Shelterbelts is book of the year

Demolition ordered after fire in vacant city home

A Winnipeg firefighter was assessed by paramedics and an emergency demolition was ordered after a vacant house caught fire Thursday morning for the second time in less than three months.

The two-storey home, at Argyle Street and Disraeli Freeway, in South Point Douglas, was boarded up following a blaze that occurred June 1.

Firefighters returned to the house after flames were reported shortly after 6 a.m. Thursday. The house was engulfed when crews arrived.

“Due to heavy fire conditions, crews were unable to enter the structure,” a Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service spokesperson wrote in an email to the Free Press.

Jonathan Dyck’s Shelterbelts wins Book of the Year

For the second time in four years, a graphic novel has taken the top prize at the Manitoba Book Awards.

Jonathan Dyck’s Shelterbelts, published in May 2022 by Conundrum Press, won the McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award at the 2023 Manitoba Book Awards, which were announced Sunday.

Dyck also co-won the Eileen McTavish Sykes award for best first book (along with Linda Trinh’s children’s book The Secret of the Jade Bangle, illustrated by Clayton Nguyen) at the event, which took place at McNally Robinson’s Grant Park location.

Set in the fictional town of Hespeler, Shelterbelts portrays members of the rural Manitoba community grappling with faith, freedom, LGBTTQ+ issues and more.

Man pleads guilty to shotgun slaying

A Winnipeg drug dealer has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a March 2025 killing that saw the body of a 30-year-old man dumped in a garbage bin and dragged to a West End alleyway.

Frederick Francis Mathias Baker, who was 28 upon his arrest early last year, shot Bronson Emery Dale Kequahtooway once in the thigh with a sawed-off shotgun and left him with a fatal wound, Crown prosecutor Matt Armstrong told Court of King’s Bench Justice Brian Bowman on Wednesday.

A split second after Baker shot Kequahtooway in the thigh, the victim was shot in the head with a sawed-off .22 rifle. The man accused of being armed with the rifle, Eric Matthew Morrissette, remains before the court on a second-degree murder charge.

“Either wound would have been fatal on its own,” said Armstrong.

Mole Mobile on move for your dermatological needs

This weekend, the Mole Mobile will set up shop at three Winnipeg Walmart locations. The mobile clinic will have certified dermatologists on site to screen suspicious-looking moles or lesions for skin cancer.

One more 50-plus yard kick for Castillo — for the record

After last Friday’s win over Ottawa, it was brought to Sergio Castillo’s attention that he had just made CFL history.

On Wednesday, however, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers kicker found out that a mistake was made and that he still has some work to do.

Castillo drilled a 56-yard field goal at the end of the half which, at the time, was believed to be his 41st career 50-plus yarder which set a new league record.

Castillo, as one would, spoke about the accomplishment earlier in the week and reflected on his journey to the milestone.

New Bannatyne eatery brings feast of Asian flavours

Matriarchal influences run deep at House of Ma Kitchen and Bar.

Executive chef Dom Merano took inspiration from his mom’s home cooking while developing the menu for the new Exchange District restaurant — specifically Cynthia Merano’s recipes for lumpia (Filipino spring rolls) and kare-kare (braised beef and peanut stew).

“It tastes like home,” Merano says of the dishes, adding that his mom “felt honoured to be able to share her cooking with people. She was actually here prior to opening helping me roll lumpia.”

Cynthia’s photo is hung among the “Wall of Mas” at the back of the restaurant, where the mothers and grandmothers of True Hospitality staff are given pride of place.