News briefs for Monday, February 9, 2026

Euclid Avenue church ordered repaired or demolished

2:12 PM

A city order to repair or tear down a fire-gutted, vacant former church has been upheld.

Peter Sanderson, a director with Southern Manitoba Urban Properties, which owns the building, appealed to stop the order. He argued the land at the former Holy Ascension Greek Orthodox Church at 197 Euclid Ave. could become part of a larger project to construct affordable housing in the future.

He said his group hoped to buy more surrounding lots to fulfill that vision.

On Monday, council’s property and development committee cast a final vote to reject the appeal and uphold the city order to repair or demolish the building by Feb. 28.

“We now have a burnt-out building that has serious structural integrity issues with it that needs to be removed,” said Coun. Evan Duncan (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood).

At one point during the appeal hearing, Sanderson offered up a key to the property, suggesting the city could take it over.

Duncan said that option could be considered if the owner completes a formal offer to transfer the property through the municipal government’s real estate division.

Widespread power outages strike western Manitoba: Hydro

1:43 PM

Manitoba Hydro workers scrambled to restore power to hundreds of customers Monday, after frost and rain caused widespread outages in the Westman region.

In a statement online, Hydro said about 1,400 customers remained without power as of 10 a.m. Most of those affected were located north west of Brandon, between Riding Mountain National Park and the Saskatchewan border.

“Crews are in your communities working as quickly as possible to safely restore power. We’re dealing with a number of scattered outages, so we’re continuing to work through the largest outages first,” Hydro said.

“We appreciate your patience — progress will depend on factors like damage and weather conditions.”

The statement attributed the outage to damage caused by frost and rain that fell in the region.

Man charged after shots fired near trailer park

1:11 PM

A 32-year-old man is under arrest after shots were fired Thursday near a trailer park in the Rural Municipality of Kelsey.

RCMP from The Pas were sent to the area shortly before 11 a.m. and determined a “long-arm firearm” had been fired near an individual working in the area, a news release stated Monday.

Mounties and officers with the Manitoba First Nation Police Service conducted a building-to-building search until the suspect was located leaving one of the buildings. A firearm was recovered from inside.

The Opaskwayak Cree Nation man faces numerous charges including using a firearm in the commission of an offence and possession of a firearm when unauthorized.

He was remanded into custody.

Accused kidnapper remains in custody after charges approved

12:05 PM

A man accused of kidnapping a woman, sparking an RCMP manhunt in Pimicikamak Cree Nation, has been formally charged and remains in custody following his arrest on Friday.

Albert Allan Joshua McKay, also known as Joshua Paupanekis, was scheduled to appear in court in Thompson Monday. The 39-year-old is charged with kidnapping and two counts each of assault with a weapon and failing to comply with an undertaking, Manitoba RCMP said in an update.

He is accused of kidnapping Raeanne Thomas, 20, last Thursday, prompting police to issue a widespread emergency alert. Police allege he entered a home and struck a 24-year-old man with a hammer before abducting Thomas.

Mounties from Saskatchewan and Manitoba responded to the northern First Nation that day, and searched for McKay for more than 24 hours.

He was located inside a vacant property in Pimicikamak and arrested without incident. Thomas suffered minor injuries during the incident. She was treated and released, RCMP said.

The investigation ongoing, police said.

Punjabi star Diljit Dosanjh headlining arena in May

12:03 PM

Global Punjabi superstar Diljit Dosanjh is bringing his Aura World Tour to Canada Life Centre on May 7.

This tour comes after the record-breaking 2024 Dil-Luminati Tour, which saw the musician/actor making history as the first Punjabi artist to headline and sell out stadiums across Australia.

His music — which includes such hits as G.O.A.T., Lover and Proper Patola, not only attracts the Asian diaspora worldwide but has drawn the attention of international music icons like Diplo and Sia.

Tickets (prices TBA) go on sale Thursday, Feb. 12, at 10 a.m. at livenation.com.

Man dies in highway rollover

10:49 AM

A 29-year-old man is dead after the vehicle he was driving rolled over in a ditch in western Manitoba.

Just after 7:45 a.m. on Saturday Portage la Prairie RCMP were called to a single-vehicle rollover on Tower Road in the RM of North Norfolk.

A passerby came upon the vehicle rolled over in the ditch. The victim was found outside of the vehicle and had died at the scene.

The cause of the crash is being investigated.

Online threat leads to closure of North End high school

10:12 AM

St. John’s High School was closed Monday morning “out of an abundance of caution” after an online threat was made towards the school, said Winnipeg School Division Superintendent Matt Henderson.

Henderson said the Winnipeg Police Service’s Major Crimes Unit is currently investigating the threat, adding that when a threat is made online it is often a “very quick process” for the police.

He said he is hopeful that the school can reopen later on Monday, but added they will only make that determination once the division has communicated further with the police department.

An advisory was posted to the school’s website Monday morning, announcing the closure, and saying that the school was closed due to “threat in the neighbourhood.” Henderson confirmed that the threat was directed at the school, not at the wider neighbourhood.

The school, which is located off Salter Street north of Mountain Avenue in the North End, runs from Grades 7-12.

One mother of a student who attends St. John’s, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said her child saw screenshots on social media showing the threats of violence.

The mother said she would be concerned to send her child back to school without more security protections within the school.