Online threat forces closure of North End high school Monday

A North End high school was closed Monday morning after a threat was posted online.

St. John’s High School, located on Church Avenue, was closed “out of an abundance of caution,” said Matt Henderson, superintendent of the Winnipeg School Division.

The Winnipeg Police Service major crimes unit is investigating the threat, Henderson said.

Henderson initially said he was hopeful the school could reopen Monday afternoon, but later said students wouldn’t return for half a day.

Infrequent lunar eclipse performs Copper Side of the Moon early Tuesday morning

Stargazers in Manitoba have the chance Tuesday to watch the last total lunar eclipse on this side of the world until 2029.

The celestial event is slated to begin early in the morning, when the Earth passes between the moon and the sun, allowing the moon to descend into Earth’s shadow.

The moon will start to move into the Earth’s shadow between 4 and 5 a.m. before entering “totality” in which the moon enters the darkest part of Earth’s shadow, according to Andrew Rogers, a student technician at the University of Manitoba’s department of physics and astronomy.

For about an hour, the moon will bear a copper colour from the sun’s light passing by the Earth. The red hue cast on the moon is why the lunar eclipse is often nicknamed the “blood moon.”

MINNEDOSA — Karen Aquino received a guided tour of the local hospital Friday, including its patient, treatment and operating rooms, as she prepares to practise medicine at the site in the fall.

The doctor is one of seven internationally trained doctors who were recruited by Prairie Mountain Health through the University of Manitoba licensure program for international medical graduates.

“I got very lucky to be placed here,” she said after being shown around the health centre by its acute-care manager, Lana Hogg, and the recruitment co-ordinator from Prairie Mountain Health.

Aquino was accepted into the program at U of M in 2024 and is expected to graduate in June.

Chief says more funding needed to repair homes after power outage, flooding

A northern First Nation hit by a days-long power outage and subsequent water crisis is seeking additional government funds to cover the cost of mould and asbestos removal in homes.

Pimicikamak Cree Nation Chief David Monias said Friday there is a shortage of funding to remediate the hazards and bring homes with damage up to code so they are habitable.

“We can’t have (residents) return to a situation where there might be some bacteria or moulding issues that will affect their safety, that affect their health, and possibly cause medical issues that will be made worse because they already have existing health issues,” he said during a virtual call.

Pimicikamak’s leaders said an estimated 1,300 homes were damaged after pipes froze and burst two months ago. Water leaked into basements and crawl spaces. The community’s water and sewage plants were also affected.

Mayor encouraged after downtown housing unit approvals reach 15-year high

The city approved more than 1,000 new downtown housing units last year, marking a 15-year high, while work continues to help entice people to move to the area.

Building permits were issued for 1,040 new downtown dwelling units in 2025, nearly double the 596 issued in 2018 and greatly improved from the 141 granted during the post-pandemic slowdown in 2022, city data show.

Mayor Scott Gillingham said the permit data reflects renewed interest in developing downtown.

“Before the pandemic, Winnipeg’s downtown had a lot of momentum and now we really see that momentum is really strong again,” he said.

Almost 12% of city parks, open spaces in poor condition: report

Nearly 12 per cent of the city’s parks and open-space assets are in poor or very poor condition and it would cost $108.5 million to replace them, a new city report says.

The city rates 60.9 per cent of the assets to be in good or very good condition, 23.1 per cent as fair and 11.6 per cent as poor or very poor. Another 4.4 per cent are not yet rated.

The poor and very poor rating reflects assets nearing the end of their useful lives.

“Assets in poor or very poor condition may deliver services with reduced quality,” writes Dave Domke, the city’s manager of parks and open space, in the report.

Manitoba increases venture capital tax credit to $30M

The province will add $8 million to a tax credit for small-business ventures and lower the minimum amount needed for investors to access the credit in hopes of tapping into a growing startup economy in Manitoba.

The small-business venture capital tax credit is increasing to $30 million from $22 million to meet the increasing level of investment in the province, Innovation and New Technology Minister Mike Moroz said on Thursday.

“What it means is a huge influx in interest, in getting engaged in the innovation and the tech ecosystem,” he said. “People have been sitting on the sidelines a little bit. The rules have been challenging for some potential investors.”

The small-business venture capital tax credit offers Manitoba businesses a 45 per cent non-refundable tax credit on an investment of up to $500,000 per company. The maximum tax credit in a calendar year is $225,000, or $120,000 in a tax year.