Merle Haggard in hospital, cancels tour dates

Police seize cocaine valued at $1.5M, about $750K in cash in raid on St. Vital house

A St. Vital homeowner and her husband were going about their business during an afternoon last month when police officers in tactical gear suddenly appeared, walking across their front lawn.

The target was a few doors down: a home on a quiet stretch of Satinwood Place, within earshot of children playing outside at a nearby school.

The homeowner, who asked not to be named to protect their privacy, said the police presence caught the couple by surprise in the Southglen neighbourhood, where they weren’t accustomed to seeing that kind of activity.

“We never heard the (police) cars pull up, but there were cars blocking the entrance to the street from both sides,” said the neighbour. “They had a shield, a battering ram — everything. Just not used to seeing that.”

Accused in Brandon sword attack pleads not guilty

BRANDON — A youth accused of severely injuring a student in a targeted sword attack at a Brandon high school detailed a “mass murder-suicide plan” months before the incident.

The plan mimicked a racially motivated school killing of three immigrants in Sweden.

The 17-year-old boy unexpectedly pleaded not guilty to nine charges on Tuesday during a scheduled pretrial hearing in Brandon’s Court of King’s Bench.

The teen, who can’t be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, is charged with three counts of attempted murder, aggravated assault, two counts of assault with a weapon, wearing a disguise with intent and two counts of possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose in relation to the June 10, 2025 attack at Ecole secondaire Neelin High School.

Alberta’s gopher museum closed until further notice as owners find new facility

A quirky Alberta roadside attraction that has delighted travellers for decades with its stuffed rodents in tiny costumes is closed until further notice. 

The World Famous Gopher Hole Museum, located in Torrington, a hamlet about 120 kilometres north of Calgary, made the announcement online earlier this week.

Laural Kurta, museum director, said she was forced to close the doors because the two historical buildings that house the exhibits need to be replaced. 

"We have done every patch repair, staple, spackle, everything we could possibly do, and it is just at its end," Kurta said in an interview Tuesday. 

Indigenous leaders meet with Governor General during first official visit to Manitoba

Three Indigenous leaders were encouraged after discussing reconciliation and the need to confront residential school denialism with Gov. Gen. Louise Arbour, while she began her first official visit to Manitoba Wednesday.

Release police HQ report: Klein

Mayoral candidate Kevin Klein is lobbying the province to release the final report from the public inquiry into the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters before the upcoming municipal election.

Klein wrote to the provincial government to request that the information be shared promptly and before Winnipeg voters go to the polls on Oct. 28.

A Thursday CBC report stated the document is finished, “has been sent to the printer” and submitted to the province but isn’t expected to be publicly released until after Winnipeg’s Oct. 28 municipal election.

“It’s all about accountability. The report is done. People have waited (many) years,” said Klein.

Merle Haggard in hospital, cancels tour dates

MACON, Ga. -- Country music legend Merle Haggard is being treated for pneumonia in a Georgia hospital and has had to cancel the rest of his January concert dates.

Publicist Tresa Redburn said she spoke to Haggard by phone Wednesday in his Macon hospital room.

The 74-year-old Haggard was taken to the hospital Tuesday after cancelling a Macon show at short notice. He had at least four more dates scheduled for the rest of this month, from Kentucky to Oklahoma.

Tour manager Frank Mull tells the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer that Haggard has been sick since leaving his home in northern California last week.