Best not to mix work and ‘play’ any longer

Officer who shot dog dead after it bit him won’t face charges

A Manitoba First Nations police officer will not face charges for fatally shooting a dog last year, despite the Crown describing the officer’s conduct as “concerning.”

The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba announced it would not recommend charges Monday, more than a year after the incident was reported to the police watchdog.

A Manitoba First Nations Police Service officer went to a home in Swan River First Nation to make an arrest in June 2025, the IIU said. No arrest was made as the person police were looking for was not there. As the officer was leaving, a dog chained outside bit him.

The officer later returned with a carbine rifle and shot and killed the dog.

WRHA directs three care homes to accommodate surge of hospital patients

The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority has directed three long-term care centres to make space for hospital patients, citing “exceptionally high demand for care across the health-care system.”

“Riverview Health Centre, Deer Lodge Centre and Misericordia Health Centre have been asked to identify additional temporary capacity for patients who no longer require an acute-care hospital bed but continue to need an appropriate level of care before they can transition to their next care setting,” a WRHA spokesperson told the Free Press Thursday.

“This whole-of-system response will help create additional capacity in acute-care hospitals, supporting patient flow and timely access to emergency departments and other hospital services.”

The spokesperson described the measures as part of “standard surge protocol,” atypical and temporary, but did not provide a timeline of how long patients would be staying at the health-care centres.

Shelley Cook

Shelley is a born and raised Winnipegger. She is a proud member of the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation.

Cruise control: city mulls move to curb street noise levels

Sunday cruise nights on Portage Avenue are a Winnipeg tradition, but cavalcades of convertibles and muscle cars rolling down the street can come with a noisy byproduct.

Next week, the city's executive policy committee will discuss some changes — including noise cameras that capture licence plate data of particularly loud vehicles — aimed at keeping the volume down.

The recommendation, which would require provincial approval, comes on the heels of complaints from area residents about the Sunday night noise levels, says Coun. Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre).

"Most residents don't mind the cruise nights themselves," she said Thursday. "It's the revving and the screeching" and the modified mufflers.

Kuntz qualifies to join two other Winnipeggers at the Manitoba Open

The Manitoba Open will have plenty of local flavour when it tees off this week at Elmhurst.

Three Winnipeggers are in the field of 156, which primarily features PGA Tour Americas members from around the world competing in one of North America’s oldest golf tournaments, starting Thursday and running through Sunday.

Rory Neill punched his ticket earlier this summer by winning the Manitoba Amateur, which comes with an automatic berth. It’s a huge step for the 22-year-old, who is a member at Glendale.

A second sponsor’s exemption went to Ryan McMillan, who gets to play his home course. McMillan, 27, works as an assistant pro at Elmhurst in addition to being the University of Manitoba’s golf coach. He’s also a decorated amateur player, having won back-to-back provincial junior titles in 2017 and 2018. His uncle, Rob, won the Open in 1996.

U of M exhibition brings ancient Roman Egyptian documents to life

Two thousand years ago, people in Roman Egypt wrote letters, kept receipts, made lists and dealt with the everyday bureaucracy of life.

Some of those pieces of ancient life are now on display in Winnipeg.

The University of Manitoba’s “The Ancient Inbox” exhibition opened Monday, featuring papyrus documents dating back as far as 2,000 years and on loan from the University of Michigan Papyrology Collection.

The exhibition, running until Sept. 30, is the first public display of authentic papyrus manuscripts in Winnipeg, according to Dr. C. Michael Sampson, a U of M classics professor and papyrologist.