Winnipeg Jets trade Connor Hellebuyck to New Jersey Devils

Connor Hellebuyck finally got his wish. Kevin Cheveldayoff finally got an offer he couldn’t refuse. And a long-running sports soap opera has finally ended.

The Winnipeg Jets pulled off a blockbuster deal Friday morning, shipping their disgruntled franchise goaltender to the New Jersey Devils for a package including four players and two draft picks.

Although they liked the return, nobody within the organization was popping champagne. This was, in many ways, a dark but necessary day.

“It certainly hasn’t been fun. There’s no question about it. But at the end of the day, Connor made his choice. And, as an organization, we had to act accordingly and we did,” the general manager said during an afternoon news conference inside Canada Life Centre.

Province orders ban on private teacher-student messaging

Manitoba teachers are no longer allowed to text or use social media to contact a student – regardless of whether they coach a school sports team or supervise other activities outside typical instruction times.

Pam Grier is still blazing trails in film

Work as long as Pam Grier, and you’ll have stories. And does Pam Grier ever have stories.

Winnipeg police suspend use of Crime Stoppers after hack

The Winnipeg Police Service has suspended its use of Crime Stoppers after a significant data breach.

An activist group hacked and stole a massive trove of data from United States firm Navigate360 and the tip management platform it operates last March, the CBC has reported. Crime Stoppers chapters in Canada and the U.S. use the platform to keep data anonymous.

More than 1.5 million tips submitted to Canadian Crime Stoppers programs over the last 25 years were exposed in the hack, along with unredacted personal information, the public broadcaster reported.

Crime Stoppers chapters collect what are supposed to be anonymous tips from members of the public on criminal activity, which are then provided to law enforcement, with cash rewards offered.

First Crumbl cookie shop opens in Winnipeg

The early birds got their cookies.

Klaudia and Jayson Ballantyne were the first in line for the grand opening of Winnipeg’s first Crumbl location at 1570 Regent Ave. West, arriving at 2 a.m. Friday — six hours before the cookie chain was set to open.

The brother and sister brought their lawn chairs and blankets and hunkered down.

Roughly 90 minutes later, by their count, the next customers arrived.

Klein promises to freeze property taxes, charge fee to hire more police

Kevin Klein would freeze property taxes next year but charge homeowners a new, separate $3.99 monthly police fee, if he’s elected mayor of Winnipeg next week.

Klein released his costed platform Friday, which calls for the new charge. He said it would last at least four years but is not meant to be permanent.

“I don’t see this as saddling this with somebody for the next decade or 20 years. I see this as something we have to do today, to get more police officers on to the streets, that we are, right now, desperately in need of,” he said.

The revenue would allow the city to hire 100 more police officers, with 50 new uniformed cops added in each of the next two budgets, said Klein.

Trump administration dropping and adding some tariffs on Canadian exports

U.S. President Donald Trump is lifting some tariffs on Canadian exports at the end of this month, but adding tariffs to dozens of new products, including Canadian garbage and sewage.

As the trade war with Canada becomes a ballot box issue in key races ahead of November's midterm election, Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, said Friday nine categories of Canadian exports will be exempted from tariffs. Those include corrugated paper, plastic boxes and several types of machinery important to her state's agricultural industries.

Collins is in a tough re-election battle and her Democratic challenger, Troy Jackson, has made the trade war with Canada a key issue in the tight race.

"Many of our farmers and growers rely on specialized equipment, packaging materials, and other products from Canada that are either unavailable from American suppliers or cannot be replaced without incurring significant expense," Collins said in a media statement Friday.

In North Kildonan, fresh ideas challenge decades of experience

Jeff Browaty hopes to mark his 20th year in politics with another election win in North Kildonan as two challengers attempt to dethrone him.

Browaty, who is seeking his sixth term since 2006, said his re-election could help ensure important initiatives are delivered for the ward.

“There’s been a number of key projects that I’ve been advocating for some time that I really want to see through to completion,” he said.

For example, he said city council plans to begin funding a Henderson Highway improvement project, from Gilmore Avenue to the highway’s city limit, in 2028. The project would improve drainage, fill in sidewalk gaps and add a centre median to improve traffic flow.

Manitoba to focus on children — and adults — in revamped autism plan

The Manitoba government has announced a U-turn that will ensure its autism strategy covers children and adults alike in response to community backlash.

Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine announced Friday that recent amendments to Bill 232 — which would have bolstered disability-related support only for anyone aged 17 and under — will be reversed.

“I want families to know that we listened to every word that they said,” she said at a news conference inside her third-floor office at the Manitoba legislature.

The Autism Strategy Act will require the government to create a policy to improve the screening and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and support research.