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Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
News briefs for Tuesday, June 17, 2025
A collection of breaking news briefs filed on Tuesday, June 17, 2025 4:37 PM Police were asking for the public's help in finding a missing 58-year-old man last seen on Sherbrook Street who has now been located. Thomas Kelly was last seen on the 300 block at about 10:30 a.m. Sunday, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release late Tuesday afternoon. WPS updated the news release Tuesday evening stating Kelly had been safely located. 4:15 PM The southern part of Nopiming Provincial Park is scheduled to reopen to permanent residents, cottagers and commercial operators at 8 a.m. Wednesday. All of Nopiming closed May 13 due to an out-of-control wildfire. The province said Provincial Road 315 will reopen with access to Bird, Booster, Flanders and Davidson lakes. A closure and mandatory evacuation order remains in place for the rest of Nopiming and the entire areas of Wallace Lake, South Atikaki and Manigotagan River provincial parks, the province said. 2:49 PM There's going to be a very '90s vibe at music venues in Winnipeg this winter. First up, Toronto-based indie rock quartet Sloan brings its 14th album, Based on the Best Seller, to the Burton Cummings Theatre on Nov. 25. The band — bassist and vocalist Chris Murphy, guitarists/vocalists Jay Ferguson and Patrick Pentland, and drummer/vocalist Andrew Scott — is known for such hits as The Good in Everyone, Money City Maniacs and Coax Me; it last played Winnipeg at the Burt Block Party in 2024. Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. at prices have not yet been announced. Next, it's a triple bill, headlined by the Tea Party with support from Headstones and Finger Eleven, at the Canada Life Centre on Dec. 1. It's the first time the three popular Canadian rock acts have shared a stage. Tickets (prices TBA) go on sale Friday at 2:01 PM A Winnipeg teen is facing charges after park patrol officers were assaulted early Saturday. St. Pierre-Jolys RCMP were sent to St. Malo Provincial Park at about 11 p.m. Friday after a teen was seen driving dangerously around the park while intoxicated. RCMP found park patrol officers had already detained a 17-year-old male, who was given an immediate roadside suspension. A while later, at about 12:55 a.m., RCMP were told the teen had assaulted two park patrol officers. He was arrested on two counts each of assaulting a public officer and uttering threats. He was again released from custody. 12:29 PM The province is notifying the public of four locations in southern Manitoba where people might have been exposed to measles. The locations are: Public health officials are asking anyone who was in these locations during these times to check their immunization records and ensure they are up to date with measles vaccines. 10:53 AM The City of Winnipeg's executive policy committee approved the nomination of a new chief administrative officer Tuesday. Council will vote on whether to appoint Joseph Dunford as CAO at its June 26 meeting. He would officially begin his role Aug. 4. Dunford, an engineer, currently works as deputy minister of public service delivery for the provincial government. He has more than two decades of experience in the public and quasi-public sectors, with senior leadership roles in Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador, Mayor Scott Gillingham's office said in a news release. 'Joe brings the kind of experience and energy we need to lead the public service at a time of real growth and change in our city,' Gillingham said in the release. 'He has a deep understanding of infrastructure, service delivery and the inner workings of government. Just as importantly, he's shown he can lead large teams, manage big budgets and drive results that improve people's lives.' 10:46 AM A pedestrian was killed when he was hit by a pickup truck on the Trans-Canada Highway west of Winnipeg early Tuesday. The collision happened near McGuckin Road in the Rural Municipality of Headingley at about 3 a.m. The highway's westbound lanes remained closed in the area for hours. RCMP said in a news release that the pedestrian was 'a 67-year-old transient male' who was walking on the highway. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver, a 52-year-old Winnipeg woman, was not injured. A day earlier, a collision involving multiple vehicles snarled rush-hour traffic a few kilometres to the east, at about 4:40 p.m. Monday. The crash site, on the west Perimeter Highway near the Portage Avenue overpass, was cleared in less than two hours. 'It is unknown right now the exact number of vehicles involved in the collision, but there were no serious injuries in the incident,' RCMP said Monday evening. 10:24 AM Manitoba Blue Cross has donated 400 game tickets and food vouchers for wildfire evacuees to attend Saturday night's Winnipeg Goldeyes game. The organization is also providing free bus transportation to and from the game against the Sioux City Explorers. For more information, email dan@ Saturday is National Indigenous Peoples Day, and the night will feature live entertainment celebrating Indigenous culture, music and dance. 10:14 AM Police destroyed a suspicious item resembling a pipe bomb found in a dormitory room at Cranberry Portage's high school Monday morning. Staff members were at Frontier Collegiate's dorm preparing for the return of students after a wildfire evacuation when they saw the item. The item was described to police as a metal pipe with tape on it. The RCMP explosives disposal unit took the item to a remote location and destroyed it. It did not contain explosive material, police determined. Frontier School Division's website says the 57,000-square-foot dormitory houses up to 200 students from communities across northern Manitoba.
Winnipeg Free Press
6 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Man charged following armed standoff with police
An armed standoff between police and a man who allegedly fired shots at a house in the Point Douglas neighbourhood Saturday included 10 hours of negotiations and even the handing off of water bottles to the gunman to counteract the heat, police say. Police told reporters Sunday that a man armed with a shotgun had shot at a home in the 100 block of Grove Street just after 5 a.m. the day before going under the Disraeli Bridge near Sutherland, where he was met by police. He refused to give up his weapon and police blocked off vehicle, pedestrian and — in an unusual move from the Winnipeg Police Service — boat traffic in the surrounding area. WPS Const. Dani MacKinnon said the man shot at the house after a dispute with people living in the home and no one was injured. Police spoke with the man over the 10 hours and ensured he had water during the heat. He was arrested without incident at 3:23 p.m. 'It was a long, tense scenario for the entire community, for the police, for the person involved, the families, all the residents in the area … overall, (it was) a really good resolution, despite it taking some time,' MacKinnon said Sunday. Daniel Emrys Larsen, 36, was arrested and charged with a number of offences, including possession and reckless discharge of a weapon. He is known to police and was considered 'unlawfully at large' due to violating his parole at the time of the incident. MacKinnon did not say if the man surrendered to police but described him as 'in distress.' 'For somebody to be armed and not able to come to resolution sooner than later, there's obviously some difficulties occurring, and police managed it the way they're trained to crisis negotiation,' she said. Meanwhile, police said Sunday they had arrested five people after a man was seen pointing a handgun at passing cars in the William Whyte neighbourhood Thursday morning. Wednesdays Sent weekly from the heart of Turtle Island, an exploration of Indigenous voices, perspectives and experiences. Police were called after a man was seen pointing a hand gun at passing cars in the area of Burrows Avenue and McKenzie Street just after 8:30 a.m. June 12. Officers saw him run into a home in the 600 block of Alfred Avenue and five people in the home were arrested. A search warrant for the home resulted in the seizure of a 12-gauge shotgun, a pellet gun, a large quantity of ammunition, various firearms components, and body armour. George Angus Okemow, 39, Brendan Elice Okemow, 26, and Michelle Maybelyne Okemow, 38, all face firearms charges. Brendan Elice Okemow also faces disturbance-related charges. A 36-year-old woman and a 35-year-old man were also charged with firearms offences and released on undertakings. Malak AbasReporter Malak Abas is a city reporter at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg's North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Malak. Every piece of reporting Malak produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
CTV News
6 days ago
- CTV News
Winnipeg police searching for missing 7-year-old boy
Police are looking for Noah Grant. (Supplied: WPS) The Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) is asking for the public's help in finding a missing boy. Noah Grant, 7, was last seen on Sunday at 11:23 a.m. in the Burrows Central area of Winnipeg, according to police. Grant is described as 4'0', thin build with brown hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a blue shirt and blue pants. Police are asking for anyone with information on Grant's whereabouts to contact the WPS missing persons unit at 204-986-6250.
CTV News
7 days ago
- CTV News
Area near Disraeli Bridge closed off amid negotiations with armed man: police
The Winnipeg Police Service has closed off an area near the Disraeli Bridge amid an armed and barricaded scenario. (Daniel Timmerman/CTV News Winnipeg) The Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) has closed off an area near the Disraeli Bridge and Sutherland Avenue Saturday amid negotiations with a man believed to be armed. According to WPS Const. Dani McKinnon, police were called at about 5:30 a.m. to an incident where sounds of shots were heard in the 100 block of Grove Street. Upon officers arriving at the scene, it was learned that no one was injured and that an adult male, armed with a firearm, had transitioned to the Sutherland Avenue and Disraeli Bridge area. 'Police immediately cordoned off that area and immediately made sure that the community knew that this was an area that should be avoided for public safety,' said McKinnon during a media briefing Saturday afternoon. As of 1:30 p.m., the man is still believed to be in the area according to police. Crisis negotiators and the tactical support team are assisting the situation. '(We're) looking for a very safe resolution for everybody,' said McKinnon. 'This is considered an armed and barricaded scenario.' 'They've spent a number of hours with him, now, communicating, building (a) relationship, as we do with crisis negotiation,' she said. 'Part of it is getting to know that person, how we can help them.' McKinnon said the armed man is known to police and is asking people to stay away from the area. As of 2 p.m., the Disraeli Bridge is open to vehicles but access through the east and west ramps remain closed. Pedestrian and water traffic in the area is not allowed. Water traffic is also prohibited 1.6 kilometres east and west from the bridge on the Red River. -With files from CTV's Daniel Timmerman
Winnipeg Free Press
13-06-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Police chief expresses desire for advanced-tech stun guns to replace officers' firearms
The head of the Winnipeg Police Service hopes stun guns can help reduce the use of more lethal force, eventually to the point officers no longer need guns. 'Those alternate weapons, intermediate weapons, they save lives. And the technology is just advancing rapidly, where my hope is one day that we never have a shooting where someone's lost their life,' said WPS Chief Gene Bowers. 'So, if that's the use of leveraging technology, I hope one day it gets to there, that firearms aren't a needed weapon.' Bowers' comments followed the release of an annual use of force report, which notes WPS officers used Tasers 524 times last year, including 221 instances in which the devices were presented and/or used to coerce someone, 216 times stun-gun probes were deployed (for use over a longer distance) and 87 times when the weapons were used to 'push stun' (applied while pressing the device against someone.) MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Police chief Gene Bowers said Tasers offer a safer alternative to guns. The combined use is up from a five-year average of 262 times per year since 2019, and 302 total uses in 2023. Bowers said Tasers offer a safer alternative to guns. 'Any time that we're not using deadly force is a good thing,' he said. The latest Tasers can subdue a person from a further distance away, increasing their effectiveness, he noted. In 2024, police either presented a weapon or used force in 968 incidents, or 0.4 per cent of 239,903 total dispatches, up from 0.33 per cent the previous year. Serious incidents included six officer-involved shootings and four fatalities last year. While the chief highlighted benefits of stun-gun use, a local law professor cautioned against framing Tasers as a safe tool, which could lead police to use them more readily. 'There is a risk with this perception that Tasers are essentially not lethal weapons. They should be considered as less-lethal weapons, they're less likely to result in death,' said Brandon Trask, an associate professor of law at the University of Manitoba. He noted deaths in North America has been linked to Tasers, which he said are more dangerous for people who are intoxicated by drugs or have a heart condition. 'A pretty major electrical current going through their body can result in some pretty horrific outcomes,' said Trask. He expressed doubt that police could completely end their reliance on guns, since they are at risk of facing much more lethal weapons on the job. 'It's very ambitious to think that this advancement in this area of technology is going to be a huge game-changer,' he said. Meanwhile, the police chief also shed light on several other key WPS files. When asked if he personally supported calls to search the Prairie Green landfill for the remains of two Indigenous women slain by a serial killer before he became the chief of police, Bowers said he did. 'I've always been supportive of a search, an advocate of that,' he said. Bowers served as WPS deputy chief in charge of investigations when the decision was made to not search Prairie Green for the remains of Marcedes Myran and Morgan Harris, which was met with intense community backlash. A search eventually did begin late last year and has since located both women's remains. Bowers also revealed that police are still pursuing a plan to track race-based data of people officers interact with and will hire an external Indigenous consultant who will work on that file. 'It would be an external consultant to help with reconciliation, to help with partnerships (with) the Indigenous community… to ensure that we're doing things that aren't offensive or causing issues with the community,' he said. In a separate update, police also noted the Manitoba Integrated Violent Offender Apprehension Unit, a joint effort of WPS and the RCMP, has now made 730 arrests. The unit aims to crack down on violent and prolific offenders. Bowers noted two federal changes he'd like to see to help reduce the number of people who commit repeated acts of violence. 'If someone's to the point where they're utilizing firearms, machetes and causing harm to citizens… consideration to the release should be really considered. If they do reoffend, there should be something in place where they should be detained in custody until they can have their hearing… that's bail reform,' said Bowers. Weekday Mornings A quick glance at the news for the upcoming day. The federal government should also explore imposing mandatory minimum sentences for some offences linked to using firearms and other dangerous weapons, such as machetes, he said. The police chief also supports creating a 24-hour sobering or detox unit for first responders to take people experiencing drug-related psychosis. 'I think there's a great need for somewhere where we can take people that they're safe and other people are safe… if they're in a psychosis…. It's just working through the logistics of it and getting it in place,' he said. X: @joyanne_pursaga Joyanne PursagaReporter Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne. Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
