Frozen hot at Rainbow Stage

Winnipeg’s first pro women’s team will be in the Northern Super League

Desiree Scott made a name for herself on the pitch as The Destroyer. Now, she’s continuing her legacy as a builder.

On Tuesday, the Olympic gold medalist helped announce the Northern Super League’s expansion to Winnipeg, the seventh franchise in Canada’s rapidly growing professional women’s soccer league.

It’s also the first pro women’s sports team in the city.

Scott, a Winnipeg native, had been vocal about her desire for a pro women’s team in her hometown during her playing days, and has spearheaded the movement for it to come to fruition in the last year.

Name-change sex abuser pleads guilty

A convicted child sex predator who changed his name before going on to abuse another victim is now facing a likely 15-year prison sentence.

Ryan Knight, 44, pleaded guilty Monday morning to sexual interference and making child sexual abuse and exploitation material.

Knight remains in custody and is expected to be sentenced in the fall, when Crown and defence lawyers will jointly recommend the repeat offender serve 15 years in prison.

Knight, who was born Ryan Gabourie, has been in custody since last July when he was charged with sex crimes involving a 13-year-old boy.

Gun owners rally at city hall ahead of Supreme Court challenge

Carrying signs that read: “we are not the problem,” “see you in court” and “our guns are not for sale,” firearm enthusiasts gathered at Winnipeg City Hall Monday to express their anger over “unfair” gun policy in Canada.

The event, hosted by the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights, targeted the Liberal government’s Bill C-21, restrictions on “military-style” weapons and the federal gun buyback program.

“If they take away one freedom from us, they’re going to take more,” said gun user Aaron Halbert, a lifelong Winnipegger. “If you give them an inch, they’ll take a mile.”

The 40-year-old called gun ownership an “essential right” in a free society and said criminals are getting a pass. He said alongside hunting and target shooting, firearms should be allowed for self defence as well.

Creed finds fans young and old as the oft-disbanded group returns to city

Creed is, once again, having a moment.

The American post-grunge band was one of the most prolific acts of the late ‘90s and early 2000s, releasing three multi-platinum records in a row and dominating radio airwaves with more than a dozen hit singles. Despite the popular acclaim, the band was also the subject of much critical disdain.

The disdain, however, seems to have waned as new and returning fans have welcomed Creed back into the zeitgeist in recent years with arms wide open.

That sentiment certainly rang true for the enthusiastic multigenerational crowd that gathered at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday night to worship at the altar of hard rock nostalgia during the band’s Summer of ‘99 tour stop.

Louis Riel’s life reimagined as a genre-hopping production

One thing everyone can agree on: Louis Riel contained multitudes.

Buckled cement gives drivers the heave-ho

Highways, local roads and sidewalks have buckled and broken thanks to extreme heat in recent days, wreaking havoc with travel.

Garth Thomson was driving on the Perimeter Highway, just north of Assiniboia Downs, around 4 p.m. Sunday when he suddenly came upon a major gap in the road.

“There was a big break in the highway, which was the heaving. I had about four seconds to decide what I was going to do. So, I kind of hit my brakes and drove more towards the centre, where the big chunks weren’t (located),” said Thomson. “It happened so fast … there were big chunks (of concrete), probably a foot (per) square, sticking up.”

His convertible had bumper damage and a hole in its gas tank, he said.