In Brief

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This article was published 03/07/2025 (267 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Royal Canoe bass player, partner killed

A Winnipeg musician and his partner were killed after a two-vehicle collision on Highway 10 on Canada Day.

Brendan Berg, bass player for indie pop band Royal Canoe, and his partner, Olivia Michalczuk, died in the head-on crash about three kilometres north of Bowsman.

Swan River RCMP were called to the area on Highway 10 at about 3:30 p.m., where they found two vehicles in the east ditch.

One of the vehicles was overturned and local paramedics and firefighters were tending to the injured.

RCMP said a vehicle heading south on the highway veered over the centre line and collided with the other vehicle, which was believed to be parked, facing north on the east side of the road.

The driver of the southbound vehicle, a 36-year-old man from Winnipeg, and his passenger, a 29-year-old Swan River man, were taken to hospital with critical injuries.

The occupants of the other vehicle, Berg, 42, and Michalczuk, 31, were taken to hospital, where they later died.

“We are all in a state of shock trying to process this tragic news,” Royal Canoe posted on social media. “Brendan was the kindest, sweetest man you could ever know, and his passing has left an enormous and sudden hole in the lives of everyone who knew him.”

Local RCMP, as well as criminal collision investigators, are still looking into the crash.

As of Wednesday, 32 people have been killed in collisions on highways and roads in RCMP jurisdiction this year, Mountie spokeswoman Michelle Lissel said.

That’s up from 23 fatalities in the same time frame last year, but close to the five-year average of 30 deaths.

Police arrest man with gun at mall

A 35-year-old man is charged with several offences after police say he was caught with a handgun, knife and about 2.59 grams of cocaine at a Winnipeg shopping mall.

City police said an employee at St. Vital Centre alerted security after watching a man place a gun into his satchel at about 7:15 p.m. Monday.

Officers responded and arrested a suspect. No threats were made, and no one was injured, police said.

The man is charged with gun and drug offences, including two counts of possession of a firearm, restricted or prohibited weapon, or ammunition contrary to a prohibition order. He was held in custody.

Eight more measles cases detected

The province has announced eight additional cases of measles in Manitoba.

In its latest update Wednesday, the total number of confirmed measles cases climbed to 116 in 2025. There remain eight probable cases to date.

On Monday, the province identified the Children’s Hospital ER waiting room at the Health Sciences Centre as the latest exposure site and advised those who visited on June 29 from 3:45 to 6:05 p.m. to monitor for symptoms until July 21.

Public health officials asked anyone who was at the hospital at that time to check their immunization records and ensure they are up to date with measles vaccinations.

Men found with gun in vacant suite

A joint force of Manitoba police found a man accused of violating his parole holed up in a vacant suite Monday on McDermot Avenue.

The Manitoba Integrated Violent Offender Apprehension Unit, which is comprised of city police and RCMP, found the suspect and another man along with an SKS rifle and ammunition.

Damian Kreid Nelson, 32, was charged with gun offences, being unlawfully in a dwelling house and for violating his parole. He was sent back to federal custody.

Nelson has a lengthy record dating to 2011. In 2018, he was found guilty of armed robbery and aggravated assault, resulting in a federal prison term. He pleaded guilty in 2022 to escaping custody and being unlawfully at large.

He’s accused of going unlawfully at large as of February.

Desmond Jesse Day, 32, is charged with gun offences and being unlawfully in a dwelling house. He was held in custody.

His record dates to 2011, too, and includes robberies, gun offences and drug trafficking.

Fire crews battle Elgin Avenue blaze

Paramedics assessed three people after a house fire in Winnipeg’s Centennial neighbourhood Wednesday morning.

Fire crews were sent to a home on the 600 block of Elgin Avenue around 7:53 a.m. Heavy smoke and flames were coming from the house and firefighters were forced to battle the blaze from outside.

The fire was declared under control at 10:24 a.m, the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said in a news release.

No one was sent to hospital.

The fire is under investigation and the home sustained significant fire, smoke and water damage.