News briefs for Friday, March 3, 2023

Winnipeg figure skaters place sixth at worlds

8:11 AM

The Winnipeg pair of Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov placed sixth in their world junior figure skating championship debut.

Kemp and Elizarov, who performed their free skate in Calgary on Thursday night, finished with an overall score of 149.03, a personal best by almost 20 points.

They were sitting in fifth place after Wednesday’s short program.

“It’s mixed emotions for us,’’ Kemp told reporters. ‘’There were some things we were working on that [we] could have done better. We were a bit surprised with the score but really happy about it.’’

Sophia Baram and Daniel Tioumentsev of the U.S. won the gold medal in pairs with 184.47 points, followed by Anastasia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos Moore of Australia in second at 170.36, and Violetta Sierova and Ivan Khobta of Ukraine in third at 159.39.

Four men assaulted downtown in random attack

9:31 AM

Four men were assaulted — one knocked unconscious — in a random attack by a lone male downtown.

Winnipeg police said on Friday three of the victims, between 19 and 23, received minor injuries in the upper body while a 20-year-old was taken to hospital after being rendered unconscious and losing a tooth. All were allegedly attacked around Fort street and Graham Avenue on Wednesday at about 2:50 p.m.

The suspect fled on foot, but officers were able to follow and arrest him at Main Street and St. Mary Avenue.

The police investigation has determined the suspect randomly attacked victims he didn’t know.

A 22-year-old man is facing a charge of assault causing bodily harm and three charges of assault. He was released on an undertaking.

Reduced speed pilot in some neighbourhood starts tomorrow

10:46 AM

Drivers beware: the city is beginning its reduced speed pilot project in certain neighbourhoods starting Saturday.

The city said on Friday the pilot project will see street limits in Bourkevale and Tyndall Park South drop to 30 km/h while Richmond West goes to 40 km/h starting March 4 and 5.

These neighbourhoods will be followed on March 11 and 12 by streets in Worthington being reduced to 40 km/h.

The pilot project, which is running for a year, is to see if it changes how fast motorists drive and if it improves neighbourhood livability and quality of life for residents.

Depending on the results, it could lead to reduced residential street speed limits across the city.

The city has notified residents in the areas about the planned changes.

South Indian Lake woman dies after 12 hours stuck in cold

11:34 AM

A South Indian Lake woman is dead after being out in the elements for 12 hours when a snowmobile became stuck.

South Indian Lake RCMP said on Friday the woman was rescued by two community members, but she was found unresponsive when they arrived at a residence on March 1 at about 3:30 a.m.

She was pronounced dead at the community’s nursing station.

RCMP said the woman and a 31-year-old man were riding the snowmobile to a cabin on Feb. 28 in the afternoon when it became stuck about 16 kilometres away from South Indian Lake.

The woman stayed with the machine and the man spent several hours walking back, getting to the community at about 1:30 a.m., before heading back to the woman with another man on a snowmobile.

Environment Canada reported overnight temperatures at the community, located about 80 kilometres north of Thompson, dropped to -34 C.

RCMP said an autopsy will be done as they continue to investigate.

Jets acquire Namestnikov from Sharks

11:36 AM

The Winnipeg Jets have made their first move of NHL trade deadline day, acquiring forward Vladislav Namestnikov from the San Jose Sharks for a fourth-round pick in 2025.

Namestnikov, a 30-year-old centre that has six goals and nine assists for 15 points in 57 games this season, was traded to the Sharks from Tampa Bay just two days ago, with the Lightning covering half of his US$2.5-million cap hit for this season. Namestnikov is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

The Jets have around US$3.4 million in cap space remaining.

Assault victim dies, man now charged with manslaughter

12:35 PM

An aggravated assault charge has been raised to manslaughter after a victim died four days after being assaulted in Tataskweyak Cree Nation.

Thompson Rural RCMP said on Friday a 45-year-old man died on Feb. 28.

RCMP said Darwin Beardy, 42, was re-arrested and charged with manslaughter. Beardy had been charged with aggravated assault.

RCMP said the pair were in a fight on Feb. 24 at about 5:30 a.m., but officers only found out about it about 28 hours later when the victim was found in the room he had returned to in a housing complex.

The man was rushed to the nursing station and later taken by air ambulance to a Winnipeg hospital in critical condition.

Beardy has been remanded in custody.

Sanders golden in Games’ compound archery

12:42 PM

Chyler Sanders earned her first medal of the 2023 Canada Winter Games Friday.

The 18-year-old Winnipeg product captured gold in archery’s compound individual female event at the Eastlink Centre in P.E.I., beating Ontario’s Abby Bunn 144-139 in the final.

Manitoba followed up that medal with a bronze from Winnipeg’s Ryan Cherniak in archery’s compound individual male event.

Man killed in collision on Perimeter Highway

1:58 PM

A 20-year-old man has died after colliding with a semi-trailer making a legal turn off the Perimeter Highway.

RCMP said on Friday the two vehicle collision occurred on Wednesday when a vehicle being driven south on the Perimeter by the 20-year-old collided with a northbound truck turning left onto Hwy 3 on Wednesday at about 10:45 p.m.

There is a left turn signal light at the intersection.

The 20-year-old, who was not wearing his seatbelt, was rushed to hospital where he died of his injuries.

The 38-year-old truck driver was not injured.

RCMP are continuing to investigate.

Xiao, Lau win gold in pairs

2:47 PM

Manitoba’s Julia Xiao and Keith Lau struck Canada Winter Games gold in figure skating pairs pre-novice mix event today at the Eliyahu Wellness Centre.

With the pair’s first-place finish, their cumulative score of 105.53 is a Canadian record for this event. In the short program, they scored 39.31 and in the free program, they scored 66.22.

COVID hospitalizations increasing

2:55 PM

COVID-19 hospitalizations, intensive-care admissions and deaths increased in Manitoba last week.

Transmission of the virus appears to be on the rise, according to the latest respiratory virus report from the provincial government published today.

There were 124 lab-confirmed COVID cases for the week of Feb. 19 to 25, compared with 90 cases the previous week. There were 56 COVID hospitalizations and nine ICU admissions, up from 36 and three the previous week. Three COVID deaths were recorded last week, and a total of four deaths were retroactively added to the province’s death toll.

Very low levels of influenza were recorded; the flu caused no hospitalizations or deaths last week. Detected cases of respiratory syncytial virus remain steady, with a 5.7 per cent average weekly test positivity rate, compared with five per cent the previous week.

Man slain at Lake St. Martin First Nation

3:15 PM

RCMP are investigating a homicide after a 34-year-old man died at the Lake St. Martin First Nation on Thursday.

Gypsumville RCMP said on Friday the man was pronounced dead inside a residence on the reserve at about 6:20 p.m.

RCMP are continuing to investigate and no arrest has been announced.