The Social Page: Cutting Edge pop-up

Bumps in the road as students collect free bus passes

Alexis Enns left her guidance counsellor’s office empty-handed, but no less excited about starting Grade 12 — even though she still didn’t know how she would get there or her timetable — on Tuesday.

Flash, bang … oops: police raid leads to lawsuit

A couple suing the city allege Winnipeg Police Service officers trying to execute a search warrant at their condominium complex rappelled down the side of the building, broke in their glass patio door and fired off a stun grenade before realizing they were in the wrong unit.

Saeid Ghavami and Shahla Shojaei, a married couple who are academics and scientific researchers at the University of Manitoba, filed the lawsuit in Court of King’s Bench last month over the Jan. 31, 2025 incident.

The claim names the City of Winnipeg and several officers involved in the operation, whose identities are, at this point, unknown to the couple, and are referred to as “John Does.”

Officers were attempting to execute the warrant on the third floor of the eight-storey Pembina Highway building, the court filing says. The couple lives on the fourth floor.

‘We feel lucky — and a bit traumatized’: Tornado confirmed in River Heights Sunday

Tanner Lemieux wasn’t surprised to learn the violent winds that tore through River Heights and reached their peak near his home Sunday night have been classified as a tornado.

While driving back to his Lindsay Street home from a shopping trip with his wife Sunday, it became clear they were not in the middle of an ordinary thunderstorm when rain and wind started coming from every direction and hit every side of their truck.

The forceful wind made it impossible for him to open his door after they had parked. He climbed through the window, over the top of his vehicle, and the couple struggled to fight the whipping winds to make it into the house.

“As we were running in, the wind started pulling me backwards out of the door,” he told the Free Press while cleaning debris from his yard Thursday.

DNA on beer can helps solve killing

Two years after 74-year-old James Monaghan was stabbed in his Sherburn Street home, DNA found on a beer can led police to his killer.

Shara Harper, 29, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and on Tuesday was sentenced to six years in prison.

A neighbour found Monaghan dead in his home on July 29, 2022. He had been stabbed twice in the chest and back.

The investigation into Monaghan’s killing had stalled until June 2024, when DNA found on an empty beer can in Monaghan’s home was confirmed to be a match for Harper.

Kinew strikes conciliatory tone toward U.S. on eve of 9/11

Premier Wab Kinew encouraged Manitobans not to allow the trade dispute between the U.S. and Canada to get in the way of commemorations on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks Friday.

Kinew said Canadians supported the U.S. in multiple ways in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, while Canadian military personnel “laid down their lives in huge numbers” in Afghanistan during the ensuing “global war on terror.”

“Given everything that’s going on right now between the Untied States of America and Canada on the trade front, I think this anniversary has a poignant timing because it does remind us that the Maple Leaf and the Stars and Stripes will always be neighbours, will always be allies,” Kinew said Thursday.

“While we may have our differences from time to time, those are probably more like the differences you see between siblings than between foes.”

What's Up: Brew at the Zoo, Neighbour x Neighbour fest, Fiver, Exploration of Contentment, Mangofest

Brew at the ZooAssiniboine Park Zoo, 2595 Roblin Ave.Friday, 7-10 p.m.Tickets $68 hereIn July, Winnipeg beer drinkers flocked to Blue Cross Park for the return of Ballpark Brewfest; in August, they convened at Le Patio 340 for the Winnipeg Beer Festival.

And on Friday, lager lovers and hop heads will descend on the Assiniboine Park Zoo for the annual Brew at the Zoo, which sees local breweries pouring their wares alongside a range of national and international products. (Note: the zoo proper is not open to Brew at the Zoo guests.)

Among the locals taking part at this year’s Brew at the Zoo are Kilter Brewing Co., Heritage Farms Brewing Co., Dastardly Villain Ale Works, One Great City Brewing Co. and Barn Hammer Brewing Co. Locals pouring non-beer options include Brat Cat Mead Co., Shrugging Doctor Beverage Company and Patent 5 Distillery.

Brew at the Zoo, then, offers much more than beer, with a range of ready-to-drink cocktails, coolers, cider, wine and spirits being poured throughout the event; non-alcoholic options include kombucha and non-alcoholic beer.