Canadian mountain biker Goldstone defends elite men’s downhill world title

Selkirk middle school changes name to honour Murray Sinclair

SELKIRK — A local middle school now bears the name of one of its most famous alumni.

École Selkirk Junior High was renamed Murray Sinclair Middle School at a ceremony Wednesday.

The late Sinclair, who was a judge, senator and chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, played basketball for the school team, back when it was known as Selkirk Collegiate Institute.

In 1968, he was named male athlete of the year and voted valedictorian. He would go on to dedicate his career to Indigenous justice and human rights in Canada.

MPI lowers speed limit on tech upgrade with ‘IT roadmap’ following Project Nova debacle

Manitoba Public Insurance is now using an “IT road map” and phasing in new technology and systems after pulling the plug last year on its failed $164-million overhaul known as Project Nova, its annual report says.

PCs call for crackdown on property crime

A Progressive Conservative government would open a Crown prosecutor’s office dedicated to dealing with property crime.

Interim party leader Konrad Narth made the announcement Wednesday flanked by colleagues in front of a boarded up 7-Eleven on Main Street. Narth promised to hire 25 prosecutors who would focus on property theft, which he said is the type of crime attorneys have been inundated with in recent years.

Narth said crime has increased under the NDP government and pledged to crack down on thieves in Winnipeg and rural areas, if the PCs win power in the next provincial election, due on or before Oct. 5, 2027.

“Under this premier, Manitoba’s crime rate is 81 per cent above the national average. Property crime represents 58 per cent of crimes committed, an increase of nearly 25 per cent since Wab Kinew and the NDP took office,” Narth said, citing numbers from Statistics Canada. “In Winnipeg, the rise of property crime has significantly increased the cost of doing business and forced many businesses to now close their doors.”

Amazon in the weeds over damage to tall grass reserve

Patricia Dutchak was devastated when she first saw the wide swaths of crushed grass and upturned soil at Winnipeg’s Rotary Prairie Nature Park, a municipal heritage site.

“This is a very rare ecosystem, a remnant of tall grass prairie, there’s barely any left in the world, and to come here and see all this damage was heartbreaking,” Dutchak, chair of the Transcona Rotary Club’s parks committee, says.

The club is responsible for maintaining the protected green space, which was significantly damaged this summer when a fence between the park and the neighbouring Amazon distribution centre was relocated.

The 20-acre nature preserve is situated on a narrow tract of land on Regent Avenue West in the commercial heart of Transcona. The park received its municipal heritage designation in 1992 and is, today, surrounded by high-traffic streets, industrial warehouses and car dealerships.

Klein promises fixes to Winnipeg Transit network overhaul failures

A mayoral candidate is promising to restore at least 150 previously removed bus stops, extend Winnipeg Transit service to later hours and guarantee front-door bus dropoffs at acute-care hospitals.

In his Wednesday “Bring the Bus Back” announcement, Kevin Klein said Winnipeg Transit’s bus network overhaul, which has been in place for the past 16 months, has left some passengers stranded, with fewer stops and shorter hours at night.

“We need an effective, efficient… transit system that is safe, in order to grow, in order to expand,” said Klein.

The new primary transit network was part of the Winnipeg Transit Master Plan city council approved in 2021. Klein was the city councillor for Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood at the time and voted against the plan.