Bombers hammer Elks, clinch playoff spot
9:53 PM
Kenny Lawler caught eight passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns and Nic Demski added four receptions for 117 yards and a pair of majors to power the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to a 55-27 CFL victory over the visiting Edmonton Elks Friday night.
Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros had his biggest passing output of the 2024 season, going 21-for-26 for 432 yards and six touchdowns.
The Blue Bombers, first in the West Division, improved to 9-6-0 and clinched their eighth consecutive trip to the post-season. Fourth-place Edmonton fell to 5-10-0.
Bombers out to big lead over Elks
8:25 PM
Quarterback Zach Collaros went 11-for-16 for 263 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to a 34-6 halftime lead over the visiting Edmonton Elks in CFL action Friday night.
Collaros connected with Nic Demski and Keric Wheatfall for touchdown strikes covering 40 and 61 yards, respectively, in the opening quarter. In the second quarter, running back Brady Oliviera caught a short pass and rumbled 33 yards for another major.
Defensive end TyJuan Garbutt added another Winnipeg touchdown on a 62-yard fumble return.
Police investigating threatening calls to Winnipeg mosque
2:53 PM
Winnipeg police are investigating threatening calls made to a city mosque.
Police spokeswoman Const. Dani McKinnon said Friday the Winnipeg Grand Mosque received the calls on Tuesday and reported the matter.
McKinnon did not immediately know the details of what was said but added officials at the mosque took the calls as threats.
She added she did not know whether the comments had been made on voicemail or to a person who picked up the phone, or the number of calls.
McKinnon said the hate crimes section of the major crimes unit is handling the investigation.
University of Winnipeg hires eight Indigenous faculty members
1:59 PM
The University of Winnipeg has hired eight Indigenous faculty members in various departments this year.
The cluster hire is part of a larger effort to advance reconciliation and create a more diverse faculty, the U of W said in a news release. The process began in January.
The new members include environmental studies and sciences/master’s in development practice associate Prof. Danika Billie Rose Littlechild, business and administration associate Prof. Kristen Desjarlais-deKlerk, kinesiology and applied health assistant Prof. Ashley Hayward, criminal justice assistant Prof. Dawnis Kennedy, anthropology assistant Prof. Aandeg Muldrew, Indigenous studies assistant professors Christy Anderson and Derrick M. Nault, and Indigenous studies instructor Robert Hamilton.
A feast to welcome the eight new faculty members will be held in the coming weeks.
Police seize 3D-printed weapons from Lord Roberts home
1:17 PM
A man is facing 10 weapons charges after police seized 3D-printed items, including an imitation missile launcher and fake machine guns, from a Lord Roberts home.
The Winnipeg Police Service began an investigation earlier this month into a man believed to be manufacturing weapons.
Officers, with help from the tactical support team and other units, arrested a 40-year-old Winnipeg man at about 8 a.m. Thursday and executed a search warrant for a home on the 400 block of Beresford Avenue.
Investigators uncovered a fully operational 3D-printing workshop within a suite, the WPS said in a news release Friday. They seized 3D-printed items, including a .22-calibre handgun, gun parts, three electrical discharge devices in various states of production and a baton. Police also seized .22-calibre primers and ammunition and several imitation weapons — machine guns, a missile launcher and a pistol.
Jay Jonathan Mike is charged with two counts of weapons trafficking and failing to comply with a probation order, among other offences.
Provincial deficit remains about the same
12:45 PM
The Manitoba government’s latest quarterly report shows a deficit of $1.97 billion, in line with the previous update and an increase of $1.6 billion from the projected budget deficit of $363 million.
The third-quarter update released on March 22 pegged the deficit at $1.99 billion.
The province also released its first quarter forecast for 2024-25, which provides a forecast to the fiscal year end as of June 30, Friday. The forecast for the 2024-25 fiscal year is a net loss of $796 million, representing no change from the 2024 budget. Total revenue is forecast at $23.3 billion, while total expenses are forecast at $24.1 billion.
Jets’ Stanley out with knee surgery
11:18 AM
Winnipeg Jets defenceman Logan Stanley will miss at least a month with a knee injury.
The 26-year-old underwent surgery on Friday to repair a torn meniscus suffered earlier this week.
Stanley is the second blue-liner to go under the knife since training camp began. Ville Heinola is sidelined indefinitely after suffering an infection in his surgically-repaired ankle. He had surgery to remove a screw that was implanted during the original procedure nearly a year ago.
Stanley and Heinola were expected to battle for a top six spot on the blue-line. With both players out, the door is open for depth defencemen such as Haydn Fleury and Dylan Coghlan to make an impact.
Winnipeg plays its fourth preseason game tonight in Minnesota. The regular-season begins Oct. 9 in Edmonton.
Pedestrian hit on Highway 59 near South Beach Casino
11:15 AM
A man is recovering in hospital after being hit by a truck on Highway 59 on Thursday.
RCMP were sent to the area near South Beach Casino at around 8:25 p.m. after a driver hit a man walking along the side of the road.
The driver, a 57-year-old man, tried to find the victim, who had fled, RCMP spokesman Sgt. Paul Manaigre said Friday.
Police later received an update via 911 that the victim, a 36-year-old Brokenhead Ojibway Nation resident, was at a home in the community and needed medical attention.
The man was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Officers later determined the victim was hitchhiking to Winnipeg when he was hit, Manaigre said.
