Reconciliation efforts might involve raising funds

Waiver wire pickup leads Jets to victory in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH – Now that’s a positive first impression.

The Winnipeg Jets swept a two-game road trip, thanks in part to Clay (Mud) Stevenson making 30 saves in his debut with the team that claimed him off waivers one week earlier.

Stevenson was excellent in a 3-2 victory for the Jets over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night at PPG Paints Arena.

“He obviously made some big big stops, right up to the end of the game there,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. “He was real solid and confident and looked comfortable. It was great to see a kid come in here like that, a new organization late in training camp. He came as advertised.”

Man who exploited teen sentenced to 11 years in prison

A man who picked up a vulnerable 17-year-old child-welfare ward on the streets of Winnipeg and coerced her into providing sexual services for several months has been sent to prison for more than a decade.

After a trial, Hassan Kargbo, who’s in his early 30s, was found guilty of sexual exploitation, making child sexual abuse and exploitation material, receiving a material benefit from sexual services provided by a person under 18, procuring a person under 18 and advertising sexual services.

Provincial court Judge Julie Frederickson sentenced him to 11 years behind bars late last month.

“Mr. Kargbo picked up a young Indigenous girl walking over the Osborne Street bridge and quickly got her involved in drug use and escorting,” Frederickson said in a written decision.

The election of our discontent: City at a crumbling crossroads, grumbling residents say in poll

There’s an undercurrent of unhappiness running through the Winnipeg electorate as the municipal election day approaches.

One-half of Winnipeggers believe the city is heading in the wrong direction, according to a new Abacus Data poll, with nearly one-third unsure if Winnipeg is regressing or progressing.

Only 21 per cent of residents believe the city is on the right track, the Free Press-commissioned poll found.

That discontentment extends to how the city spends its tax dollars, with four in 10 Winnipeggers believing they receive poor value for what they pay in property taxes.

Seven Wilsons, one regional spirit

In Dryden, Ont., a 34-metre suspension bridge crosses the Wabigoon River rapids. It is named after a man who paid for a quarter of the bridge himself. A plaque recognizes Roy Wilson’s “many contributions to City Revitalization” and mentions his 40 years in the Rotary Club, whose motto is “service above self”.

Mayoral hopefuls trade accusations

Two mayoral hopefuls traded accusations about meddling in each other’s campaigns as the incumbent rallied supporters for his re-election bid on the eve of advanced polls opening across Winnipeg.

A social media post made by Mike Vogiatzakis, one of 12 nominees in the Oct. 28 race for the top job at city hall, caught the attention of rivals Sunday.

The funeral director took to Facebook midday to criticize Kevin Klein — a competitor he said he thought of “as a friend” until the former Tory cabinet minister made a U-turn after pledging to back the Vogiatzakis campaign.

“Good speaker? Yes. Good looking guy? Sure. Someone I trust now? Absolutely not,” he wrote in a lengthy post.

Mayoral candidates Klein, Vogiatzakis continue to snipe over inducement allegations

Winnipeg mayoral candidate Mike Vogiatzakis told reporters Monday he will contact the city clerk to report his allegation that rival Kevin Klein offered him a job to drop out of the race.

Vogiatzakis and Klein both doubled down a day after accusing each other of offering the other a position at city hall, if they were victorious in the Oct. 28 election, in exchange for a withdrawal.

“Do I want to get him charged? Not really. I don’t want to destroy anybody’s life,” Vogiatzakis told reporters.

“Kevin’s a good guy. I thought he was a friend of mine, but he’s not. Kevin uses leverage to get ahead, and he tried to use me as leverage.”