Verbal sparring can generate sexual sparks

Girl pleads guilty to assaulting fellow student

BRANDON — A high school student who admitted to attacking another girl in the hallway says she is taking responsibility for her wrongdoing.

The 15-year-old, who can’t be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, pleaded guilty to assault in Brandon provincial court on Tuesday.

“I do feel terrible about what I did. I should not have done it. She’s a good person and she never deserved that,” the teen said.

On Feb. 9, the accused came up behind the girl near her locker at Vincent Massey school, pulled her hair and punched her in the head, according to an agreed statement of facts.

Woman, 23, charged with fatal stabbing outside Portage Place

A 23-year-old woman has been charged with fatally stabbing a woman after they argued outside the entrance of Portage Place mall in the middle of the afternoon Tuesday.

Police officers responded to the area on the 300 block of Portage Avenue around 2:45 p.m. where they found Helen Annie Spence, 58, suffering from severe and life-threatening injuries, said Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Claude Chancy.

“There was a verbal dispute that led to a physical altercation, at which point the suspect armed herself with an edged weapon and then proceeded to stab the victim,” Chancy said, adding the alleged killer and victim knew each other.

Spence was taken to the hospital in critical condition, where she later died. Spence was a member of Misipawistik Cree Nation, which used to be called Grand Rapids First Nation, but had been living in Winnipeg recently.

Tory meddling could cost MPI millions, boost Autopac rates

The Pallister government has directed Manitoba Public Insurance to give complete control of its future online product sales to insurance brokers, a move that could cost the corporation an extra $23 million over five years and boost Autopac rates, according to documents obtained by the Free Press.

The documents, which include emails, letters, briefing notes and presentations, show repeated interventions by the Progressive Conservative government on behalf of brokers and shed light on why the Tory-appointed MPI board of directors sought a legal opinion last year to clarify its rights and responsibilities.

The documents also reveal that the PC government directed MPI management last fall to extend the corporation's contract with brokers by two years to Feb. 28, 2021 at a remuneration rate MPI viewed as excessive.

MPI had first proposed a less generous package than the brokers had been receiving, and then offered zero per cent increases in the first two years followed by 0.75 per cent in Year 3, mimicking government policy on civil servant and Crown corporation employee pay. The brokers wound up receiving annual increases to their base $84.5 million compensation that are indexed to inflation (the Consumer Price Index, which rose 1.9 per cent in March compared to a year earlier ).

Each of city's historic bridges has unique story

They span the muddy waters from which Winnipeg derives its name. They connect neighbourhood to neighbourhood. They’re a fundamental feature of our city.

Winnipeg has a reputation as a “River City,” but many don’t know the stories behind the bridges they use every day.

While a bridge may seem to be a boring piece of basic infrastructure, many of Winnipeg’s have fascinating histories that go back more than 100 years.

Resilience, perseverance in pursuit of normal life

Roger McNeill says not much rattled his wife Pat — but miller moths terrified her.

“With a moth in the house, she would freak out,” he says of his wife, who died Oct. 22, 2020, at age 82.

That a tiny bug riled her always struck her husband as ironic, given all she had gone through.

Pat McNeill, after all, had survived polio — a disease that had a lasting impact on her life. Consequently, as a young adult, she often wondered if she would lead a life many took for granted: getting married and raising a family.

Shattered windows at E.K. Islamic centre result of gunfire, members of Muslim community say

Officers are investigating damage to the Rahma Islamic Centre on Watt Street Wednesday night that members of the city’s Muslim community say was a drive-by shooting in which no one was injured.

Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Claude Chancy said several windows at the building located at 574 Watt St. were shattered shortly after 11:30 p.m., causing an estimated $3,000 in damage.

Chancy made no mention of shots being fired, and no suspects have been identified.

He said there had also been a report that earlier Wednesday evening, the occupants of a vehicle that drove past the centre had shouted slurs at people outside.