Meeting people is easy if you get adventurous

Pre-owned sets seller Romo’s Bricks seeks to click with Winnipeg’s Lego community

There’s no mortar in sight but there are certainly thousands of bricks at a new brick-and-mortar store in Winnipeg catering to Lego enthusiasts.

Ashton Romaniuk and Madison Froome opened Romo’s Bricks in late spring. Located at 955 Milt Stegall Dr., in the same building as CanCentral Sports Cards & Memorabilia, the store specializes in selling pre-owned Lego sets, minifigures and other Lego-related products.

“It’s something we’re both passionate about,” Froome said.

To stock the store, she and Romaniuk spent $50,000 on four large Lego collections, purchased from local collectors. Romaniuk estimates that since the store opened on June 2, inventory has grown to $250,000 worth of Lego.

City rescinds Balmoral Street property owner’s order to clean up encampment

A West Broadway landlord is off the hook for clearing a large riverbank encampment after the City of Winnipeg rescinded an order threatening to stick him with the cleanup bill.

Marvin Sharp, CEO of Astroid Management Ltd., which operates the Pen-Eve Apartments at 35 Balmoral St., said he received a call from the city Tuesday letting him know the order has been cancelled.

In a statement from the city, an official said the order was shelved due to an existing and active easement on the property.

“We have been communicating with the property owner throughout this process and they have been informed of this development,” a spokesperson said.

Tachinski helps punch men’s flag football ticket to Los Angeles Games

Jackson Tachinski: future Olympian?

Those prospects got a lot brighter for the Winnipegger on Sunday when the Canadian men’s flag football team won bronze at the IFAF World Flag Football Championships in Germany.

Tachinski was a key cog throughout a run that ended with a thrilling 34-26 overtime victory over Mexico that secured Canada’s spot at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, where flag football will debut on the biggest stage in sports.

“It was awesome. We were in overtime, and we got the ball first, and we ended up scoring and getting a two-point convert. We knew the defence just had to make a few plays and get a stop and we’d (win). Just seeing the ball go up in the air and (Montreal’s Guillaume Béland) came down with the interception, it was an unreal feeling. Just straight euphoria,” Tachinski told the Free Press shortly after returning home.

Canada, U.S. both say they made gains in new trade deal that averted tariffs

Canada-U.S. Minister Dominic LeBlanc smiled widely beside U.S. President Donald Trump's trade czar in Washington on Wednesday as they touted a draft deal which appears to have averted a new round of punishing tariffs on Canada.

Transit driver, supervisor assaulted in separate incidents

Two people are facing charges for allegedly assaulting Winnipeg Transit employees in separate incidents within a 10-hour span Tuesday.

A 51-year-old man is accused of randomly throwing a beer can at a driver while exiting a bus at Dunkirk Avenue and Kingston Row at about 6 a.m.

The man bit the driver, who was trying to restrain him, police said. He was charged with assault and held in custody.

At about 3:40 p.m., a 31-year-old woman who refused to pay bus fare at Main Street and Pioneer Avenue punched a supervisor in the face, police said.

‘Useful starting point’: Manitoba teacher commissioner received 94 complaints in 15 months, report reveals

Ninety-four complaints about teacher misconduct were flagged in the 15 months after Manitoba set up an independent office to regulate the profession.

Commissioner Noni Classen has released a summary of the allegations brought to her attention and findings of investigations undertaken between January 2025 and March 2026.

A new disciplinary system, as well as an online registry where members of the public can look up the education level and standing of teachers and school clinicians, came into effect Jan. 6, 2025.

“These processes can be difficult and deeply personal for everyone involved, including students, families, teachers and school administrators,” Classen wrote in a 24-page report published this week.