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Search continues for brothers presumed drowned at Nutimik Lake

Search-and-rescue crews on Monday continued their efforts to locate two boys who are presumed drowned after falling into fast-moving rapids at Nutimik Lake on the weekend.

The boys, identified as brothers Aaron Au Ramirez, 13, and Maximo Au Ramirez, 10, were visiting the lake in Whiteshell Provincial Park with their father and some friends when they entered the water near the Sturgeon Falls Trail on Saturday afternoon.

Lac du Bonnet RCMP received a report of the possible drowning at about 12:40 p.m. Police, along with local emergency responders, searched the shoreline and waterways but were unable to find the boys, RCMP said in a news release.

The Manitoba RCMP Underwater Recovery Team and the Hutterian Emergency Aquatic Response Team were later deployed to assist with the search. Drones have also been used.

Winnipeg Fringe Festival: 2026 show reviews

Not sure what to see at this year's Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival? All of the Free Press’s reviews will be published here.  Find a show and click to read its review.

Fringe reviews #11: Our princess is in another theatre

'80s Commercials, Alexander Mantia's Zucchini Club, The Ballad of Isobel Gunn, Fission, Flunked, Fringe Family Fun Show, One More Time, A Savage Love Story, Story Story Lie, The (Un)Official (Un)Researched History, Unresolved.

Homeless standstill can’t be addressed until province, city collaborate

What we have here is a basic failure to understand the dynamics of homelessness.

Last week, the Free Press documented the friction between Osborne Village residents and business owners and homeless individuals seeking refuge at Oak Table, a drop-in centre that provides food, shelter from the heat and cold, and access to social services.

Oak Table operates out of space in St. Augustine Church, located on River Avenue just east of Osborne Street. The aforementioned residents and business owners, as well as employees of a daycare that operates out of the same church, all expressed concerns about discarded drug paraphernalia, garbage and open drug use by the people visiting Oak Table.

It’s not hard to sympathize with people who are tired of dealing with this mess and mayhem. Still, it should be said that Oak Table, a private not-for-profit organization affiliated with an umbrella social services agency called 1JustCity, is not in the wrong place.

STARS moves to Brandon to fill gap after Dauphin hospital closes

STARS air ambulance’s operations are being temporarily relocated from Winnipeg to Brandon to help out in the region after an area hospital was forced to shutter due to flooding.

The Prairie Mountain Health region said the move is expected to reduce transport and response times for patients requiring rapid escalation to higher levels of care.

The Dauphin Region Health Centre was forced to evacuate its patients and close on July 1 after the region experienced severe flooding.

The hospital’s basement flooded and power was knocked out, which caused significant damage to the facility’s HVAC system. Fifty-four patients were sent to nearby health centres, including 24 patients who were transferred to the Brandon hospital.

City launching safe-walks program around downtown arts venues

Safe walks will be provided and patrols will be increased around downtown performing arts venues during the 2026-27 season, Mayor Scott Gillingham announced Monday.

The safety measures are part of the new Performing Arts Wayfinder Program funded by the mayor’s office.

“Winnipeg’s performing arts organizations help bring our downtown to life,” Gillingham said in a news release.

“They bring people together, support our local economy, and help make Winnipeg a great place to live and visit. This partnership is a practical way to help people feel safe and supported when they’re coming to and from performances.”