Seward plans parade to honor hometown gold medalist swimmer

Class delayed a day after mould found in Tyndall Park school

The first day of school has been postponed at École Stanley Knowles School after teachers discovered mould on chairs, rugs and other items when they were setting up their classrooms.

Families were alerted Thursday afternoon that an “HVAC malfunction” required extensive cleanup and, as a result, a one-day delay to the new year.

“I called it a couple weeks ago — it smelled really strong of mould,” said Amanda Bell, a mother who’s gone to the building regularly all summer to drop off and pick up her children from the on-site daycare.

Bell recalled she and her partner got a whiff of “wet mould” in a first-floor hallway near the library in mid-August and flagged it to an employee who told them they’d contact a custodian.

Neighbours relieved after fire strikes Quickie Mart

As Janina McNaughton watched the Quickie Mart on River Avenue go up in flames on Tuesday, she felt relieved.

“The first thing I see is flames, like a fireball of flames inside,” McNaughton said about watching the blaze from her bedroom across the street.

On Wednesday, the bright green building, at 292 River Ave., was boarded up and charred on the outside.

Crews from the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service responded at 8:13 p.m. Tuesday to battle the blaze, said the city in a news release. It was under control within the hour.

Westwood standoff ends with two arrested

An hours-long standoff in Westwood came to an end Thursday with Winnipeg police arresting two men and seizing a gun.

Winnipeg Police Service officers were called to Byrd Avenue shortly before 9:30 a.m. after a man was seen walking with what appeared to be a firearm, said police spokesman Const. Claude Chancy.

Officers identified a home connected to the investigation, he said.

Two men were arrested but Chancy could not yet say what they will be charged with. It’s not clear whether either of the men arrested was the male spotted with a gun.

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.

NDP minister needs lesson in political civility

Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine’s decision to intercede in Winnipeg’s mayoral election may be surprising to some political observers. To others, however, it is entirely on brand.

On Tuesday, Fontaine posted a video on social media in which she expressed concern that former city councillor and Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Kevin Klein was entering the race to challenge incumbent Mayor Scott Gillingham.

The caption on the video was blunt: “I mean, really, who chooses to work for Count Dracula?”

“Kevin Klein once worked for Peter Nygard. Peter Nygard is Canada’s equivalent to (American sex offender) Jeffrey Epstein — had his own little island, did unspeakable, disgusting things to women and girls … anyways, I just thought that Winnipeggers would want to know that Kevin Klein, at one point, worked for Peter Nygard,” she says in the video.

QDoc patients in tight spot over billing dispute

Manitobans have been pulled into a dispute between QDoc — a Winnipeg-based virtual health-care platform — and the NDP government over fees billed to the province for patient care.

An Aug. 24 email from QDoc to its users prompted concern or calls for clarity from Manitobans who use the 24-7 platform to see a physician or nurse practitioner through encrypted video calls.

“When I first read it, like many others, I assumed they were going to be nixing the service altogether because that’s the way it was presented,” Tyndall resident Stephanie Pituley said.

“Upon further research, obviously that’s not the case, but I am still concerned to be honest. How many people did that research, I don’t know.”