News briefs for Tuesday, June 2, 2026

New Transcona school to welcome 800 students

5:14 PM

Transcona’s new elementary school will have a bigger footprint than originally planned.

The kindergarten-to-Grade 8 building being built in Devonshire Park will have capacity for 800 students instead of 675, Education Minister Tracy Schmidt announced Tuesday.

Schmidt participated in an afternoon photo-op at 35 Private Davy Dr. — the future site of a 90,000-sq. ft. school — alongside officials from the River East Transcona School Division.

“This is the first new school our division has built since 1990 — yes, a clear reflection of the incredible growth we are seeing in our community,” school board chair Colleen Carswell told a news conference.

The English-language school, which will be equipped with an integrated, 134-space child-care centre, is anticipated to open in September 2027.

The other new schools are being built in Winnipeg’s Prairie Pointe community, the Meadowlands development in West St. Paul and Brandon.

Gun call triggers hold and secure at Gordon Bell

4:19 PM

Gordon Bell High School was put under a hold and secure as police responded to a report of a person with a gun in the area on Tuesday.

At around 11 a.m. police were called to Honeyman Avenue and Broadway after a call for a male youth “walking with what was believed to be a gun,” said Winnipeg Police Service Const. Claude Chancy, in an email.

Police notified officials at the nearby school at around 11:15 a.m. triggering safety protocols, said a letter sent to the school community.

Officers searched the area, but turned up nothing, determining there was no threat to public safety, said Chancy, with police giving the all clear at about 11:40 a.m.

Classes continued as normal at the school.

Police name Sargent Avenue homicide victim

3:57 PM

Police have named a man who was fatally stabbed at a Sargent Avenue apartment in May.

Forty-eight-year-old Darrell Kablalik, of Nunavut’s Rankin Inlet, was found with life-threatening injuries on May 24 at about 11 a.m. after police were called to a fight at 751 Sargent Avenue, said a news release from the Winnipeg Police Service Tuesday.

Residents at the apartment complex, a supported-living home for the men, told the Free Press last week they were left shaken by the incident, which took place as residents gathered for lunch.

Winnipeg police said in a previous release that 40-year-old Oluwatosin Akisanya has been charged with second-degree murder. He remains in custody.

Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detectives at 204-986-6508, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1 (800) 222-TIPS (8477), or by submitting it online at winnipegcrimestoppers.org.

Woman dead in motorcycle crash

2:26 PM

A 70-year-old woman is dead after a motorcycle collided with a vehicle on a highway near Garson on Sunday night.

Officers learned a motorcycle travelling east on Highway 44 collided with a vehicle travelling north on Provincial Road 212 at about 8:30 p.m.

A passenger on the motorcycle, a woman from the Rural Municipality of Brokenhead, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver, a 66-year-old man from the RM of Brokenhead, was airlifted to hospital by STARS air ambulance with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

The driver of the vehicle, a 19-year-old woman from Portage la Prairie, was not injured. She was taken to hospital as a precaution.

The investigation continues.

Mayor’s Luncheon for the Arts‘ winners announced

1:50 PM

Artists and arts administrators weren’t the only ones who filled the RBC Convention Centre today for the Mayor’s Luncheon for the Arts, hosted by the Winnipeg Arts Council (WAC).

Among the sea of chunky beaded necklaces, horn-rimmed glasses and other artsy attire were crisp suits worn by Winnipeg’s leading business and political figures, not least of all the event’s namesake, Mayor Scott Gillingham.

As it often does, the event opened with a dance — this time by Métis dancing trio Ivan Flett Memorial Dancers — and like last year Mayor Gillingham was coaxed to participate in the onstage spectacle. He hopped on one foot during the trio’s jig demonstration, before imploring the audience to rise to their feet and share in the moment.

Speeches were made by Gillingham and others, poems read over the clattering of cutlery, but the event’s highlight was the presentation of the 2026 WAC Awards.

Winner of the RBC on the Rise award, recognizing emerging artists, is painter Laura Lewis. Her monumental paintings — pastel-like, impressionistic, precise — of women and gender diverse subjects earned her a nomination by Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art and ultimately the highest mark in this category from WAC’s jurors.

Making A Mark award, recognizing mid-career artists, went to Grace Nickel. A ceramicist with a conceptual streak, Nickel — nominated by the Manitoba Craft Council — is considered a pillar of the local craft community while her work has exhibited in high places all
over Canada and Asia.

Gaile Petursson-Hiley, nominated by the School of Contemporary Dancers, took home the Making a Difference award, celebrating veteran artists. As a principal dancer with Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers, as founding director of Mouvement/Winnipeg Dance Projects and beyond — Petursson-Hiley has helped shape Winnipeg’s dance scene over five decades.

No provincial cases of hantavirus since 2016: Manitoba Health

1:23 PM

Public health officials are advising Manitobans that strains of the hantavirus present in this province are different from those linked to an outbreak on a Dutch-flagged cruise ship.

The strain of the virus present in Manitoba, known as Sin Nombre, spreads primarily through the inhalation of airborne particles present in dried rodent droppings, urine or saliva. It is not known to spread from person-to-person, and there have been no reported infections in the province since 2016, Manitoba Health said in a news release Tuesday.

The strain identified in the cruise ship outbreak originates in South America and is known as Andes virus. It is not found in Manitoba rodents and no known cases or contacts associated with the cruise have been identified in the province, the release said.

Three passengers died during an outbreak on the cruise ship, while others were infected or quarantined.

Canoeists assist in Assiniboine River rescue

12:59 PM

Good Samaritans canoeing on the Assiniboine River helped fire crews rescue a person trapped in the water Monday night.

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service deployed its water rescue team and a drone shortly before 7 p.m., after receiving reports that people needed help in the river near Augier Avenue, WFPS said in a news release Tuesday.

Crews located two people and used a throw ball and personal flotation devices to rescue one person. Bystanders in a canoe helped rescue the other person, WFPS said.

Paramedics assessed both people, but neither required hospitalization. It is unknown how the people came to be in the water, the release said.

WFPS urged the public to exercise caution around Winnipeg waterways, noting it responds to over 150 calls for help on water or ice annually. Anybody who enters the water or does activities near the shoreline should wear a life jacket and monitor water conditions.

Boy charged after video of dogs hit by axe surfaces

12:57 PM

A 12-year-old boy has been charged with animal cruelty after a video circulated of numerous dogs being struck with an axe.

At least one dog was killed in the “graphic video,” which was circulated in a youth group chat, Manitoba First Nations Police Service said in a news release Tuesday.

Police were able to identify the youth in the video and charged him, MFNPS said.

The boy, from Opaskwayak Cree Nation, was released on conditions ahead of a court date.

The investigation continues and more charges are expected, police said.

MFNPS asked anyone with information about the video or group chat to contact the OCN detachment at 204-623-8201, the anonymous tips line at 1-833-978-0048 or email tips@mfnp.ca.

Roblin man dead after highway collision with semi-truck

12:42 PM

One man is dead and another is seriously injured after a semi-truck collided with a van on a highway near Roblin on Monday afternoon.

Investigators believe a van was travelling northbound on Provincial Road 484 when it was struck by a semi-truck headed westbound on Road 153 North, shortly before 2 p.m., Manitoba RCMP said in a news release Tuesday.

The intersection is controlled by stop signs for eastbound and westbound traffic.

Responding officers found the semi-truck flipped over and blocking the road, while the van sustained significant damage, RCMP said.

The driver of the van, a 42-year-old man from Roblin, died at the scene. The semi-truck driver, a 31-year-old man from Roblin, was taken to hospital in serious but non-life-threatening condition, police said.

Mounties are investigating the cause of the collision.

Firefighter injured, hospitalized after Magnus Avenue blaze

12:23 PM

One firefighter was injured early Tuesday morning as crews battled a blaze in the Burrows Central neighbourhood.

Firefighters responded to a structure fire on the 800 block of Magnus Avenue shortly before 3:30 a.m. and encountered smoke coming from a home. They attacked the fire and declared it under control about 45 minutes later, the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said in a news release.

The firefighter suffered an injury during the response, and paramedics brought them to the hospital in stable condition. No other injuries were reported, WFPS said.

Crews also responded to a fire on the 200 block of Gull Lake Road just after 5 p.m. Monday. Firefighters declared that blaze under control by 5:50 p.m. No injuries were reported.

Both fires remain under investigation, WFPS said.

Body recovered near Grand Rapids hydro dam

11:37 AM

Human remains, believed to belong to a 23-year-old woman who fell through the ice in December, were recovered near Grand Rapids last week.

Community members from Misipawistik Cree Nation located the body of a woman near the south dike of a Manitoba Hydro dam on May 25, RCMP said in a news release Tuesday.

Crews from the Grand Rapids Fire Department were the first on scene and tentatively identified the remains as belonging to the missing woman, who was travelling in a truck that broke through the ice on Dec. 16, 2025.

An autopsy is pending and the woman’s next of kin have been notified, RCMP said.

In January, local searchers recovered a second body belonging to a 31-year-old man who was also in the truck when it went through the ice.