Ten memorable Super Bowl commercials

Former Gilbert Plains CAO forged doc’s note to get out of court: RCMP

A former rural municipal official awaiting sentencing for stealing more than $500,000 from community coffers has been accused of forging a fake doctor’s note to get out of attending court.

Amber Fisher, the former chief administrative officer for the Rural Municipality of Gilbert Plains, pleaded guilty to one count of theft over $5,000 last year.

Dauphin RCMP say investigators learned Fisher, 42, had submitted the note indicating she would be unable to attend court for her Sept. 2 sentencing, after she was seriously injured in a vehicle collision on July 22.

Fisher’s lawyer submitted the note to the court and the judge adjourned her sentencing to a later date.

Canada’s first drive-thru-only McDonald’s opens in Winnipeg

One Grimace and dozens of smiles were on display Wednesday as McDonald’s staff and supporters celebrated the grand opening of the fast-food chain’s first drive-thru-only restaurant in Canada.

Expect intense back-to-back clash from Bombers, Riders

REGINA — You know that longstanding notion that the CFL season truly starts around Labour Day?

Well, you won’t have to wait very long to see if it rings true for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, as they’re set to engage in a two-game series with the Saskatchewan Roughriders that could have serious ramifications in the West Division standings, beginning with Sunday’s battle at Mosaic Stadium.

Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea isn’t a proponent of the adage, believing it would diminish the importance of the effort and preparation required for the 11 games before the calendar flipped to September.

He doesn’t even want to look ahead to next weekend, when the home-and-home series returns to Winnipeg for the Banjo Bowl.

Insurance money spent, family waits for provincial flood aid

Three months after a once-in-a-lifetime rainstorm battered her home and caused extensive flooding, J’aime Killbery is still picking up the pieces while she waits for financial relief from the provincial government.

Killbery lives in Balmoral, north of Stonewall, in the rural municipality of Rockwood, one of the communities hardest-hit by the June 9 deluge. The RM declared a state of emergency after a record-breaking 250 mm of rainfall caused sewer backups and overland flooding.

The damage to the family home was immense. Their fully finished basement was destroyed by sewage water, meaning the walls and flooring needed to be ripped out and replaced.

While family is handling some repairs themselves to cut costs, every repair is expensive, Killbery said.

Minister tight-lipped about prosecutors’ grievance, but chatty about who’s to blame

The justice minister said Thursday he can’t discuss an arbitration case in which Crown attorneys blasted the government for trying to keep a report on excessive workload out of an upcoming grievance hearing.

Matt Wiebe wouldn’t say whether Manitoba’s justice system needs more Crown prosecutors, but agreed to discuss who he said is to blame for the Crown attorneys’ grievance.

The NDP minister noted the complaint was made by the Manitoba Association of Crown Attorneys in 2023 when the Progressive Conservatives were in power.

The PCs “had not even acknowledged or begun the process of sitting down with the Crown attorneys to begin to deal with that grievance,” Wiebe said Thursday.

Goldeyes back in playoffs and attendance on the rise

Tip your cap to the Winnipeg Goldeyes — they’re having a fantastic season, both on and off the field.

From a pure baseball perspective, the Fish are flying high. Wednesday’s 6-2 victory in Fargo was the latest in a second-half surge that has helped punch their ticket to the American Association playoffs.

Winnipeg has officially locked up a post-season spot, meaning it will play for keeps for the 22nd time in 32 seasons.

The final five games of the regular season — including Thursday’s finale against the RedHawks in North Dakota, followed by four dates in Kansas City from Friday through Monday — will determine the final seeding and the Goldeyes’ first-round opponent.