Main Stage spotlight: Rayland Baxter

Three security guards charged with assault after Sea Bears star injured outside nightclub

Three security guards are facing assault charges, accused of injuring a Winnipeg Sea Bears player at a nightclub earlier this month.

Winnipeg Police Service said the three individuals, aged 35, 37 and 58, turned themselves in Wednesday and were arrested. They have been charged with assault causing bodily harm and were released on undertakings.

The charges date back to an altercation involving the guards and Sea Bears star guard Teddy Allen on Aug. 3 at the Palomino Club at Main Street and McDermot Avenue.

Allen, 28, sustained “significant health injuries” and was taken to hospital, the Canadian Elite Basketball League club said at the time.

Main Stage spotlight: Rayland Baxter

LET’S just get this out of the way now: Nashville singer-songwriter Rayland Baxter is a must-see artist at this year’s Winnipeg Folk Festival.

This is his first time visiting the folk fest, and though he had only taken his first steps onto the site mere minutes before sitting down with the Free Press, he was happy to vocalize his initial thoughts.

“I just walked in but it looks amazing,” he said. “I was just in Sweden for a couple weeks touring around and it looks a lot like this... when I walked around the corner [snaps fingers], I thought I was in Sweden.”

Baxter is the type of guy who just says whatever comes to mind; when he walked onto main stage, for example, his opening line was, “I lost my virginity to a Canadian woman when I was 15, so thank you.” His songs, however, are much the opposite. The lyrics are carefully crafted and poignant, and his melodies don’t have a note out of place. Perhaps it’s that juxtaposition that makes him so good.

Ready to roll: Bowls Manitoba looking to grow the game

Get your head out of the gutter! Or more importantly, your bowls.

Lawn bowling, also known as bowls, has been around since the ancient times. Zooming into our very own province in 2026, Bowls Manitoba hosts eight different clubs. There are six within the city — Norwood, River Heights, St. James, St. John’s, and Tuxedo — with two outside of Winnipeg in Brandon and Gimli.

The president of the organization, Phil Clark, had been a player for over 30 years before retiring.

“I started bowling in Australia and (when I) came over here, was very surprised to find myself on the provincial team,” Clark said.

Missing pet tortoise found at Oak Hammock Marsh

Nobody at Oak Hammock Marsh expected to find an African spurred tortoise wandering through the wetlands. Least of all one that had travelled more than 20 kilometres from home to get there.

Spotty service, U.S. roaming charges leave Somerset woman calling for answers

A southwestern Manitoba woman is voicing her concerns about cell service in the area after she was billed more than $100 in U.S. roaming charges despite never leaving her community.

Teresa Acheson received a notification on her phone Monday at about 7:30 a.m. saying she had entered the United States and would be charged $13 per day for unlimited calls and text messages.

The only problem is that she was not in the U.S. She was lying in bed at her home near Somerset, some 50 kilometres away from the U.S. border.

“People have said to watch if you’re driving close to the border because you’ll get dinged, but I was sitting at home,” she said Wednesday.

Moving rail lines outside city would make Winnipeg ‘major transportation hub’

After decades of calls to move rail traffic to the outskirts of Winnipeg, a plan that would benefit residents, railways and taxpayers is now on track, says the former Winnipegger leading the way.

A rail line bypass south of the city, using Crown-owned land and the Manitoba Hydro corridor, would take 20 years to complete, remove 120 railway crossings that are a safety risk and free up about 250 acres of Winnipeg land over time for development, Lloyd Axworthy said Wednesday.

“The visions that we have have to be implemented,” Axworthy said at a news conference announcing the launch of a 90-day feasibility study to move freight rail traffic out of Winnipeg’s urban core along Manitoba Hydro’s southern transmission corridor, connecting east to west along the Perimeter Highway.

The former federal transport minister and Manitoba MP was tasked by Premier Wab Kinew in October 2024 to lead a two-year rail relocation feasibility study.