Folk Festival to return in 2022

Bombers, Stamps rumble a can’t-miss must-win

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders are playing musical chairs and pretty soon the music is going to stop.

One of them will be left without a seat at the post-season table, and Saturday’s clash between the Bombers (7-8) and Stampeders (8-8) at Princess Auto Stadium (6 p.m.) will go a long way toward determining who that will be.

You’re not going to want to miss this one.

“We’ve shown we can play great, we’ve shown we can play terrible. So, let’s try to play on the great side and really lock in,” said Bombers halfback Evan Holm on the team’s mindset this week.

Crime spree lands accused murderers behind bars

Three men have been sentenced to jail terms for a commercial robbery spree in southern Manitoba launched just two weeks after they are accused of killing a 19-year-old man in Abbotsford, B.C.

Twenty-two-year-old Ravdeep Gill of Winnipeg, pleaded guilty Monday to four counts of robbery and Harmandeep Gill, 27, of Brampton, Ont. and Jaskaran Singh, 21, of Surrey, B.C., each pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery for a 10-day crime blitz that targeted gas bars in Swan Lake, Teulon and St. Laurent, and a meat shop in Winnipeg.

Ravdeep Gill was sentenced to four years custody while Harmandeep Gill and Singh each received sentences of 30 months.

According to B.C. media reports, all three men are charged with first-degree murder in a Feb. 1, 2025 killing in Abbotsford that police there described as a targeted hit.

Get to know your Jet: Mario Ferraro

A one-on-one conversation with a Winnipeg Jet about the stuff you don't always hear in the media scrum

Booze sales down, gaming and cannabis up in Manitoba

MANITOBA Liquor and Lotteries delivered $724.1 million in profits to the province in 2025-26, with the lion’s share coming from alcohol, even as booze sales continue to shrink.

The Crown corporation’s contribution to Manitoba’s general revenues decreased by $6 million or 0.8 per cent from last year’s allocation of $730.1 million, its annual report shows.

That indicates stable overall performance “despite a changing operating environment,” the recently-released report said.

Those changes include the order from Premier Wab Kinew last year to remove U.S. alcohol from Liquor Mart store shelves after President Donald Trump launched a trade war against Canada as well as Manitobans’ changing tastes.

Jets goaltender quickly taking on folk hero status with hot start

Stuart Skinner is giving the hometown crowd plenty to cheer about.

The Winnipeg Jets new No. 1 netminder came up with another brilliant performance, making 32 saves — including several of the highlight-reel variety — to propel his team to a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night at Canada Life Centre.

With each save he makes and each win he records, Skinner is doing what he can to help turn the page on the Connor Hellebuyck era.

“I would say that they are big shoes to fill 100 per cent, but I’m not looking into the scenario of filling his shoes,” said Skinner, who lowered his goals-against average to 2.62 and raised his save percentage to .920 through three starts. “My job’s the same job as any other goalie in this league. So it’s a little bit of a difficult question for me to truly answer.”

Brandon school expansion unveiled

The Manitoba government has spent more than $13 million to boost a Brandon school’s capacity by nearly two-thirds.

The expansion of Maryland Park School, which was completed for the start of the school year, adds more than 17,000 square feet of educational space and increases the school’s capacity from about 550 students to 900.

Education Minister Tracy Schmidt joined Brandon East MLA Glen Simard, school division officials, staff and students Friday afternoon for a ribbon-cutting ceremony officially opening the expansion.

“This is a two-storey addition, which includes 13 new classrooms, a new science room, student support spaces and much, much more,” Schmidt said. “This is not only going to give more space for the students that are here today and for the staff, but also so that we can continue to meet the growing needs of this growing, vibrant community.”