Ali Wong, Jonathan Van Ness headed to Just For Laughs

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.”

Police seize cocaine valued at $1.5M, about $750K in cash in raid on St. Vital house

A St. Vital homeowner and her husband were going about their business during an afternoon last month when police officers in tactical gear suddenly appeared, walking across their front lawn.

The target was a few doors down: a maroon bi-level home on a quiet stretch of Satinwood Place, within earshot of children playing outside at a nearby school.

The homeowner, who asked not to be named to protect their privacy, said the police presence caught the couple by surprise in the Southglen neighbourhood, where they weren’t accustomed to seeing that kind of activity.

“We never heard the (police) cars pull up, but there were cars blocking the entrance to the street from both sides,” said the neighbour. “They had a shield, a battering ram — everything. Just not used to seeing that.”

Province takes aim at ER wait times by adding community-care capacity to free up hospital beds

The province is aiming to free up hospital beds and cut wait times by adding 103 community-based care spaces in Winnipeg for patients who need shelter or specialized supports in order to be discharged.

Duo accused in random Osborne Village attacks no strangers to police

A man arrested following a violent, random attack on two men in Osborne Village late Sunday night was released from jail a week earlier after a dozen charges, including crimes of violence, were stayed against him, court records show.

A man in his 40s was sent to hospital in critical condition and another man in his 20s in stable condition following separate attacks shortly before midnight in the vicinity of River Avenue and Osborne Street.

Police have charged Reginald Owen, 26, and Meaghan Owen, 32, both from Little Grand Rapids, with assault with a weapon and aggravated assault. They both remain in custody.

Court records show Reginald Owen was sentenced Sept. 24 to 30 days time served after pleading guilty to simple possession of magic mushrooms. Owen remained in custody until the following day when he was set to apply for bail on charges including assault, sexual assault, choking to overcome resistance, pointing a firearm, and carrying a concealed weapon.

Canadian Mennonite University students, staff victims of cyberattack

Canadian Mennonite University fell victim to a cyberattack that compromised the data of current and former students and employees last month.

School officials became aware of the cybersecurity incident, in which an “unknown third party” accessed its information technology systems without authorization, on Sept. 18, university president Cheryl Pauls said in a recent statement.

The university has since confirmed the third party used that access to steal information from its systems.

“We immediately initiated our incident response plan, retained expert assistance, and informed the university community whose workflows were affected as soon as we became aware of the incident,” Pauls said. “We also reported this incident to law enforcement and will be filing a report with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.”