introductions.

And he heard the love time and time again — with each and every save, in fact — as the evening progressed.

Yes, the Stuart Skinner era is off to a strong start, as the new No. 1 man in net for the Winnipeg Jets made a great first impression on Monday in front of an announced crowd of 13,363.

Skinner stopped 31 of 32 shots he faced in a 3-1 pre-season victory for the Jets over a very young, inexperienced Colorado Avalanche squad.

Bombers backup Brown takes reps at practice as Collaros recovers from head injury

Let’s cut to the chase: Zach Collaros is dealing with a head injury and did not participate in Monday’s practice.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers returned to work Monday for the first time since beating the Saskatchewan Roughriders 19-6 in the Banjo Bowl — a game their starting quarterback left early after his head hit the turf while attempting to force a defender out of bounds following an interception.

Given Collaros’ well-documented injury history, and the fact that he’s sidelined to start the week despite the club coming off a bye, it’s unlikely he’ll be under centre Friday when the Bombers (7-6) host the Toronto Argonauts (8-6).

“Always, more so as a friend just concerned for his health,” said right guard Patrick Neufeld on his concern level for Collaros.

Portage high school student stabbed, suspect arrested

A student was hospitalized and a suspect was taken into custody after what officials say was a stabbing on the Portage Collegiate Institute campus in Portage la Prairie Monday morning.

Details of the incident were outlined in a news release from Pamela Garnham, superintendent of the Portage La Prairie School Division, who said the stabbing happened during a “confrontation” on school grounds.

The injured student got first-aid help from staff before paramedics arrive. The student was transported to hospital in stable condition and the school was placed on lockdown, said the release.

A second school and daycare nearby were placed under a hold and secure.

Gillingham pledges growth office to speed up projects

Scott Gillingham says a new Winnipeg growth office would maintain a “shovel-ready” list of projects with the greatest potential to boost the city’s economy, if he’s re-elected as mayor.

A new chief growth officer would be hired to lead the office, with a goal to ensure the most promising projects have up-to-date cost estimates and designs, so they can quickly move ahead when funding becomes available.

“We need to be ready … so that when levels of government come forward and want to invest, we can say yes immediately and get to work in building the infrastructure that is required to grow our city,” said Gillingham.

The growth office, which he referred to as Winnipeg GO, would consolidate key staff who support economic growth in one group. That would include up to six new full-time staff positions. An unspecified number of existing employees would also be redeployed to support its work.

Thief steals almost $70K in Pokémon cards from flea-market owner

The owner of a local flea market was left feeling disrespected and in disbelief after roughly $70,000 worth of Pokémon products were stolen over the weekend, but is vowing to rebuild.

Kenan Hyseni, who has owned and operated the popular Mulvey Market in South Osborne since 2022, said high-end sealed products and valuable individual cards from the massively popular collectible card game were stolen sometime between the market’s closing Friday night and midnight.

Hyseni believes someone hid inside the market until employees had left for the night, loaded up the merchandise and fled.

“The night finished, we locked up, did the usual thing, and then we went home and just before midnight, I got a call from the landlord and they said the alarm had been tripped, and that someone was seen leaving the market with bags,” Hyseni said.

Former private-school teacher jailed nine months for luring after sending messages declaring love for teen

A former Catholic school teacher who sent inappropriate romantic messages to a teenage student, professing his love for her, has been sentenced to nine months in jail.

Ketan Badiani, 59, previously pleaded guilty to one count of child luring connected to more than 150 messages he sent the girl between October 2024 and March 2025 while a teacher at St. Maurice School.

Provincial court Judge Tim Killeen said he was satisfied Badiani had no sexual intent in sending the messages, noting a forensic psychologist’s report that described him as a lonely, isolated man with few friends and a limited history of social interaction.

“He appears to have genuinely cared for (the student) and somehow thought she would reciprocate his feelings,” Killeen said.