NASA unveils close-up pictures of the comet popping by from another star

Fire destroys St. Boniface housing unit

A six-unit housing development in St. Boniface was levelled by fire Tuesday.

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service was notified at 4:50 a.m. that the site on the 800 block of Archibald Street, near Elizabeth Road, was on fire, a city spokesperson said in an email. No injuries were reported.

Firefighters had the blaze under control by about 6:15 a.m. after using an aerial ladder to tackle the flames from above and protect nearby homes, the spokesperson said.

At the site, no signs were present to identify the construction company or developer. The fences of neighbouring homes were burned and rooftop shingles were singed. Ash and fire-retardant foam littered the lawns.

MPI not sleeping on ride-share fraud

Rust never sleeps. You may remember those words as the title of a Neil Young and Crazy Horse album from 1979. You might even recognize an even older use of the words as an advertising slogan for anti-rust paint Rust-Oleum.

Developer ‘anxiously’ awaits judge’s decision on Granite Curling Club construction

The developer of a hotly debated project that would add 110 housing units to the Granite Curling Club’s parking lot has begun investigative work at the site while awaiting a judge’s decision on construction.

While some digging took place at the city-owned property last week, its developer said construction has yet to begin.

“I would call (the digging so far) investigative site work. It’s not preparing in any way for construction, other than to ensure that the reports that are required for any site have been completed,” said Jeremy Read, chief executive officer of UWCRC 2.0 Inc.

A heritage resources impact assessment will determine if the site has archeological significance. That work will check for everything from fossils to unmarked graves, said Read.

Tenants battling landlords find help in short supply from province

For nearly three years, Quincy Houdayer and Avery Helm repeatedly pressed their landlord to address plumbing failures, water damage and other maintenance problems at their West Broadway apartment, with records showing some issues persisted until the couple turned to the Residential Tenancies Branch.

Emails and text messages between the tenants, Clearwater Management and the RTB reviewed by the Free Press document recurring leaks and flooding, periods without heat or hot water, concerns about mould and basement conditions and repeated followups from the couple seeking repairs.

“Most of the experiences we’ve had with them can be boiled down to, like, they either are very dismissive about it, they act like it’s not their problem… or they will just fully, blatantly ignore you,” Helm said, adding that the only way to get Clearwater to respond was to threaten going to the RTB, a provincial government agency.

RTB data obtained by the Free Press also shows 13 orders involving the three-building complex at 193-197 Furby St. in 2026 alone. All but one favoured the tenant, while the remaining order ruled in favour of both the tenant and landlord on different items.

White-supremacist highway sign casts pall on Steinbach city council campaign

The RCMP is investigating a white-nationalist sign near Steinbach with racist messaging and alleged links to a known Canadian far-right group.

A sign hanging on a overpass at the intersection of Highways 1 and 12 read: “STEINBACH VOTES WHITE NOT BROWN,” according to photos posted on social media.

Also written was the name Nationalist-13, a men’s-only neo-Nazi group, also known as NS-13, primarily based in Hamilton, Ont. The Free Press couldn’t independently verify if the group is associated or who hung the sign.

“On Oct. 13, the Steinbach RCMP were made aware of this sign and have opened an investigation,” a spokesperson said in an email statement. They also said the sign has been removed.