Fawcett promises growth in second term as Brandon mayor

BRANDON — Jeff Fawcett promises “incredible opportunities” for Brandon over the next four years.

The incumbent was handily re-elected for a second term as Brandon mayor Wednesday evening, receiving 54 per cent of the vote. He defeated his only challenger, former councillor and MLA Len Isleifson, by 907 votes.

“The next four years presents incredible opportunities for our city,” Fawcett told supporters after the victory. “We’ll continue to support responsible growth, strengthening our neighbourhoods, investing in infrastructure, supporting local businesses, and ensuring Brandon remains a place where families and future generations can thrive.”

Isleifson, a Brandon councillor from 2010 to 2014 and Brandon East Tory MLA from 2016 to 2023, called the result disappointing but said he wouldn’t change anything about his campaign.

Westman to lose sole medical oncologist

BRANDON — Western Manitoba is about to lose its only medical oncologist, leaving just 22 in the province — all of whom are in Winnipeg.

Brandon West MLA Wayne Balcaen raised the issue during question period Thursday, saying the departure of Dr. Brady Anderson will be a “major loss” for the region.

After four years working out of the Western Manitoba Cancer Centre in Brandon, Anderson’s last day will be Nov. 13.

“He literally sees hundreds of patients within the Westman area, and now those individuals will have to travel to Winnipeg to get that personal service,” Balcaen said, calling Anderson’s impending departure “catastrophic.”

Shooting, stand off net nine year prison sentence

Daniel Larsen had been out of prison just five days when he shot up a Point Douglas house and sparked a 10-hour armed standoff with police that shut down a portion of the Disraeli Freeway.

Larsen, sentenced last week to nine years in prison, believed residents of the Grove Street home had sold fentanyl to his son, court heard.

“The speed with which Mr. Larsen was able to obtain a firearm, formulate a plan and become criminally involved is… horrifying from a public safety standpoint,” Crown attorney Amy Wood told provincial court Judge Malcolm McDonald.

Larsen, 37, pleaded guilty to reckless discharge of a firearm for the June 14, 2025, incident and two related weapons offences.

Two government bills left on table as NDP ends third year of term

Year 3 of the NDP government’s four-year mandate ended Thursday with more than 50 bills expected to become law and two that didn’t make it to the finish line.

“We’re on the final stages of passing 52 amazing bills,” government house leader Nahanni Fontaine said after the final question period of the 43rd legislature.

Most were passed before the house rose for the summer break, including getting rid of the provincial sales tax on pop, chips and packaged foods that took effect July 1. A handful of health-care bills that aim to restrict mandatory overtime, create a patient safety charter, establish nurse-to-patient ratios and do away with sick-note requirements for employees — unless they miss more than seven consecutive days or 10 in a year — were also passed.

Under rules of the legislature, the Progressive Conservatives held back three government bills until the fall session to allow for further debate before passage by the NDP majority Thursday. The most contentious was Bill 13, the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act, that aims to strengthen renter protections and increase maximum fines for landlords in breach of the act.

Pair preps for weekend test in Kelowna

KELOWNA, B.C. — Their first spin around the ice at Skate Canada International on Thursday was a mix of business and pleasure for Winnipeg pair skaters Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov.

Job one for the practice session was to get accustomed to the size and feel of the ice surface at Propsera Place while test-driving the lifts, throws and jumps they’ll perform Friday in their senior ISU Grand Prix competition debut.

“The big thing is the patterns (skating into elements) because these boards are very narrow but very long — it’s NHL size — so when you’re setting up elements you need to make sure you’re using the full length or else you’re going to run into the boards,” Elizarov explained in a post-skate chat with media.

“The second thing is the ice which is sometimes really soft or really hard. This ice is really soft.”

Three’s company for new netminder Daws

TAMPA — Nico Daws is still trying to catch his breath.

An unexpected piece of the Connor Hellebuyck blockbuster. A chaotic crash course in his latest hockey home. Joining a fragile club mired in a prolonged losing streak. And now, hitting the road for four tough tests, including one where he will find himself as the last line of defence.

It’s been quite the ride for the newest Winnipeg Jets netminder, who took some time Thursday morning to reflect on the experience.

“A whirlwind of a week. I haven’t even really had time to sit down and digest it,” said Daws.

Record number of women elected in Manitoba municipal elections

A record number of women were elected to municipal office in Manitoba in elections held across the province Wednesday.

The Association of Manitoba Municipalities said 213 of 339 women candidates were voted in, accounting for almost 25 per cent of elected municipal officials — up from 20 per cent in 2022.

Portage la Prairie Mayor Sharilyn Knox, who applauded the increase, said there has been progress to reduce barriers that impede women’s participation in local government, “but I don’t think we’re where we need to be yet.”

“I think representation matters. When women see other women sitting around council tables, chairing meetings and taking on leadership roles, it helps them see themselves doing the same thing,” she said.

Cabbie, passenger dead after Salter Street collision

Two men died in a Wednesday morning collision between a taxi and a sedan on Salter Street near Aberdeen Avenue, police said Thursday.

Winnipeg Police Service officers were sent to the intersection at about 6:30 a.m., where they found the cab driver, a man in his 40s, and his passenger, a man in his 50s, in critical condition. Paramedics took the men to hospital, where they later died.

The sedan driver, a woman in her late teens, and an adult passenger, had minor injuries.

Traffic investigators believe the sedan was travelling west on Aberdeen when it collided with the cab that was southbound on Salter.

Longtime councillor Eadie ‘knew it was going to be close,’ but expected to finish on top in Mynarski

Ross Eadie knew his re-election bid would be close, but he didn’t anticipate losing in the neighbourhoods where he grew up.

The 16-year Mynarski councillor, who was defeated Wednesday by political newcomer Natalie Smith, said Thursday the result was difficult to accept because some of his strongest losses were in Luxton, St. John’s Park and surrounding neighbourhoods.

“I knew it was going to be close,” Eadie said. “But I thought it was going to be close with me in first place.”

“I really lost it where I live. So that’s the worst part of it.”

Three in-custody fatalities trigger inquests

The province’s chief medical examiner has called inquests into the deaths of three men, including two who died by suicide in correctional facilities earlier this year.

Craig Flett, 32, was found hanging in his cell in the Stony Mountain Institution prison on Feb. 10 this year.

Corrections officers were able to cut him down and tried to resuscitate him, but he later died of a brain injury. Flett was serving a life sentence at the time.

Sebastian Atkinson, a 25-year-old inmate at the Winnipeg Remand Centre, was found hanging in his cell by a linen sheet tied to a metal bar about five feet from the floor.

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.

‘All females are at risk’: serial sex offender released from prison

Law enforcement are warning the public that a dangerous sex offender with a lengthy history of abusing women is expected to live in Winnipeg after his release from prison.

Douglas Wayne Bowman, 62, left prison on Thursday after serving a lengthy sentence for two sexual assaults he committed at knifepoint, said the Manitoba Integrated High Risk Sex Offender Unit, a joint force of the Winnipeg Police Service and RCMP that keeps an eye on certain sex criminals.

Bowman was handed the 14-year sentence in 2018, less six years time served, and designated a dangerous offender. Criminals deemed dangerous offenders are given indefinite federal sentences until parole officials decide it is safe enough to release them.

Now that he’s leaving prison, Bowman will be subject to a 10-year long-term supervision order, which allows corrections and parole officials to continue to monitor him in the community even though his sentence is complete.