Youth pastor accused in sex assault of teen camp counsellor

City police have charged a youth pastor with sex crimes, accusing him of grooming a teenager while he was acting as the director of a day camp at a Winnipeg church.

Police received information about a sexual assault involving the suspect in March, and learned he directed a youth camp group, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release Tuesday.

The offences are alleged to have occurred between August 2025 and March 2026, when “the pastor forged a sexual relationship by grooming and gaining the trust of a youth camp counsellor who was a teenager at the time,” the release said.

“The survivor met with the accused on multiple occasions in private and also received sexually explicit material sent by the accused.”

Province chips in $15M to bring Pantages Playhouse back to life

A string quartet performed at the Pantages Playhouse Theatre Tuesday in celebration of a $15-million contribution from the province to raise the curtain at the historic landmark again.

The musicians provided the backdrop to Premier Wab Kinew’s announcement of the cash injection to “help bring the Pantages Playhouse back to life.”

The theatre — which opened in 1914 and was once a hub for vaudeville performers, including Charlie Chaplin — has been closed for eight years.

“This is a tremendous project to advance arts and culture in Winnipeg and across Manitoba, but it’s also a big investment in our downtown,” Kinew said.

Winnipeg Jets fall one spot to eighth in NHL draft lottery

Now that history didn’t repeat itself, the focus for Kevin Cheveldayoff and his amateur scouts will be firming up their final draft list.

Two teams moved up significantly in the 2026 NHL Draft lottery on Tuesday, but the Winnipeg Jets weren’t one of them.

After the Toronto Maple Leafs moved from fifth to first overall, it was the San Jose Sharks that jumped to second from ninth, which meant the Jets slipped one spot from seventh to eighth in the 2026 NHL Draft.

Once the Leafs claimed the first overall pick, it was hard not to wonder if the Jets would follow suit and choose second, just like they did in 2016 when they moved from sixth to second overall.

Provincially appointed administrator to step in after Winnipeg Beach town council implodes amid conflicts, allegations

The province is appointing an administrator to temporarily oversee the Town of Winnipeg Beach after a series of resignations from a council beset by personal conflicts and allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

Death of well-known chef, Ste. Anne volunteer firefighter investigated as homicide

A renowned chef and community volunteer has been identified as the victim in a weekend slaying in the Rural Municipality of Ste. Anne.

Officers were sent to investigate an aggravated assault in the community, located about 50 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg, Steinbach RCMP said Tuesday.

A man suffered life-threatening injuries and was rushed to hospital, but died a few hours later.  His death is being investigated as a homicide, RCMP said. They declined to provide further details.

Friends and former colleagues identified the victim as 49-year-old Cameron Huley. Huley was a restaurant industry consultant for Food Service Solutions Canada and a volunteer firefighter with the Town of Ste. Anne fire department. He formerly worked with the Ste. Anne Police Department as an auxiliary police officer.

Grief, hope and justice; hundreds march to honour missing, murdered on Red Dress Day

Hundreds of people marched east from the Winnipeg Law Courts to Oodena Celebration Circle at The Forks, where grief and remembrance mingled with hope and resilience to mark Red Dress Day.

Officer testifies accused cop confessed to stealing weed from crime scene

A Winnipeg Police Service constable, who is accused of ignoring orders to stay out of an apartment suite he and now-imprisoned former constable Elston Bostock had been ordered to guard, later confessed they had stolen marijuana from the scene, a judge was told Tuesday.

Const. Justin Ison said he had been with the police service just a few months when Const. Jonathan Kiazyk made the startling disclosure as they worked a cruiser shift together.

“I was shocked and overwhelmed hearing this from a senior constable,” Ison testified. “It’s not every day another officer tells you they stole from a (crime scene).”

Kiazyk, an 18-year veteran of the WPS at the time of the alleged October 2022 incident, has pleaded not guilty to charges of entering a dwelling with intent to commit theft, obstructing a police officer and breach of trust.

Moose look to punch back on the road in Grand Rapids

The Manitoba Moose recognize they can’t afford to get in a track meet with the Grand Rapids Griffins in order to advance in the Calder Cup playoffs.

So, as this best-of-five series — which is tied 1-1 — resumes on Wednesday at Van Andel Arena, the Moose will be trying to thread the needle between finding a way to generate more offence while not sacrificing anything defensively.

These two teams have combined for just three goals through two games, with each team pitching a shutout so far — 1-0 for the Moose on Saturday and 2-0 for the Griffins on Sunday.

Two of the three goals have come on the power play, while the Griffins have tallied the lone marker at even strength, and that came with just over five minutes to go in Game 2.

An off-season primer ahead of Bombers’ rookie camp opening

THE Winnipeg Blue Bombers are hoping that 2025 was nothing more than a bump in the road.

Going 10-8 and losing a hard-fought division semifinal might not be so bad in other markets, but excellence is expected around these parts after the Blue and Gold appeared in five consecutive Grey Cups from 2019-24.

The first step towards finding out if this year’s group are championship contenders or pretenders starts Wednesday with the opening of rookie camp. The veterans will report for training camp on Sunday.

To recap the past few months and to set the table for what lies ahead, here’s an early season preview for the Bombers.

Manwin Hotel owner sues city

The owner of the Manwin Hotel, which was destroyed by fire in January, is trying to sue the City of Winnipeg for $15 million.

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service officials ordered the charred remains of the hotel, at 655 Main St., to be demolished while crews were still working to extinguish the blaze that engulfed the dilapidated, vacant hotel.

The Manwin had been vacant since the city ordered residents — who occupied cheap, single rooms — to leave in January 2025. The owner had failed to address multiple outstanding permit requirements and compliance orders.

The city was in the early stages of trying to expropriate the property when the fire erupted on Jan. 14.