News briefs for Tuesday, July 4, 2023

Point Douglas fire prompts road closure

8:39 AM

A fire in an industrial building on Sutherland Avenue between Maple Street North and Argyle Avenue has closed the block to traffic as crews work to extinguish the blaze.

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service was called to the building shortly after 5 a.m. and remain on scene. Firefighting efforts are expected to continue into the day.

Nearby residents are being told to close their windows to protect their home’s air quality. Drivers, cyclists and pedestrians are being asked to avoid the area.

Provincial park entry fees waived July 10-16

9:17 AM

For the third consecutive year, provincial parks will offer free entry from July 10 to 16.

Vehicle permits will not be required to visit provincial parks from July 10 to 16. Overnight camping fees still apply, the provincial government stated in a news release. The waived entry fees are in honour of Canada’s Parks Day on July 15.

A calendar of free activities, including guided hikes, historical tours and campfire talks, has been posted on the province’s website.

Jones, Homan granted spots at 2024 Scotties

10:14 AM

Curling Canada announced Tuesday Jennifer Jones (Winnipeg) and Rachel Homan (Ottawa) have pre-qualified for the 2023 Scotties (Feb. 16-25) in Calgary.

They’ll be there with four-time defending champs Kerri Einarson (Gimli) who clinched their spot for winning last year’s event.

Jones and Homan were admitted into the 18-team field based on their 2022-23 Canadian Team Ranking System performance.

It will be the first time three teams have pre-qualified for the Scotties this far in advance of the event. The changes to the qualifying for the Scotties and Brier, as well as the Canadian Curling Trials, were announced in April.

Team Jones — with third Karlee Burgess and front-enders Emily Zacharias and Lauren Lenentine — was third in the CTRS standings. Second Mackenzie Zacharias announced in April that she’s sitting out this upcoming season.

Proceeds of crime to fund police tech, trauma training

12:05 PM

The province is providing $290,000 from Criminal Property Forfeiture Fund proceeds to the Winnipeg Police Service to purchase technology to help analyze video evidence and $76,000 for a two-day trauma training session police officers.

The new technology is expected to be acquired in the near future through a request for proposal and will allow officers to review hours of video in minutes and quickly search and filter figures and events of interest, such as people, vehicles and lighting changes, with speed and precision via metadata.

The two-day trauma-informed leadership training will include 200 police staff and focus on the critical role of police leaders in recognizing the impact of stressors in policing and developing tools to manage the impact.

The funding was announced this morning by Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen and Winnipeg Police Service officials at a press conference at police headquarters in downtown Winnipeg.

Winnipeg man killed by falling tree while camping

3:44 PM

A 60-year-old Winnipeg man was killed after a tree fell on the tent he was sleeping in at a campground in Manigotagan early Monday morning during a thunderstorm.

Powerview RCMP were called to the sudden death at about 12:20 a.m., where they were told the large tree had fallen onto a tent where a man and woman were sleeping in during the storm, which produced strong winds.

Mounties say several campers heard the woman call for help and came to assist. The fallen tree was cut to free the two, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene. The woman was not physically hurt, RCMP say.

Local RCMP and the provincial medical examiner’s office are investigating.