Mourners say goodbye to Ashley

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.

City blames bad weather for creating new sinkhole on Sturgeon Creek path

After a massive water-filled hole on a Sturgeon Creek active-transportation pathway took more than a year to fix, a new sinkhole has opened nearby.

In June 2023, the Free Press reported on a gaping depression stretching seven metres long, three metres wide and up to a metre deep that opened on a pathway leading to a playground on Amarynth Crescent near the Sturgeon Creek active-transportation route. The city finally made repairs in October 2024.

Now, about 12 metres away from that spot, a new crater has appeared.

The hole, about three metres long and 2.5 metres wide, has been blocked off using metal rods and plastic netting, but resident Philip Kaban said the opening is getting larger.

Executive exodus continues at Shared Health with three recent departures

Manitoba’s provincial health authority is looking for its fourth chief financial officer since 2023 and additional replacements after the recent departures of three executives.

Rail-traffic alert beacons, signs will give drivers chance to change routes, save time

A new rail-crossing alert system will help Winnipeg drivers avoid train delays.

Roadside TRAINFO beacons and digital message boards will now flash at locations prior to select rail crossings. They will alert drivers to approaching trains, with adequate time to let them choose an alternate route and avoid the wait.

The flashing beacons are now located at the following high train-traffic spots:

Pandora Avenue at Day Street, Redonda Street and Ravenhurst Street, to note trains at the Ravenhurst rail crossing north of Dugald Road.East and west of the multiple rail crossings on Marion Avenue between Archibald Street and Lagimodiere Boulevard, to note trains along the corridor.At the intersection of McGillivray Boulevard and Waverley Street, to note trains crossing McGillivray at Pembina Highway.Digital message sign boards will also be placed on Sterling Lyon Boulevard and Kenaston Boulevard to note when trains are present at the McGillivray/Pembina crossing.

Low-income residents of 114-year-old downtown block staggered by proposed rent hikes

Marcel Blanchette’s life has not travelled down a smooth road.

In 2014, he was violently assaulted in his home, an unprovoked attack that left him with severe injuries, including permanent brain damage. He underwent months of hospitalization and rehabilitation. During that time, he learned his possessions had been sold off when the Office of The Public Guardian and Trustee took over his affairs.

Twelve years later, he finds himself in another fight. This time, it comes in the form of a proposal from the new owners of the Conway Court apartment block that would nearly double his monthly rent. While he’s been able to live in the Kennedy Street unit with the support of disability income assistance for nearly five years, the sudden spike, he said, could leave him homeless.

“To go through that, and now I’m going through this, it’s another obstacle,” Blanchette told the Free Press. “I fought the Public Guardian and Trustee, and I’ll fight this too, with whatever I have.”