Crews respond to train derailment

Emergency officials are on the scene of a train derailment in south-central Winnipeg after nine rail cars came off the tracks early Sunday morning.

CN Rail said there are “no reported dangerous goods, fires, injuries or leaks, nor is there any threat to public safety,” in a statement from spokeswoman Ashley Michnowski.

The derailment happened at about 3 a.m. Sunday, and as of early afternoon, CN crews and first responders were on scene. The cause of the derailment is still under investigation and there was no word on any injuries. Preliminary reports to CN indicated nine train cars derailed, leaving eight on their side and one upright, Michnowski said.

“CN would like to apologize for the inconveniences caused by this incident. More information will be provided as it becomes available,” she said.

Students tasked with designing shelter for homeless

Concerned about the state of empathy at her suburban high school, a St. Vital teacher has tasked teens with designing transitional homes for their unsheltered neighbours.

Collège Jeanne-Sauvé made headlines in September when a student was involved in an altercation with a man living in nearby Dakota Forest.

Winnipeg police and the Louis Riel School Division reported at the time the man came out of a tent and chased after a group of students, injuring one. Allegations the teenagers provoked the man by hurling insults and items at the man’s tent were also reported.

The Sept. 9 incident — as well as the gossip in its aftermath — led Kay Wojnarski to reach out to End Homelessness Winnipeg for advice.

Brandon teen sentenced for role in attack on mall worker

A 17-year-old Brandon girl has been sentenced to two years of supervised probation for her involvement in a group beating and robbery at a downtown mall.

“She wasn’t on the sidelines, she wasn’t someone who threw just one punch or one kick — she was fully, actively engaged in the attack,” Judge Shuana Hewitt-Michta said in Brandon provincial court on Tuesday.

The girl, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, previously pleaded guilty to the charge of robbery.

Surveillance cameras captured the teen, along with three co-accused, punch and kick the victim inside The Town Centre mall on March 1, Crown attorney Rich Lonstrup said.

Teen boy facing theft, weapons charges after car rams into Winnipeg transit bus

WINNIPEG - A teen boy in Winnipeg is facing over a dozen charges after a vehicle was stolen and a city transit bus was rammed.

Police say the 16-year-old's charges include vehicle theft, dangerous driving and possessing a prohibited or restricted firearm.

The charges come after officers in Winnipeg's north end tried to stop a 2014 Mazda 3 GT on Friday, but the driver sped off.

Investigators say the vehicle drove through a stop sign just a few blocks away and plowed into the side of a transit bus, but nobody was injured.

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Delay in construction prompts lawsuit against city, consulting firm

A contractor is suing the City of Winnipeg and a consulting company in relation to the permitting process that it claims delayed construction of a townhouse complex in the Prairie Point neighbourhood.

Prairie Point Inc. contractors filed a statement of claim in the Court of King’s Bench on Dec. 19, naming the City of Winnipeg and Affinity Architecture as defendants.

The lawsuit alleges the city issued permits for the residential complex and underground parking lot, but later claimed the project violated Manitoba’s building codes.

Prairie Point, which claims it suffered a financial loss, seeks unspecified general, special damages and $750 in costs from the city and Affinity Architecture because of delays and incurred costs to address the violations.

Dog ‘game-changer’ for police child exploitation unit

When Winnipeg police internet child exploitation investigators searched an Osborne Village home this month, they had help from a specially trained Labrador retriever named Willow.