News briefs for Tuesday, October 14, 2025

Airspace to be restricted for RCMP drone exercise 

3:59 PM

Airspace will be temporarily restricted along a section of southern Manitoba more than 225 kilometres in length as part of an RCMP trial exercise starting Wednesday.

The area extends about 10 km northward from the U.S. border, between the Tolstoi border crossing on Highway 59 to the east and the International Peace Garden to the west. The exercise will end Oct. 25.

Restricting the airspace will allow Mounties to safely test a variety of drone systems as part of an “ongoing commitment to strengthen border security and advance effectiveness,” a Tuesday news release said.

RCMP announced a similar corridor, which extends from the ground to about 150 metres up and extends 1.85 km northward from the border, in August. That corridor is being trialed in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta to enhance security along the border.

Three women held against their will in Moose Lake

2:30 PM

Two women have been charged with forcible confinement and assault after an incident in Moose Lake.

A 29-year-old woman called RCMP at 8:10 a.m. Saturday and said she had been held against her will at a nearby home. Two other women, ages 27 and 24, were also detained, searched and assaulted before all three were allowed to leave, the woman said.

Officers were told the home’s occupants accused the women of stealing money.

The victims noticed machetes, bear spray and a sawed-off shotgun inside the home, RCMP said in a news release Tuesday.

A search warrant had already been drafted for the home because of an unrelated matter. Mounties raided the residence and seized weapons, cash, ammunition and drug-related paraphernalia, the release said.

Police arrested nine adults and released five of them without being charged. Two women, ages 31 and 28, are charged in the incident.

A 33-year-old man was arrested on several outstanding warrants and also charged with resisting arrest. The three accused were remanded into custody.

A 40-year-old man faces a charge of possession of property obtained by crime and was  released on an undertaking.

$72.5M for French education in Manitoba

2:07 PM

Ottawa is providing $72.5 million over four years for French education in Manitoba.

St. Boniface-St. Vital MP Ginette Lavack and Renée Cable, the provincial minister of advanced education and training, signed a bilateral agreement on francophone and French immersion funding at a media event Tuesday.

The federal funds will be used from the preschool to post-secondary level through the 2027-28 school year. The province will also provide funding, but a federal news release did not state that amount.

In February, Ottawa announced the signing of a $1.4-billion protocol for agreements with provinces and territories on minority-language education and second-language instruction.

Gerald Friesen wins 2025 J.W. Dafoe Book Prize

12:50 PM

Winnipeg author and historian Gerald Friesen has won the 2025 J.W. Dafoe Book Prize for his biography The Honourable John Norquay: Indigenous Premier, Canadian Statesman.

Published by University of Manitoba Press in April 2024, Friesen’s book chronicles the life of Manitoba’s first Indigenous premier, who served from 1879-88, and the impact he had on the province at a pivotal time of growth. Friesen spent 10 years pulling together the 600-plus page book — Norquay left many documents from his 19 years in office, but little had been known about the rest of his life, which saw him die suddenly in 1889 at age 48.

The J.W. Dafoe Book Prize is named after former Manitoba Free Press/Winnipeg Free Press editor John Wesley Dafoe, and is awarded to the best book on Canada, Canadians, and/or Canada’s place in the world published in the previous calendar year. The award is worth $12,000 and will be presented to Friesen at an event later this fall.

Girl, 12, missing since Oct. 6

11:52 AM

The Winnipeg Police Service is asking for the public’s help in finding a missing girl.

Bella Cook, 12, was last seen in the Deer Lodge area of Winnipeg at about 10 p.m. on Oct. 6.

She is described as 5-6 in height, with a thin build, brown hair and brown eyes. Bella was last seen wearing a grey sweater, a pink tank top, grey sweatpants and black-and-green runners. She had a black backpack.

The WPS asked anyone with information regarding Bella’s whereabouts to call its missing persons unit at 204-986-6250 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204-786-8477 (TIPS).

Man shot, robbed at online sale meetup

10:59 AM

A man in his 30s remained in hospital Tuesday after he was robbed and shot at a meeting to sell an item he had posted online.

Police were sent to the 600 block of Maryland Street at about 2 p.m. Saturday.

The victim was taken to hospital in critical condition with life-altering injuries. He has since been upgraded to stable condition, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release.

Police released two images of the man, who was described as a tall Black man with some braided hair, wearing all black clothing.

The WPS asked anyone with information that might help investigators to contact its major crimes unit at 204-986-6219, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204-786-8477 (TIPS) or online.

Police encourage people to meet at exchange zones located at WPS stations when meeting people to buy or sell items posted on online sales platforms.

Work continues on Wildewood Golf Course clubhouse

10:48 AM

The construction of a new clubhouse at Wildewood Golf Course is set to be completed this spring.

The City of Winnipeg is contributing a capital grant of $1 million for construction of the 2,300-square-foot building. The Wildewood club leases the course from the city and has led planning and fundraising for the building.

Work on the project began in late July. The building will feature a full-service restaurant, an outdoor patio facing the ninth fairway and a full pro shop.

The city and the club held a media event Tuesday celebrating the construction.

All four of the courses the city owns and operates are currently still open.

Three charged in Wuskwi Sipihk First Nation assault

10:37 AM

Three males are facing charges after a man was assaulted in Wuskwi Sipihk First Nation earlier this month.

Swan River RCMP were sent to a property at about 2 a.m. on Oct. 2 and found the 53-year-old victim on a nearby roadway. He remained in critical condition as of Oct. 8.

A 16-year-old Dauphin resident turned himself in to Swan River RCMP on Oct. 3 and was released on an undertaking. Mountie arrested a 14-year-old boy and an 18-year-old man, both from Swan River, Thursday. Both were remanded into custody.

All three males are facing a charge of aggravated assault. RCMP did not provide an update on the victim’s condition in a news release Tuesday.

Vehicle parked on Lee Boulevard hit by gunfire

10:13 AM

Police are investigating after a parked vehicle was hit by a gunshot Monday.

Officers were sent to the 1200 block of Lee Boulevard in the Fairfield Park neighbourhood shortly before 5 a.m.

No injuries or other damage was reported.

On Tuesday, the Winnipeg Police Service asked anyone with relevant video or information to contact its major crimes unit at 204-986-6219, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204-786-8477 (TIPS) or online.

Man living in Centennial homeless camp threw water bottle at child: Winnipeg police

9:57 AM

A homeless man has been charged after he allegedly threw a water bottle at a child playing next to a park, then chased the boy while screaming at him.

The incident happened as a group of children was passing the park, where an encampment was set up, at the southwest corner of Pacific Avenue and Ellen Street at about 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 8. The man chased the boy “down the street,” the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release Tuesday.

The kids ran to safety. A parent took a picture of the suspect and contacted police.

Officers arrested a 27-year-old man at the encampment in the city’s Centennial neighbourhood. He was charged with assault with a weapon and detained in custody.