News briefs for Thursday, April 13, 2023

Bombers post $4.9M operating profit in 2022

10:03 AM

It was another solid year on and off the field for the local CFL team, as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers announced Thursday an operating profit of $4.9 million in 2022.

“We are extremely proud of our overall financial results for 2022,” said Winnipeg Football Club President and CEO Wade Miller, in a statement released by the club. “These results are a testament to the unwavering support of our season ticket members, corporate partners, and fans.”

The Bombers generated $45.4 million in revenue over the year, which marked an increase in $12.5 million from 2021, much of that increase having to do with the fact Winnipeg was unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022 and were able to play a full regular season. The Bombers also ranked first in attendance last season, leading to a strong take at the gate, totalling $13.8 million.

Total operating costs came in at $40.5 million, marking an increase of $9.8 million from the previous year. Overall football operations expenses reached $13.3 million.

Valour FC, the city’s local pro football team, generated losses of $950,000.

John W. Dafoe Book Prize announces five-book short list

11:27 AM

A book detailing the bumpy path to reconciliation between the town of Rossburn and the Waywayseecappo First Nation is among the five-book short list for the $12,000 John W. Dafoe Book Prize.

Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, a White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation by Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson is in contention for the prize along with Canadian Spy Story: Irish Revolutionaries and the Secret Police by David A. Wilson; Woman, Watching: Louise de Kiriline Lawrence and the Songbirds of Pimisi Bay by Merilyn Simonds; Jackson’s Wars: A.Y. Jackson, the Birth of the Group of Seven, and the Great War by Douglas Hunter; and I Will Live for Both of Us: A History of Colonialism, Uranium Mining, and Inuit Resistance, by Joan Scottie, Warren Bernauer and Jack Hicks, which was published by University of Manitoba Press.

The winner of the prize will be announced in late April, and the winner will be invited to give a talk in Winnipeg in the fall.

Good Samaritans carjacked in St. Theresa Point: RCMP

11:38 AM

A group of Good Samaritans who stopped to help free a vehicle stuck in the snow were carjacked and robbed in St. Theresa Point First Nation Saturday.

Island Lake RCMP were called to the carjacking at about 1:40 p.m. The Mounties were told the 20-year-old driver had been pulled from the vehicle, assaulted with a knife and an electro-shock weapon, before the assailants got in his pick-up truck and sped off with two female victims, 18 and 21, still inside.

The driver was taken to the local nursing station, while the two uninjured women were let out of the stolen truck a short time later.

RCMP have arrested two men and a woman from the First Nation. The trio, who have been remanded into custody, have been charged with kidnapping, robbery, assault with a weapon, uttering threats and other weapons offences.

Jets to sit several key players against Avs

11:50 AM

DENVER — The Winnipeg Jets will ice a significantly different lineup when they play the Colorado Avalanche in the regular-season finale tonight.

Having already clinched a playoff spot with a 3-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday, the Jets have opted to sit forwards Mark Scheifele, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Nikolaj Ehlers and Blake Wheeler, along with defencemen Josh Morrissey and Nate Schmidt.

Connor Hellebuyck will also get the night off, making way for David Rittich to get his first start in net since a 5-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes back on Mar. 14.

Dominic Toninato has been recalled from the Manitoba Moose and will dress against the Avs.

Body found in Steinbach believed to be missing man

12:20 PM

A body found near a home in Steinbach is believed to be that of a 29-year-old man who went missing in November, according to family and RCMP.

Ryan Maynard was last seen in Steinbach, about 50 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg, on Nov. 20.

RCMP said the body was discovered off Hespeler Street at about 6 p.m. Wednesday.

The person has not been positively identified. The results of an autopsy are pending.

Two arrests after man shot, cut in Furby Street suite

12:28 PM

A 38-year-old man was shot and cut with a blade after a dispute in a Furby Street suite Tuesday evening.

Winnipeg police said officers on patrol were approached by the injured man on the 500 block of the Spence neighbourhood street at about 5:30 p.m. He had been shot in the lower body and cut in the upper body, police said.

Officers gave him medical care before paramedics took him to hospital in critical condition, where he’s since been stabilized. Police think the man had been visiting a home on the street, where an argument escalated into a woman shooting the victim before a man assaulted him with a bladed weapon.

Major crimes police arrested a 22-year-old woman and a 28-year-old man, who have been held in custody and charged with multiple weapons offences.

Police investigating after boy offered candy by stranger in Elmwood

1:22 PM

Winnipeg police are investigating after a boy was offered candy by a stranger while walking to school in Elmwood Wednesday afternoon.

Police said the 10 year old was walking in the area of Watt Street and Thames Avenue at about 12:30 p.m., when a vehicle pulled up next to him. A stranger got out and asked if he wanted candy and he declined, according to police. The stranger then offered him candy a second time, prompting the boy to run.

Police said the boy reported the incident to his school, which notified parents.

Police said the stranger was a tall, white man with a thin build. He was wearing a black sweater with a written “Zoo York” logo on the side, grey pants and red-and-yellow shoes. The vehicle was a small, dark blue sedan.

Child abuse investigators ask anyone with information, including home surveillance tape, to call 204-986-3296 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204-786-8477.

Forecasters issue overland flood watch ahead of rain and snow

3:00 PM

Provincial forecasters have issued an overland flood watch for east Manitoba, including Winnipeg, and areas east of Highway 75.

Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure’s flood forecast centre said the recent warm temperatures have started the spring thaw and surface run-off in most of the southern and central parts of the province.

The areas under the flood watch, which will be in place from midnight Friday to noon Saturday, could see up to 20 millimetres of rain and snow Friday. That precipitation would fall on already extremely saturated and partially frozen ground, creating flooding, forecasters said.

The overall flood forecast remains consistent with the March outlook, which suggested a major flood risk for the Red River between Emerson and the floodway.

Tataskweyak Cree Nation man found with serious injuries in Thompson

3:22 PM

Thompson RCMP are asking for help investigating a “serious incident” in which a 32-year-old man was found with life-threatening injuries in the northern city earlier this month.

RCMP said officers were called to the parking lot of a business on Station Road in Thompson at about 10:10 p.m. on April 5, where the man, from Tataskweyak Cree Nation was found unresponsive. He was taken to hospital, where he’s still in critical but stable condition.

Mounties ask anyone with information about the incident to call the Thompson detachment at 204-677-6909 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.