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Manitoba classrooms not spared in school board budget

Maggie Macintosh 6 minute read 4:00 AM CDT

THE fine print in approved school board budgets reveals Manitoba classrooms will not be spared of cutbacks in 2023-24, despite a sizable increase in overall operational funding.

This Just In

Patient pulled by snowmobile sled

Friday, 1:46 PM CDT

RCMP used a snowmobile sled to rescue a senior who was in medical distress at a remote cabin near Suwannee Lake.

Leaf Rapids RCMP were contacted at about 6:15 p.m. Tuesday. They were told a friend of the 85-year-old man had driven away from the cabin on snowmobile and was waiting to take officers to the remote location.

RCMP officers and a medical crew met the friend about 40 km south of Leaf Rapids and then travelled by snowmobile to the cabin, about approximately 6.5 km away.

The man was transported back to the road and then taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

 

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(Supplied)

More money for city roads

Friday, 12:14 PM CDT

The provincial government has announced an additional $7.5 million for Winnipeg road reconstruction, rehabilitation and preservation projects.

Municipal Relations Minister Andrew Smith said the funding is in addition to previously increased operating and capital funding provided through the Strategic Municipal Investment Fund.

Manitoba Liberals hold AGM

Friday, 10:53 AM CDT

The Manitoba Liberal Party hosts its annual general meeting Saturday in Winnipeg.

The day-long event at the Best Western Airport Hotel runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. includes association meetings, a speech by Liberal leader and St. Boniface MLA Dougald Lamont, and a panel discussions on  health, policy, and Indigenous rights.

Panelists include Dr. Barry Lavallee, chief executive officer of Keewatinohk Inniniw Minoayawin and Karen Velthuys, executive director of the Learning Disabilities Association of Manitoba.

Fire in commercial building on Sutherland Avenue

Friday, 8:41 AM CDT

Firefighters extinguished a blaze in a commercial building on Sutherland Avenue on Thursday night.

Crews were sent to the building in the first 100 block of Sutherland at 7:42 p.m.

Firefighters attacked the fire from outside because the structural instability of the building made it unsafe to enter. The fire was declared under control at 8:27 p.m., the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said in a news release Thursday night.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. No damage estimates are available.

Nurses redeployed to children’s ICU

Thursday, 3:55 PM CDT

The ongoing influx of seriously ill children in hospital has resulted in 10 staff being reassigned to help out with intensive care patients at Health Sciences Centre children's hospital, Shared Health stated Thursday.

The 10 staff members, including nurses from pediatric surgical and recovery units, are temporarily working in the pediatric intensive care unit, and Shared Health is warning the public that some non-urgent, non-life-threatening children's procedures will have to be postponed. Families of affected patients will be contacted, Shared Health stated.

The protocol for temporarily reducing pediatric surgical slates at HSC was introduced in mid-December in response to a confluence of respiratory virus infections that were spiking demand for emergency and intensive care at the children's hospital.

Patient volumes had been stable, but they've increased since the beginning of March. There were 47 children in the ER with flu-like symptoms on Wednesday, compared with a low of 22 on March 18, Shared Health stated. As of Thursday morning, there were 17 patients in the pediatric ICU, which has a baseline capacity of nine beds.

Median wait 2.77 hours for ER, urgent care in February

Thursday, 3:32 PM CDT

Median wait times were nearly three hours for emergency and urgent care at Winnipeg hospitals in February.

On Thursday,  Shared Health and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority reported released figures showing that overall median wait times are slightly longer, but 90th percentile wait times are improving. The median wait (which represents the mid-point, meaning half of patients waited longer and half were seen sooner) was 2.77 hours in February, an increase of approximately three minutes from the previous month at city hospitals overall. Ninetieth percentile wait times improved by 21 minutes month-over-month to 7.17 hours.

Fewer patients left without being seen in February, and wait times decreased slightly for admitted patients who needed a hospital bed. Shared Health released the following statistics Thursday:

• Patient volumes increased in February to a daily average of 750, up from 730.4 in January;

• The median length of stay for patients in emergency or urgent care who were awaiting admission to an inpatient unit was 21.77 hours, an improvement from 22.5 hours in January; and

• The overall left without being seen (LWBS) rate in February was 12.1 per cent, an improvement from 13 per cent the previous month. The LWBS rate at HSC Winnipeg’s adult ED improved to 23.4 per cent in February, from 25 per cent in January.

‘Mommy, I need you. Please come and get me’: lone survivor of Gilbert Plains crash recovering in city hospital

Kevin Rollason 5 minute read Preview

‘Mommy, I need you. Please come and get me’: lone survivor of Gilbert Plains crash recovering in city hospital

Kevin Rollason 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 8:38 PM CDT

Trapped in the wreckage of a car pinned underneath a transport truck — and surrounded by four friends who died in the collision — a Dauphin teen repeatedly phoned her mother for help.

Hanna Yurkiw, 15, is in Children’s Hospital in Winnipeg, recovering from serious injuries suffered Wednesday night in a collision in Gilbert Plains. Her parents, Tanya and Darcy, stay almost constantly at her bedside.

“She was saying, ‘Mommy, I need you. Please come and get me,’” Tanya said Friday, sitting in Hanna’s hospital room as monitors beeped in the background.

“She called again when we were on our way (to the scene of the collision, some 30 kilometres west of Dauphin). We knew she was okay because she phoned me multiple times.”

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Updated: Yesterday at 8:38 PM CDT

SUPPLIED

Hanna Yurkiw, 15, is the lone survivor of a collision that killed four of her friends Wednesday night. She is recovering at the Children's Hospital in Winnipeg.

‘On hold’ marriage certificate piece of Vital Statistics backlog puzzle

Danielle Da Silva 5 minute read Preview

‘On hold’ marriage certificate piece of Vital Statistics backlog puzzle

Danielle Da Silva 5 minute read Yesterday at 6:02 PM CDT

A year-long odyssey to obtain a marriage certificate from the Manitoba Vital Statistics Branch has left a Winnipeg woman questioning whether her nuptials were ever legally registered.

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Yesterday at 6:02 PM CDT

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

On at least eight occasions, Brandy Kowal says she has tried to get help from Vital Statistics by phone or email.

Consultant delivers dozens of ideas for areas inside 11 city-owned golf properties

Joyanne Pursaga 4 minute read Preview

Consultant delivers dozens of ideas for areas inside 11 city-owned golf properties

Joyanne Pursaga 4 minute read Yesterday at 6:45 PM CDT

A long-awaited consultant’s study on repurposing up to 30 per cent of Winnipeg-owned golf lands lists dozens of “opportunities” to use the sites in new ways, including a controversial call to lease or sell John Blumberg Golf Course.

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Yesterday at 6:45 PM CDT

GABRIELLE PICHÉ / CANSTAR FILES

Among the most significant and controversial options, is a suggestion that the city could give up ownership of Blumberg, a 200-acre city-owned golf course located in the Rural Municipality of Headingley.

Canstar Community News Headingley was unsuccessful in its bid for John Blumberg Golf Course. (GABRIELLE PICHÉ/CANSTAR COMMUNITY NEWS/HEADLINER)

Jets bust out big-time

Mike McIntyre 6 minute read Preview

Jets bust out big-time

Mike McIntyre 6 minute read Updated: 9:03 AM CDT

And all was right in the Winnipeg Jets world. For at least one night, anyways.

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Updated: 9:03 AM CDT

Winnipeg Jets’ Mark Scheifele (55) celebrates his goal against Detroit Red Wings goaltender Magnus Hellberg (45) during the first period. (The Canadian Press / John Woods)

Killer tells judge he ‘will always love’ woman he stabbed to death in 2020

Dean Pritchard 4 minute read Preview

Killer tells judge he ‘will always love’ woman he stabbed to death in 2020

Dean Pritchard 4 minute read Yesterday at 4:40 PM CDT

As he faces a life sentence in prison, Phoenix Maytwayashing said he “will always love” the woman he killed after she rebuffed his efforts to reconcile.

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Yesterday at 4:40 PM CDT

Monica Chippeway, 35, died inside her Lake Manitoba home following a frenzied knife attack witnessed by her young daughter. (Facebook)

Siloam Mission lifts sobriety rule to access services

Carol Sanders and Tyler Searle 5 minute read Preview

Siloam Mission lifts sobriety rule to access services

Carol Sanders and Tyler Searle 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 8:41 PM CDT

Winnipeggers who use shelters have lauded one of the city’s largest such facilities for scrapping the requirement that users be sober.

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Updated: Yesterday at 8:41 PM CDT

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES

Siloam Mission has lifted its sobriety requirement.

Province tabs new $7.5M for Winnipeg road repair

Joyanne Pursaga 2 minute read Preview

Province tabs new $7.5M for Winnipeg road repair

Joyanne Pursaga 2 minute read Yesterday at 4:13 PM CDT

As Winnipeg drivers navigate streets cracked up by seasonal potholes, the province is once again promising millions of dollars in road repair assistance.

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Yesterday at 4:13 PM CDT

As of Friday, the city has already filled 17,683 potholes in 2023, according to public works data. (Mike Sudoma / Winnipeg Free Press files)

Einarson attacked online by angry trolls

Taylor Allen 6 minute read Preview

Einarson attacked online by angry trolls

Taylor Allen 6 minute read Updated: 9:10 AM CDT

It’s every athlete’s dream to one day represent their country on the world stage.

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Updated: 9:10 AM CDT

Kerri Einarson represented Canada at the World Women’s Curling Championship last week in Sandviken, Sweden, with teammates Val Sweeting, Shannon Birchard and Briane Harris.

Ottawa promises it’s ready for influx of passport renewals

Katie May 2 minute read Preview

Ottawa promises it’s ready for influx of passport renewals

Katie May 2 minute read Yesterday at 6:41 PM CDT

The federal government plans to keep the extra service centres it set up to clear the pandemic backlog as it prepares for an influx of passport renewals this summer.

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Yesterday at 6:41 PM CDT

Ron Pradinuk/Winnipeg Free Press Files

The government extended hours at Service Canada passport offices and added 20 sites across the country to clear up passport application and renewal backlogs.

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