Brandon Sun – Breaking News, Sports, Manitoba, Canada

Potatoes are harvested northeast of Brandon on a sunny Tuesday afternoon. Westman farmers are making the most of any dry days to get their crops off the fields. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

Potato rush

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Sep. 24, 12 AM: 15°c Cloudy Sep. 24, 6 AM: 15°c Cloudy

Brandon MB

15°C, Light rain with wind

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Hurricane Polo fuels fears of landslides in Mexico’s southwest as Nolo closes in on Hawaii

Megan Janetsky And Gabriela Aoun, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Hurricane Polo fuels fears of landslides in Mexico’s southwest as Nolo closes in on Hawaii

Megan Janetsky And Gabriela Aoun, The Associated Press 4 minute read Updated: 4:40 PM CDT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Southwestern Mexico braced for heavy rain and mudslides Wednesday after Polo, a powerful Pacific cyclone, became a major hurricane. Forecasters also warned another system headed for Hawaii could cause catastrophic flooding later in the week.

Hurricane Polo, an “extremely dangerous” storm, is expected to skirt Mexico’s Guerrero state, submerging coastal areas with 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters) of rain through Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Guerrero has been repeatedly pummeled by hurricanes in recent years.

Farther out in the Pacific, Tropical Storm Nolo was churning about 310 miles (498 kilometers) south of South Point, Hawaii. The storm is expected to approach the Big Island as early as Friday and could drop up to 20 inches (51 centimeters) of rain, raising the possibility of flooding and mudslides.

Polo could bring flooding and mudslides to Mexico’s Pacific coast

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Updated: 4:40 PM CDT

Local

Daymon Guillas, president of the Potash Agri Development Corporation of Manitoba, said the company could add between 85 and 110 employees as production increases, with additional jobs expected to be created indirectly through businesses supplying the mining industry. (Mikaela MacKenzie/Winnipeg Free Press files)

Potash producer eyes major expansion

By Abiola Odutola 3 minute read Preview

Potash producer eyes major expansion

By Abiola Odutola 3 minute read Yesterday at 10:05 PM CDT

A western Manitoba potash producer could generate as much as $450 million in annual sales if it expands production over the next five years under an ambitious mining plan touted by the provincial government.

The Potash Agri Development Corporation of Manitoba (PADCOM) expansion plays a vital role in Manitoba’s move to increase its critical mineral output, company president Daymon Guillas said.

“PADCOM, without a doubt, can double, triple, quadruple our production in the next five years,” he told the Sun on Tuesday.

PADCOM, Manitoba’s first and only potash mine, located near Harrowby in the Municipality of Russell-Binscarth, produces about 250,000 tonnes of potash annually, with its product sold in Canada and shipped through Churchill.

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Yesterday at 10:05 PM CDT

Local

Woman denied bail after allegedly defying hotel ban

By Tessa Adamski 3 minute read Preview

Woman denied bail after allegedly defying hotel ban

By Tessa Adamski 3 minute read Yesterday at 10:02 PM CDT

A 28-year-old woman was denied bail on Tuesday after allegedly breaching a court order prohibiting her from going to the Crystal Hotel more than 24 hours after she was accused of trying to stab someone in the building.

An employee at the downtown hotel on Pacific Avenue called Brandon police on Sunday morning about a woman who allegedly pulled out a fork to harm a man after he asked her to leave him alone.

While the victim did not suffer any injuries, the employee told police that the suspect, Jacquiline Laporte, had been banned from the hotel and staff did not want her to return, Crown attorney Reid Girard said in Brandon provincial court.

Laporte was charged with assault with a weapon and was released from police custody on a condition not to return to the hotel, which she allegedly breached on Monday evening.

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Yesterday at 10:02 PM CDT

Local

Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett answers questions from panellists during a forum at Brandon University's Evans Theatre on Tuesday evening. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

Fawcett says he’s open to small data centre in city

By Alex Lambert 3 minute read Preview

Fawcett says he’s open to small data centre in city

By Alex Lambert 3 minute read Yesterday at 10:03 PM CDT

Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett said he wouldn’t be opposed to a small data centre being built in the city.

Fawcett made the comments at a panel event Tuesday evening hosted by Brandon University’s student politics committee and Sustainable Brandon. The event was supposed to be a debate, but mayoral candidate and former Brandon East MLA Len Isleifson did not respond to invitations, an organizer said.

“I’m not scared of data centres,” Fawcett said at BU’s Evans Theatre, with about 25 people in attendance.

He likened the sizes of data centres to forms of transportation, but said most data centres in the news are “rocket” sized.

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Yesterday at 10:03 PM CDT

Local

Tracy Young, a research facilitator for Brandon University's Centre for Critical Studies of Rural Mental Health, said it's important to extend resources to rural areas because people living in those communities have an increased risk of suicide compared to people in urban centres. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun files)

Website offers hope for suicide prevention

By Rylee Gerrard 5 minute read Preview

Website offers hope for suicide prevention

By Rylee Gerrard 5 minute read Yesterday at 10:02 PM CDT

A new website that launched this month is designed to connect resources and support systems from across Westman to the people most at risk of being impacted by suicide.

The Hope in Prairie Mountain website is a hub of content relating to suicide intervention, prevention and life promotion.

September is Suicide Prevention Month, and the website went online prior to Suicide Prevention Day on Sept. 10, said Kelly Lewis, HOPE community co-ordinator with Prairie Mountain Health.

“HOPE is an acronym that stands for healing, outreach, promotion and education. So, we’ve kind of built the website around that,” Lewis said in an interview on Tuesday.

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Yesterday at 10:02 PM CDT

Business

A plane is seen that went off a runway during an airshow at Portage la Prairie Airport on Sept. 20, 2026. - THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - RCMP (Mandatory Credit)

Two hurt as small plane hits the ditch on takeoff at weekend Manitoba air show

The Canadian Press 1 minute read Preview

Two hurt as small plane hits the ditch on takeoff at weekend Manitoba air show

The Canadian Press 1 minute read Updated: 11:06 AM CDT

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE - A pilot and passenger were injured over the weekend after their small plane tried to take off at an air show but instead hit the ditch.

Mounties say the plane was heading down the runway at the Portage la Prairie airport on Sunday when it malfunctioned.

The pilot abandoned the takeoff and the craft plowed into a ditch at the end of the runway.

The pilot, a 61-year-old man, and his passenger, a 54-year-old woman, were sent to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

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Updated: 11:06 AM CDT

Local

The Brandon Police Service station at 10th Street and Victoria Avenue. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

Stolen vehicle alert, hotel mischief; teen charged in assault

2 minute read Preview

Stolen vehicle alert, hotel mischief; teen charged in assault

2 minute read Yesterday at 10:04 PM CDT

Stolen vehicle alert

Brandon police are asking the public to keep an eye out for an SUV that was reported stolen on Monday morning.

Officers are investigating the theft of a 2018 blue Honda CR-V that was taken from an apartment parking stall sometime between 10:30 p.m. on Sunday and 9:35 a.m. on Monday, police said in a news release on Tuesday.

The vehicle owner’s apartment had been broken into a few days earlier and a spare key was stolen, police said.

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Yesterday at 10:04 PM CDT

Local

A giant Canadian flag hangs on the side of a government office building in downtown Ottawa, Tuesday, June 30, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

13 federal departments, agencies spending more than $18 million on return-to-office

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

13 federal departments, agencies spending more than $18 million on return-to-office

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: 4:09 PM CDT

OTTAWA - Federal government departments and agencies are set to spend more than $18 million to get their employees to work in the office more often.

Thousands of federal public servants started a new work schedule in July requiring them to be on-site in the office four days a week. Executive public servants returned to the office full-time in May.

In response to an order paper question from NDP MP Heather McPherson, 13 federal organizations said they plan to spend a combined $18,720,150 to reconfigure or acquire office space to accommodate the increased frequency of in-person work.

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada said it will spend almost $5.7 million, while Fisheries and Oceans Canada said it will spend $4.2 million.

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Updated: 4:09 PM CDT

Business

A sign in support of news outlets is seen at the White House press room, Sept. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

‘You should not be here,’ Trump tells CNN at UN as standoff with media outlets persists

Jocelyn Noveck, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

‘You should not be here,’ Trump tells CNN at UN as standoff with media outlets persists

Jocelyn Noveck, The Associated Press 5 minute read Updated: 11:06 AM CDT

NEW YORK (AP) — On a day of high-stakes diplomacy on the global stage, President Donald Trump began his United Nations visit by telling a prominent U.S. journalist, “You should not be here.”

“It’s an honor to be here,” Trump said as he entered U.N. doors Tuesday ahead of his speech to the General Assembly and faced Kaitlan Collins of CNN, a frequent target of his ire. “I’m surprised that CNN is here covering me. You should not be here covering me. You said you weren’t going to cover me.”

As Collins noted later on air, CNN said nothing of the kind. The administration had banned CNN from White House grounds days earlier — along with MS NOW and Politico — and removed the network from pool duty. But CNN had been admitted into the U.N. as regularly credentialed media.

In any case, the tense moment was a stark reminder of how dramatically the bitter conflict between Trump and news outlets whose coverage he objects to as “fake news" has escalated in just a few days.

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Updated: 11:06 AM CDT

Local

Crystal Delvenne holds up her cellphone to play audio at the end of a Brandon City Council meeting on Monday. (Alex Lambert/The Brandon Sun)

Protesters confront officials at council meeting

By Alex Lambert 4 minute read Preview

Protesters confront officials at council meeting

By Alex Lambert 4 minute read Yesterday at 10:04 PM CDT

Family and friends of Cassity Delvenne questioned Brandon’s police chief and council members at the end of Monday’s city council meeting.

Roughly 10 protesters yelled at councillors, played drums and told off city officials, many of whom packed their bags and left as the regular council meeting came to a close.

Crystal Delvenne, Cassity’s mother, said going to Monday’s evening meeting was important to spread awareness about the way the investigation into her daughter’s death was handled.

“I wanted accountability. I want transparency, and I’m not getting that,” she told the Sun on Tuesday.

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Yesterday at 10:04 PM CDT