News briefs for Thursday, April 16, 2026

Jets sign college draft pick

3:55 PM

Welcome to pro hockey, Garrett Brown.

The Winnipeg Jets have signed the 22-year-old to a two-year entry-level contract after he recently completed his third season with the University of Denver Pioneers.

Brown, a defenceman, certainly ended his college season in style: he assisted on the tying and winning goals as Denver won the national championship at last week’s Frozen Four in Las Vegas.

Brown was selected in the fourth-round, 99th-overall, in the 2022 draft. He is the son of former NHLer Curtis Brown.

He will report immediately to the Manitoba Moose, who are set to begin the Calder Cup playoffs next week.

Measles exposure flagged at Portage hospital

3:29 PM

Manitoba Health is warning the public about a possible measles exposure at a Portage hospital. 

The exposure took place Monday between 6:15 p.m. and 10:50 p.m. in the waiting room of the ER at the Portage District General Hospital. 

Anyone present at this time is asked to check their records to ensure they’re vaccinated. 

As of April 4, Manitoba Health says there have been 429 confirmed cases and 63 probable cases of measles in the province. 

Bus cleared after reported bear spray discharge

3:15 PM

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service helped two people with injuries after bear spray was discharged on a transit bus Wednesday evening.

The bus was cleared of riders while parked in the 100 block of Main Street at around 8:45 p.m., police said. An eyewitness told police a person discharged the spray while leaving the bus, then ran away.

Paramedics on scene helped affected riders wash their eyes. The driver was not injured.

The Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents bus drivers, said pepper spray has been discharged five times on buses in 2026.

Man arrested in hatchet attack

2:26 PM

Winnipeg police have arrested a suspect after a 23-year-old man reported being jumped by two men and hit in the head with a hatchet in the North End on March 27.

Police said a 21-year-old man is facing charges of robbery and overcoming resistance by attempting to choke, suffocate or strangle another person.

The victim told the Free Press last month that he was walking home with a takeout pizza when he was attacked on Selkirk Avenue near Andrews Street.

He said he was put in a chokehold, punched, kicked and then hit with the hatchet, leaving him with a large wound across his forehead and three fractures to his skull.

The major crimes unit continues to investigate.

RCMP puts spotlight on unsolved murder from 2024

1:27 PM

Thompson RCMP is putting a renewed public focus on an unsolved murder from 2024.

Billboards and posters showing the face of homicide victim Steven Seela were plastered all over the community earlier this week, RCMP said in a news release Thursday.

While the investigation never stopped, Mounties say they need more information to push it forward.

Police believe people in Thompson have information about the death and hope the renewed focus brings more information to light. 

The new posters and billboards are adorned with a quote from Seela’s mother, Denise Redhead, in which she said: “the silence is killing us.” The text alongside a photo of her smiling son. 

Seela was last seen by loved ones on Nov. 24, 2024 and was reported missing by his mother on Nov. 27. One day later, he was found shot inside of a trailer on Pipe Road in the Thompson Trailer Courts.

RCMP major crimes took over the investigation and say what they learned is that on Nov. 24, Seela left a residence in Thompson and travelled across the city, arriving at the Trailer Courts around 2:30 p.m.

Cpl. Gennifer Furkalo said there have been “bread crumbs of information” provided to the RCMP and evidence has been collected, but they’re looking for people in the Trailer Courts who have information to come forward and said any information is valuable.

“No little bit of information is necessarily too small,” said Furkalo. “You don’t know what we don’t know and you might have information that blows this wide open.”

RCMP hopes information brought forward because of the campaign helps bring resolution to the case, which has been under investigation for approximately 16 months.

“Murder is everyone’s problem. Everyone plays a role in trying to get to the bottom of this,” she said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the RCMP tipline at 1-431-489-8106.

Lord Selkirk EAs give their union strong strike mandate

12:26 PM

Educational assistants and other non-teaching staff in Selkirk public schools are preparing to strike amid a stalemate in contract negotiations.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees issued a news release Thursday to call on the Lord Selkirk School Division “to remove heavy concessions from the bargaining table” and settle a contract with improvements similar to other divisions’ newly-approved deals.

CUPE Local 1522, which represents about 300 non-teaching employees, hosted a strike vote on Saturday. It drew about 70 per cent of the membership with 95 per cent of participants casting ballots in favour of taking job action, said Dale Edmunds, a spokesperson for CUPE Manitoba.

Conciliation dates are scheduled for April 28, 29 and 30. The union is planning to host an information picket and set a strike date if a deal isn’t reached, Edmunds said.