Frustrated firefighters’ union president laments staffing shortage after fatal house fire

A local comedian killed in a Nassau Street house fire Monday afternoon is being remembered for his big heart, as the union representing city firefighters warned of further tragedies if staffing shortages are not addressed.

PUB approves 4 per cent rate hike, higher than Hydro requested

The Public Utilities Board said it had no choice but to approve a higher general rate increase than Manitoba Hydro had requested because the Crown utility is in a financial bind thanks to prolonged drought.

Lack of answers ‘a different kind of grief’

BRANDON — Fear, panic, disbelief and pain.

Kelly Lavallee was consumed by those emotions when her son, Dwayne, disappeared in 2018 at age 21.

Lavallee continues to seek answers more than seven years later.

“Not having any answers is a different kind of grief. There’s no closure, no clear ending, just constant wondering,” she said. “Our family was forever changed.”

If elected, Daudrich to push for Westman oil refinery

BRANDON — Wally Daudrich said Tuesday if he becomes the MLA for Turtle Mountain, he’ll push for construction of an oil refinery in Manitoba’s oil patch.

“I don’t see why Manitoba is burning a single drop of oil or using natural gas from outside Manitoba,” the former Progressive Conservative leadership candidate told the Brandon Sun.

“Why can’t we have a refinery, for instance, right here just south of Brandon, and all that oil and natural gas, because it’s there? It just needs the infrastructure.”

Building that infrastructure and relying only on Manitoba energy is “100 per cent” possible, he said, because a PC government under Leader Obby Khan could eliminate regulations that hold that back, he said.

Hundreds evacuated amid power outage in Pimicikamak

More than 300 Pimicikamak Cree Nation residents have been moved to other communities in Manitoba amid a power outage that is now not expected to be resolved until 6 p.m. on New Year’s Day.

The evacuation to Thompson, Whiskey Jack Landing and Norway House Cree Nation involved elders, people with certain health conditions and families with babies, Chief David Monias said.

“The problems we are having keep on piling up the longer we go (without power),” Monias said Tuesday morning. “People are frustrated, and people are angry that this is happening. We have people at risk.”

Hotel space in Thompson was limited, he said. Buses were scheduled to transport dozens of residents to Winnipeg starting Tuesday afternoon.

Sauna, cold plunge business Saunic expands to second Winnipeg location in early 2026

Sauna, cold plunge and community. That’s what an entrepreneurial Winnipeg couple says their business offers. Saunic co-founders Kyle Silva and Dani Boily say they were inspired by their travels through Finland, Sweden and Denmark.

Main Street strip’s Manwin Hotel remains vacant, boarded up a year after city ordered it closed

The Manwin Hotel in downtown Winnipeg remains vacant nearly one year after the city ordered its residents out, leaving another building on the Main Street strip at risk of fire and vandalism.

The hotel at 655 Main St. was briefly listed for sale earlier this year before it expired, agent Brad Gross told the Free Press.

Gross said building owner Akim Kambamba had some issues with the building he wanted to take care of before relisting the property. The agent did not disclose what the issues were.

The city ordered residents to leave last January amid multiple outstanding permit requirements and compliance orders.

RCMP still looking for two suspects in Saskatchewan First Nation shooting

The search continues this morning for a pair of suspects wanted in connection with a deadly shooting on a Saskatchewan First Nation.

The RCMP says the shooting happened early Tuesday morning in Big Island Lake Cree Nation, about 400 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon, which left one person dead and three others injured.

No arrests have been made.

Tuesday night, Mounties issued a statement advising the public they were lifting a dangerous-person alert for two suspects, as they believed there was no longer an imminent risk to public safety.

‘More than just simply a university’

The University of Winnipeg’s acting president prides himself on being a lifelong cheerleader for the Wesmen and he’s bringing that energy — as well as plans to revisit the soccer program — to his new post.

“I bleed U of W red,” urban geography professor Jino Distasio said in an interview, hours before heading to the Wesmen Classic.

“I really have a passion for the University of Winnipeg. Since I was a student there, back in the ’80s, to where I am now, the U of W’s been my home.”

Distasio has dedicated the last 26 years to teaching and researching urban revitalization and housing insecurity. He stepped into the new role on Dec. 12.

Having gun, making threats not proof positive accused fired shots at strip club, judge rules

A Winnipeg man arrested in possession of a Glock handgun after allegedly threatening to shoot up a St. Boniface strip club has been found not guilty of firing two shots at the club that same night.

In a written decision released last week, King’s Bench Justice Christian Monnin said he could not rule out the possibility another unidentified suspect using a different gun had shot at Teasers Burlesque Palace on Jan. 14, 2024.

“When the totality of the evidence is assessed, I am left with the finding that an alternative theory other than guilt is possible,” Monnin said.

Lawrence Joshua Fowles, 35, was convicted after trial of unauthorized possession of a handgun and possession of a handgun while prohibited but acquitted of reckless discharge of a firearm and possession of a loaded restricted firearm.