Athletics play Boston, aim to build on Bassitt’s solid showing

Premier presses Bell Canada about ‘unacceptable’ 911 outages

Premier Wab Kinew said the province is doing all it can to ensure that Manitobans aren’t hit with another 911 service outage — including asking the head of Bell Canada to help.

“At the end of the day, when you dial 911, we need to get emergency services to you as quickly as possible,” Kinew said.

On July 22, an hours-long outage prevented nearly 90 calls to 911 from being routed to the public safety answering point in Brandon. Backup systems that reroute 911 calls when an outage occurs also experienced “issues” after a third party cut the cable during construction near Winnipeg, Bell Canada said earlier.

At the time, Kinew called the 911 outage “unacceptable,” and told reporters that Prime Minister Mark Carney assured him he would raise the matter with telecom executives.

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.

Costco breaks ground on new West St. Paul store

Construction has begun on the American retailer's newest Manitoba location which developers expect will open in August 2027.

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A West Broadway landlord is off the hook for clearing a large riverbank encampment after the City of Winnipeg rescinded an order threatening to stick him with the cleanup bill.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

Ramifications of the high cost of pet care

They are widely considered to be, as the timeless adage reminds, our best friends. In most cases and contexts, there’s almost nothing we wouldn’t do to ensure they’re safe, healthy and happy.

But caring for a pet has become decidedly more complicated and burdensome of late, owing in part to the rising cost of the veterinary care that is now an inevitable element of the pet-ownership experience.

Recent reporting shows a sharp increase in the number of pets being surrendered to animal shelters as a result of their owners’ inability to cover the costs of veterinary bills while dealing with the overall increase in the cost of living.

A spokesperson for the Winnipeg Humane Society said 150 animals were surrendered there in July alone, primarily because their owners could not afford vet care. The Winnipeg Pet Rescue Shelter reports at least 200 pets surrendered this year by owners who cited finances as the reason for their difficult decision.