First U.S. auction of Gulf of Mexico tracts for wind power set for Aug. 29

‘Savage and brutal’ Erickson home invasion nets 17-year sentence

BRANDON — A woman who fought off the man who slashed her throat in a random home invasion in Erickson described the violent assault as the worst day of her life and a nightmare she can’t seem to shake off.

“I feel like a shell of the person I used to be. Not every second of every day, but definitely every day. It comes in waves,” Candace Richardson said as she read from a victim impact statement in a Brandon courtroom on Friday.

Carter Prince, 21, who pleaded guilty to attempted murder for the June 2023 attack, sat in the prisoner’s box as Richardson spoke.

“I’ll be completely fine, laughing, having fun or just relaxing with my family,” she told the court. “Then time goes so slowly, like you’re floating away, but instead of floating, I’m pinned to the ground, being stabbed over and over again. There’s blood everywhere and darkness surrounding me.”

Goblin:Macbeth is a monstrously entertaining show

Screw your courage to the sticking point, for Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre has just unleashed a gaggle of goblins at the Tom Hendry Warehouse in its ghoulishly theatrical Goblin:Macbeth.

The darkly subversive, 95-minute (sans intermission) production is the brainchild of Spontaneous Theatre’s Bruce Horak and Rebecca Northan (also serving as director), with Ellis Lalonde (sound designer).

It stars a trio of larger-than-life, pointy-eared goblins, Wug, Kragva and Moog — fie on anyone seeking to determine their tightly guarded mortal identities — who cavort and kibbitz with audience members before stumbling across The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.

After indignantly declaring “we are not Tolkien goblins,” and sharing a bit of goblin-lore (who knew these demons had 17 genders?) they vow they will attempt to “do theatre” to better understand our culture, choosing the Bard’s superstition-riddled Scottish Play for being the shortest and bloodiest.

Chief medical officer quits, cites work environment ‘challenges’

Manitoba’s provincial chief medical officer is resigning from his position at Shared Health, citing the role’s demands and work environment challenges in an email viewed by the Free Press.

Dr. José François, who’s held the executive position since April 2024, sent an email to provincial medical specialty leads that said his final day will be Jan. 17, 2027, after he submitted his resignation Wednesday. Several other senior leaders have departed the provincial health authority in recent months.

“Serving in this role has been a privilege,” François, a longtime family physician from Ste. Anne, wrote in the email.

He said his “greatest pleasure” was working alongside and supporting an “exceptional group” of provincial medical specialty leads and chief medical officers.

Frustration on menu as St. James construction drags on

Nearly four months of construction outside the front door of a longtime Portage Avenue restaurant has driven away customers and left its owner struggling to cover operating expenses.

Builder beefs up security after string of blazes

A Winnipeg builder said he’s had to beef up security around his developments after one of his projects sustained significant damage Wednesday in suspected arson cases.

Eadie faces crowded field — including former councillor — in bid for fifth term in Mynarski

The city’s most crowded council race has a little bit of everything: a long-serving incumbent, a former ward councillor in the 1980s, an unsuccessful candidate in the last municipal election seeking a rematch and three political newcomers.

Mynarski has long been led by Coun. Ross Eadie, who was first elected in 2010 and is seeking his fifth term. Five challengers want the job: Natalie Smith, who ran in the ward in 2022 and came in second, Terry Wachniak, Harold Brazil, Laurie Kozak and Ayaz Noor Mohammed.

It’s the city ward with the largest number of candidates this year.

Eadie describes himself as “a dancer, a singer and a city councillor” who has made inroads on garbage pickup, back-lane cleaning and earning the respect of his fellow council members by being the first Mynarski councillor to be appointed to executive policy committee, the mayor’s inner circle, in decades.