Former Oilers teammates square off for first time

Calvin Pickard has been many things to Stuart Skinner.

An ally, sounding board, confidante and most importantly, a close friend.

They were a goalie tandem for parts of three seasons with the Edmonton Oilers, making two trips to the Stanley Cup final, combining for 29 playoff wins, but falling just short of achieving the ultimate goal on both of those occasions.

They were opponents just once last season when the Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins met for the first time since the trade that shipped Skinner to Pennsylvania, but it was Tristan Jarry – the guy he was traded for – standing at the opposite side of the rink.

‘People count on this place’: Pembina Hwy. Giant Tiger latest location slated to close

Another Giant Tiger store in Winnipeg will shutter next year, leaving some area residents concerned about a lack of affordable groceries in the neighbourhood.

Red papers taped to the front doors of the Canadian retail chain’s location at Pembina Highway and Southpark Drive indicate it will close Feb. 27.

Doreen Yanchuk, a self-described bargain hunter, shook her head when she saw the signs Monday. The 67-year-old said she’s a regular customer at the location because it’s a five-minute drive from her home.

“They have very good sales here, which draws people to the shop because everything is expensive,” Yanchuk said.

Manitoba e-scooter legislation changes set to impose speed limit, age restrictions, sidewalk ban

People riding e-scooters and other personal electric vehicles in Manitoba will have to strap on a helmet, stay off sidewalks and follow new age limits once new provincial rules for the devices take effect next year.

The vehicles, which also include electric skateboards, hoverboards and unicycles, will fall under The Highway Traffic Act starting in 2027, according to the province’s website. E-bikes are excluded from the new rules, according to the province’s frequently-asked-questions page.

All riders must be at least 16 years old and wear properly fitting helmets — that goes for passengers, too, the province said.

The proposed new legislation sets a speed limit of 25 km/h and would prohibit personal electric vehicles from sidewalks unless signs specifically allow sidewalk use. Riders would be using shared paths or roads with speed limits of 50 km/hr or less. They won’t be allowed to operate the vehicles under the influence of alcohol or drugs and they must use hand signals and obey traffic signs.

Piece of magic history disappears

A piece of Winnipeg’s magic history has vanished, and internationally renowned escape artist Dean Gunnarson is offering a $500 reward to anyone who can make it reappear.

The plaque marked the birthplace of what has become the world’s largest organization of professional and amateur magicians, the International Brotherhood of Magicians, which was founded in Winnipeg more than a century ago.

Gunnarson said fellow magician and local magic historian Bruce Thompson discovered the disappearance Tuesday while on his way to work.

Thompson returned to inspect the site and found what appeared to be evidence it had been forcibly removed.

Brandon school expansion unveiled

The Manitoba government has spent more than $13 million to boost a Brandon school’s capacity by nearly two-thirds.

The expansion of Maryland Park School, which was completed for the start of the school year, adds more than 17,000 square feet of educational space and increases the school’s capacity from about 550 students to 900.

Education Minister Tracy Schmidt joined Brandon East MLA Glen Simard, school division officials, staff and students Friday afternoon for a ribbon-cutting ceremony officially opening the expansion.

“This is a two-storey addition, which includes 13 new classrooms, a new science room, student support spaces and much, much more,” Schmidt said. “This is not only going to give more space for the students that are here today and for the staff, but also so that we can continue to meet the growing needs of this growing, vibrant community.”

Chopped trees will leave a ‘blight’ on Windsor Park

Robert Gordon has watched the trees grow along a popular Windsor Park walking path for nearly six decades.

Now, as Manitoba Hydro cuts them down to protect nearby power lines, he says a familiar part of his childhood neighbourhood is disappearing.

Although he no longer lives in the area, Gordon regularly returns to walk or cycle along the tree-lined path, which runs parallel to Archibald Street.

He was concerned when he recently spotted crews clearing vegetation near the entrance to the path, but initially assumed they were removing brush. When he returned, he discovered the clearing had extended farther along the corridor.

Person killed in workplace accident at Fairmont construction site

Emergency responders were on scene and Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health is investigating after a worker died following an incident at a Winnipeg construction site Thursday.

Little information about the worker killed was provided, but the fatal incident happened at the Fairmont Winnipeg, located at 2 Lombard Place, with police responding around 5 p.m.

The hotel is currently closed and is an active construction site. The person killed has not been identified by name.

Information from a provincial spokesperson said the deceased was working for Kepsco Construction when they were fatally injured after a “portion of an overhead canopy collapsed during asbestos abatement work.”

Late philanthropist, family fill Harvest’s Empty Bowls with record-setting $5-M donatin

It was a record-breaking night for Harvest Manitoba made possible by a genuine Winnipeg hero and his family.

The organization’s annual Empty Bowls Celebrity Auction Dinner on Thursday raised $6.5 million to support Manitobans facing hunger and food insecurity.

And it was a $5-million legacy donation from late city philanthropist Doug Harvey and his family that will see the event go down in the history books as the largest gala fundraising total ever recorded in Manitoba.

“There was literally nothing that lit my dad up more than contributing himself, but even more so, inspiring others to give,” his daughter Lauren Harvey said Friday.

Klein promises revamped system for mental health, wellness calls

Kevin Klein is promising if elected to pair advanced care paramedics and mental health clinicians in SUVs to respond to some wellness checks, with a goal to treat more patients on scene.

Three such units, with one of each of the specialized staff per vehicle, would be added in each of his first three years in office, the mayoral candidate says.

Through a pilot project, they would help patients primarily with non-violent mental health issues, as well as some less serious medical concerns, if needed.

“The paramedic treats. The clinician connects the patient to care that is not a hallway bed. Together they can cancel the ambulance and the fire truck,” a press release put out by his campaign says.

Judge sentences serial indecent harasser to seven years in prison

A Winnipeg man who relentlessly harassed nearly a dozen women with unwanted sexual messages and videos, starting just days after completing a jail sentence for the same crimes, has been sentenced to seven years in prison.

Four of Alexander Beaton’s nearly dozen victims were women he had previously been convicted of harassing.

“His behaviour was calculated, targeted and persistent (and) was brazenly in defiance of an existing (probation) order,” provincial court Judge Malcolm McDonald said Friday.

“It is safe to say Mr. Beaton ranks among the worst offenders committing the worst offences of this nature,” McDonald said.

Word test

TESTING

Premier Wab Kinew is an imported Manitoban, born in Kenora and raised on Onigaming First Nation in Treaty Three (in northwestern Ontario) before his family moved to Winnipeg. He’s the son of well-known Anishinaabe leader and traditional knowledge keeper Tobasonakwut Kinew and Kathi Kinew.

These are the words we provided feedback on: Boniface, Cockburn, Dauphin, Dene, Hellebuyck, Iafallo, Íslendingadagurinn, Kinew, Kildonan, Malak Abas, Métis, Newfoundland, Orlikow, Pembina, Portage la Prairie, Premier, Regina, St. Vital, Samyn, Schiefele, vínarterta, Wiebe, Generation Z.

Towing company hands stolen car back, but not to owner

A Manitoba man says he is dumbfounded after his car was stolen, impounded by a Winnipeg towing company and given back — to someone that wasn’t him.

Cody Lamb lives in the western Manitoba community of Douglas, about 18 kilometres east of Brandon, but spends weeks away from home working on oil rigs in Alberta.

The 24-year-old says on Sept. 11, while away for work, he heard from his girlfriend who told him his car wasn’t in their driveway. Lamb reported the car stolen to Brandon RCMP the same day.

After filing the report, he heard from Steinbach RCMP on Oct. 1 that his car was recovered that day in the community of Mitchell, roughly five km west of Steinbach.