News briefs for Monday, May 15, 2023

Police presence in Birds Hill park

8:54 AM

RCMP officers were stationed at entrances and exits to Birds Hill Provincial Park as they searched for suspects Sunday.

Three suspects abandoned a stolen vehicle in the park and then fled on foot, RCMP said in a news release.

People were allowed to enter and exit the park northeast of Winnipeg as normal. RCMP advised people in the park to keep their vehicles locked.

Two people were found and arrested, but police continued to search for a third suspect late Sunday afternoon.

Electrical lines spark grass fire

8:55 AM

Crews extinguished a grass fire sparked by arcing electrical lines on Sunday.

Firefighters were sent to the scene near Terracon Place at about 12:34 p.m. and declared it extinguished an hour later. 

Manitoba Hydro workers were on scene to repair damaged equipment, the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said Sunday night. A nearby rail line was briefly closed as crews battled the blaze.

Man facing charges in Grant Park incident

9:09 AM

A man is facing charges after he allegedly brandished a gun near Grant Avenue and Nathaniel Street on Friday afternoon.

Police received multiple calls about the incident at about 1 p.m. Friday. Officers, with the help of some people who had seen the man, found a suspect and arrested him after “a brief use-of-force encounter.”

Officers recovered an imitation gun and three counterfeit $100 bills.

Police said the suspect had attended a nearby restaurant parking lot, where he threatened a 16-year-old with the fake weapon before walking away.

Nearby Grant Park High School locked its doors during the incident, the Winnipeg Police Service said.

Tyrone Tijani-Mazur, 32, of Winnipeg, is charged with multiple offences.

Robertson leads 2023 Manitoba Book Award finalists

11:16 AM

Finalists for the 2023 Manitoba Book Awards were announced Monday morning, with prolific Winnipeg author David A. Robertson landing five nominations for three different books.

The awards, whose winners will be revealed mid-June, honour Manitoba authors, publishers and designers in a range of categories.

Robertson is a finalist for the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award and the Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction for his adult novel The Theory of Crows, while he also got nods for his graphic novel Version Control (illustrated by Scott B. Henderson) and middle-grade novel The Stone Child: The Misewa Saga, Book Three.

The five books that made the short list for the top prize, the McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award, are Flyway by Sarah Ens, The Full Catastrophe by Méira Cook, How the World Really Works: The Science Behind How We Got Here and Where We’re Going by Vaclav Smil, Malleable Forms by Meeka Walsh and Shelterbelts by Jonathan Dyck.

For a complete list of finalists and categories, see manitobabookawards.ca.

Barbecue sparks explosion in St. Vital

12:12 PM

An explosion in St. Vital on Sunday evening involved a propane barbecue.

Fire crews were sent to a two-storey house on Arden Avenue at 6:36 p.m. and saw heavy smoke and flames on the deck at the rear of the house.

Crews extinguished the fire before it spread to the house.

No one was injured, the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said in a news release Monday.

Vacant house on Logan Avenue burns

12:13 PM

Crews extinguished a fire in a vacant house on Logan Avenue early Monday.

Firefighters were sent to the one-and-a-half-storey house in the 1500 block of Logan at 1:13 a.m. and declared the fire under control at 1:32 a.m.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

RCMP officers cleared by watchdog in man’s death

1:37 PM

RCMP officers did not contribute to the death of a man who shot himself during an attempted arrest in a remote community, Manitoba’s police watchdog has concluded.

The assault suspect immediately fired the weapon when police arrived and ordered him to drop the gun outside a home in Tadoule Lake on Jan. 28, 2022, according to the Independent Investigation Unit.

The IIU’s civilian director has closed the investigation.

Shone running for Tories in Fort Garry

3:06 PM

Former mayoral candidate Rick Shone is running for the Tories in Fort Garry.

Elections Manitoba lists Shone as the Progressive Conservative nominee for the Fort Garry riding currently held by NDP MLA Mark Wasyliw.

Shone came in eighth of 11 mayoral candidates in Octobers municipal election.

Kathleen Cook was recently nominated for the PCs in the Roblin riding Cook has worked within the provincial government and in the mayors office. The riding representing Charleswood and Headingley was held by Myrna Driedger who is not running for re-election.

The contested PC nomination meeting for the Morden-Winkler riding formerly held by Cameron Friesen was to be held Monday night.

Four people are seeking the nomination Carrie Hiebert Josh Okello Liz Reimer and Zehid Zehri, the PC caucus confirmed.

Man charged after woman abducted on highway: RCMP

3:21 PM

RCMP have charged a 34-year-old man who is accused in the random kidnapping of a woman on Highway 10 near The Pas on Friday.

Police said the 24-year-old was rescued at a cabin on the Red Deer River, about 135 kilometres south of The Pas, just over an hour after officers were notified.

Armand Thrones was charged with sexual assault, forcible confinement, assault while choking, uttering threats and failing to comply with an undertaking.

Redwood Bridge closed

5:20 PM

The Redwood Bridge is closed to traffic, and police are asking drivers and pedestrians to find another route.

Police haven’t yet released any details about the reason for the closure, but have cautioned people to avoid the area.

“The Redwood Bridge is currently closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic, please find an alternate route at this time,” the Winnipeg Police Service tweeted at 5:10 p.m. Monday.

Redwood Bridge reopened

6:21 PM

The Redwood Bridge has reopened after being closed to traffic Monday afternoon.

The Winnipeg Police Service posted an update on Twitter about 40 minutes after posting the bridge was closed. No details about the reason for the closure have been released, and police have not yet responded to a request for more information.

“The Harry Lazerenko Bridge (Redwood Bridge) has reopened to vehicle and pedestrian traffic,” the WPS tweeted at 5:52 p.m.