News briefs for Tuesday, August 19, 2025

Woman sexually assaulted along St. Vital path

4:25 PM

Police are searching for a man who sexually assaulted a woman along a foot path in St. Vital late Friday night.

The woman was walking along the grassy path between a parking lot and the Awasisak Meskanow Greenway at about 11:45 p.m. when a stranger appeared.

He “grabbed her in an unwanted sexual manner,” the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release Tuesday.

The woman screamed, broke free and ran to safety.

The area is just southeast of Kearney Park and south of the 200 block of Beliveau Road.

The man was last seen running east, towards the Home Depot parking lot.

He was described as being in his 20s or 30s, Indigenous in appearance,  with a heavier build, dark hair and facial hair. He was wearing a dark hoodie.

The WPS asked anyone with relevant information or video to contact its sex crimes unit at 204-986-6245, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at
204-786-8477 (TIPS) or online.

Police incident closes section of McPhillips Street

4:18 PM

The Winnipeg Police Service has closed a section of McPhillips Street, between Jarvis and Logan avenues, in response to an ongoing police incident.

In a notice on X, WPS said the lanes are closed in all directions and urged motorists to use alternate routes on Salter Street or Keewatin Street.

WPS spokesperson Const. Dani McKinnon said details about the ongoing incident are limited, but it is believed to be a medical call with no threat to the public. Police responded to the scene sometime after 3:30 p.m., she said.

McKinnon said officers will remain on scene and the roadway will remain closed until the incident is resolved.

City extends spray pad season

2:16 PM

The City of Winnipeg announced Tuesday it has extended its spray pad season by one week.

Most of the spray pads will remain open until Sept. 7. The pads at Boyd Park and Magnus Eliason Recreation Centre will remain open until Sept. 1.

A list of locations and hours of operation is available online.

Many of the city’s wading pools are remaining open later than usual this year. The only four still open by Sept. 1 — in Central, Dakota, McKittrick and St. John’s parks — will close at the end of that day.

Man in hospital after crash near Deacon’s Corner

12:37 PM

A man was taken to hospital in critical condition after a car slammed into the back of a semi-truck near Deacon’s Corner on Sunday night.

Oakbank RCMP were sent to the collision on Provincial Road 207, near the Trans-Canada Highway, in the Rural Municipality of Springfield shortly before 9:40 p.m.

An investigation determined the semi-truck was turning south on Provincial Road 207 from Birkett Way, which is just north of Deacon’s Corner, when a sedan slammed into it, police said in a news release Tuesday. The truck did not have a trailer attached.

The car’s driver — a 27-year-old man from the Rural Municipality of St. Clements — remained in hospital in stable condition with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, RCMP said. The truck driver, a 31-year-old Calgary man, was not hurt.

The car was unregistered and had no “driving lights” on, RCMP said, adding speed and alcohol appear to be factors in the crash.

Missing man last seen in Pimicikamak Cree Nation 

10:57 AM

RCMP are asking for the public’s help in finding a missing man.

The family of Geoffrey Kolomaya, 37, last heard from him on Aug. 4. RCMP said in a news release Tuesday that they have been told he was last seen in Pimicikamak Cree Nation on or around Aug. 10. He was reported missing to police Sunday.

Kolomaya is described as 5-9 in height, 180 pounds, with very short black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a black jacket, black pants, a green-and-brown T-shirt, a hat and black steel-toed work boots.

Police asked anyone with information regarding Kolomaya’s whereabouts to contact Cross Lake RCMP at 204-676-2600, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or online.

Flo Rida riding into Canada Life Centre in October

9:49 AM

Time to break out the boots with the fur and the Reeboks with the straps: Flo Rida is coming to Winnipeg in the fall.

The Miami-based rapper will perform at Canada Life Centre on Oct. 1 with Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall opening the show.

Flo Rida burst onto the scene in 2007 with his debut single Low, featuring T-Pain, which spent 10 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Since then, he’s released a cavalcade of chart-toppers, including  Right Round (featuring Ke$ha), In The Ayer (featuring will.i.am), Club Can’t Handle Me (featuring David Guetta) and more.

Tickets go on sale Friday, Aug. 22 at 10 a.m. at Ticketmaster.

Crews put out three fires

9:42 AM

Crews extinguished three fires Monday night and early Tuesday, including two believed to have started accidentally.

Crews were sent to an industrial building on the 1500 block of Dugald Road shortly after 9:05 p.m. and declared a fire in a smelting furnace under control at about 10:15 p.m.

All employees got out on their own, the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said in a news release. Preliminary observations suggest a malfunction caused the fire.

Crews were sent to a vacant, two-storey house on the 500 block of William Avenue at 9:40 p.m. They declared the fire there under control nearly an hour later.

On Tuesday, crews were sent to a home on Brophy Avenue in the Tyndall Park area shortly before 3:45 a.m. and declared the fire under control about 45 minutes later. Everyone inside got out before crews arrived.

“Preliminary observations suggest the cause of the fire was accidental and related to smoking,” the WFPS said in a news release.