Brandon Sun – Breaking News, Sports, Manitoba, Canada

The aurora borealis lights up the sky over an irrigation pivot in a field south of Rivers late Sunday night. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

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Bill aims to improve cannabis store safety

By Carol Sanders 3 minute read Preview

Bill aims to improve cannabis store safety

By Carol Sanders 3 minute read Yesterday at 11:20 PM CDT

WINNIPEG — New legislation introduced Monday will allow cannabis stores to remove window coverings in an effort to improve safety for employees.

Bill 56 would amend the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Control Act to eliminate the mandatory requirement that prevents underage passersby from seeing the interior of the age-restricted stores.

“At its core, what this bill is about is keeping workers safe,” Justice Minister Matt Wiebe told reporters outside the chamber, flanked by labour representatives and Labour Minister Malaya Marcelino.

The bill would also give the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba power to establish mandatory minimum staffing levels during specified hours, to ensure workers are not alone during periods when there may be a higher risk of violence.

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Yesterday at 11:20 PM CDT

Local

Woman gets jail time for punching BPS officer

By Tessa Adamski 4 minute read Preview

Woman gets jail time for punching BPS officer

By Tessa Adamski 4 minute read Yesterday at 11:18 PM CDT

A 30-year-old woman was sentenced to 42 days in jail for assaulting a police officer, paired with $700 worth of fines for committing a string of offences while she was using methamphetamine in Brandon.

Madison Engelbretson pleaded guilty in Brandon provincial court on Monday to three separate assaults, theft under $5,000 and taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent for incidents occurring between February and August this year.

“At the time of these offences, she was unemployed, experiencing financial instability and struggling significantly with methamphetamine use,” said Tesia Romaniw, a criminal defence articling student with Eric Wach Law Corporation.

“Her substance use was a factor in the downward spiral reflected in these offences, but more importantly at the same time, she had lost contact with her young son, which was extremely destabilizing for her and contributed to her emotional deterioration.”

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Yesterday at 11:18 PM CDT

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Brandon city council Ward 7 candidate and incumbent Shawn Berry. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

Veteran campaigners face off in Ward 7

By Alex Lambert 7 minute read Preview

Veteran campaigners face off in Ward 7

By Alex Lambert 7 minute read Yesterday at 11:16 PM CDT

Until election day, The Brandon Sun will be running profiles on each of the city’s 10 electoral wards, asking candidates to identify the most important problems facing their ward.

Brandon city council’s Ward 7 race is between two experienced candidates — the city’s longest-serving councillor and a challenger who’s run in both federal and provincial elections for the NDP.

Incumbent Shawn Berry, who is running for his fifth term, said despite previously being on the fence about running in the Oct. 28 election, he is fully confident he would be able to be an effective councillor for the next four years.

Berry faces Quentin Robinson. Both candidates live in the ward.

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Yesterday at 11:16 PM CDT

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Parti Québécois supporters cheer as results come in at PQ headquarters on election night in Montreal, on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Five takeways from Quebec election as Parti Québécois forms minority government

The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Five takeways from Quebec election as Parti Québécois forms minority government

The Canadian Press 3 minute read Updated: 10:20 AM CDT

Quebec voters elected a Parti Québécois minority government Monday, completing a dramatic political comeback and paving the way for an eventual third sovereignty referendum.

The PQ won 59 seats out of 127 seats in the Quebec legislature.

Here are five takeaways from the evening.

1. PQ comes back from the brink

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Updated: 10:20 AM CDT

Local

Prairie Rovers Tour founder and owner Alison Dawson holds the book

Prairie Rovers tours will showcase Brandon

By Abiola Odutola 4 minute read Preview

Prairie Rovers tours will showcase Brandon

By Abiola Odutola 4 minute read Yesterday at 11:18 PM CDT

A Brandon tourism business is set to put the city’s downtown and other attractions in the spotlight this week.

Founded by longtime tour guide Alison Dawson in August, Prairie Rovers will offer its “Brandon in Brief” tour Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., giving members of the public an opportunity to explore some of the city’s landmarks, businesses and history aboard a 20-seat bus.

The tour will travel through the downtown core, including Rosser and Princess avenues, with stops and points of interest including the Green Spot, Assiniboine College’s North Campus, Hanbury Hill, the Brandon Riverbank Discovery Centre, Daly Museum and the Keystone Centre’s Dome Building.

“The tours are intended to showcase parts of Brandon that residents and visitors may overlook,” Dawson said. “There are lots of history and stories down in the downtown core and other parts of the city.”

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Yesterday at 11:18 PM CDT

Local

Author of Hutterite murder mystery coming to library

By Rylee Gerrard 3 minute read Preview

Author of Hutterite murder mystery coming to library

By Rylee Gerrard 3 minute read Yesterday at 11:15 PM CDT

A Winnipeg-born author is bringing readers to an isolated community after a murder disrupts the harvest season for a Hutterite colony in southern Manitoba.

Don Macdonald’s novel, “The Faithful,” follows the investigation into the murder of Jacob Waldner — leader of a fictional Hutterite colony, who was found dead in an Airbnb while on a trip to Winnipeg.

After Macdonald finished his first book, “Omand’s Creek,” he said he began looking for a topic for a second book.

“I was always really curious about Hutterites because when I was young, I’d see them in Winnipeg … and I started to research Hutterites and learned about their fascinating history and their way of life,” Macdonald said.

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Yesterday at 11:15 PM CDT

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FILE -Nigerian Airforce march during 62nd anniversary celebrations of Nigerian independence, in Abuja, Nigeria, Oct. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Emmanuel Osodi, File)

Nigerian Air Force says plane carrying 25 crashed with no survivors in southern Ondo state

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Nigerian Air Force says plane carrying 25 crashed with no survivors in southern Ondo state

The Associated Press 2 minute read Updated: 8:30 AM CDT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — There were no survivors among 25 people on board a Nigerian Air Force plane that crashed Monday in southern Nigeria’s Ondo state, officials said.

The ATR-42 aircraft crashed while carrying 20 passengers and five crew members on a routine mission to Lagos, the nation’s economic hub, the air force said in a statement Tuesday.

The plane disappeared from radar and was later found to have crashed close to a naval base in the riverside town of Igbokoda in Ondo state, officials said.

Nigeria’s Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo previously said the aircraft was carrying 32 people. Officials did not immediately clarify the difference in the two accounts.

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Updated: 8:30 AM CDT

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

Sexual assault charges; skate park arrest

2 minute read Preview

Sexual assault charges; skate park arrest

2 minute read Yesterday at 11:17 PM CDT

Sexual assault

Brandon police arrested and charged a 42-year-old man with sexual assault on Sunday.

The man’s partner made a report at the police station on Sept. 9, claiming he had been abusing and sexually assaulting her for 12 years, police said in a news release on Monday.

The woman and her family made statements to police. The suspect was held in custody for a court appearance.

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Yesterday at 11:17 PM CDT

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United States Coast Guard continues search for six people after locating debris from missing aircraft off Nantucket as shown in this handout image provided by the United States Coast Guard. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout-United States Coast Guard
(Mandatory Credit)

U.S. Coast Guard releases names of all six aboard missing Canadian air ambulance

Aaron Sousa, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

U.S. Coast Guard releases names of all six aboard missing Canadian air ambulance

Aaron Sousa, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: 8:32 AM CDT

The six souls who were on board a Canadian-owned air ambulance that went down off the coast of Massachusetts on the weekend have been identified.

A news release from the U.S. Coast Guard late Monday said the Gulfstream G100 jet carried 66-year-old Marilyn Lavonne Bean and her 41-year-old son Sergio Wayne Lottimore, both of Bermuda.

Lottimore, who worked in insurance, was remembered by his alma mater as a scholastic prefect and by his work as a respected leader.

Meanwhile, the four Canadian crew members, employed by Ontario-based Latitude Air Ambulance, were identified as Philip Gregory Childerhose, Thomas Henry Farquhar, Sarah Jane Paton and Jolene Beth Weir.

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Updated: 8:32 AM CDT

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Prime Minister Mark Carney rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Prime Minister Mark Carney to take ‘active role’ in new AI advisory council

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Prime Minister Mark Carney to take ‘active role’ in new AI advisory council

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Updated: 8:33 AM CDT

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Mark Carney will take a hands-on role in setting the agenda for Ottawa’s new AI advisory council.

The Prime Minister’s Office said the new group, announced Friday, will take an "all of government" approach to advising on AI.

It's at least the fourth AI-focused advisory council appointed by the Liberal government, following groups focused on the technology's impact on labour and culture.

"The prime minister recognizes that government action must match the speed of AI," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

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Updated: 8:33 AM CDT