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Second-year mechatronics engineering technology student Zane Hudson demonstrates with a Modular Production System, or MPS, at Assiniboine College on Tuesday.

College unveils home of mechatronics program

Alex Lambert 3 minute read 10:39 PM EST

Assiniboine College’s new mechatronics program will help fill a gap in local industry, the program’s chair says.

The college unveiled the new home of the three-year program — part of a roughly $5.2-million facility that helps support automation in the manufacturing sector — at its North Hill campus during a press conference in Brandon on Tuesday.

Academic chair of food science and agricultural technologies Jeremy Timmer said he worked in dairy manufacturing for about 15 years, and he could see a gap in industrial automation and any form of controls.

Locally, he said, a lot of that work is given out to third-party companies.

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Brandon residents check out the open house storyboards on display at the Sportsplex multipurpose room regarding the planned roundabout at 18th Street North and Braecrest Drive on Tuesday afternoon. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)

Hilltop location made roundabout best option: city

Alex Lambert 4 minute read Preview

Hilltop location made roundabout best option: city

Alex Lambert 4 minute read Updated: 10:41 PM EST

Several dozen residents got a first-hand look Tuesday at what the new roundabout planned for the intersection of 18th Street North and Braecrest Drive in Brandon will look like.

An open house at Brandon’s Community Sportsplex, featuring 10 mounted placards with information about the project, described how a roundabout is the best option for the busy intersection.

Kyle Winters, the city’s engineering director, said a roundabout was determined to “provide the most safety to people travelling through the intersection.”

While traffic lights were considered as an option, they were ruled out because of the location on top of a hill.

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Updated: 10:41 PM EST

Local

Brandon School Division Supt. Jon Zilkey at his office at the BSD offices on Sixth Street in Brandon. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun files)

Students urged to be ‘extra safe’ in the dark

Abiola Odutola 2 minute read Preview

Students urged to be ‘extra safe’ in the dark

Abiola Odutola 2 minute read Updated: 10:38 PM EST

The Brandon School Division is asking students to take extra safety precautions during darker morning commutes due to permanent daylight time.

The division has not received reports of widespread concerns or unusual attendance issues since the province opted not to move clocks back on Nov. 1, but student and staff safety remains a priority, Supt. Jon Zilkey said Tuesday.

“I would say just take the extra precautions that you normally do when you’re walking in the dark” by staying in lighted areas as much as possible, he said.

“Just be extra safe. Make sure cars can see you often in the dark. It’s much more challenging. So just take that extra time to be cautious.”

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Updated: 10:38 PM EST

Local

Brandon-Westman Christmas Cheer volunteer and board member Joyce Shewan sorts knitted items for Christmas stockings on Tuesday afternoon that are given to kids 16 years old and under during the holiday season. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)

Christmas Cheer sets target, seeks new location for next year

Abiola Odutola 4 minute read Preview

Christmas Cheer sets target, seeks new location for next year

Abiola Odutola 4 minute read 10:33 PM EST

Brandon-Westman Christmas Cheer is hoping to raise $75,500 in donations this year — enough to fill 1,200 Christmas hampers for families in need.

The board also launched a public appeal for new warehouse space on Monday, following what was described as its likely “final meeting” at its Rosser Avenue headquarters.

The fundraising target is lower than last year’s $90,000 goal, largely because the organization received a significant provincial contribution that strengthened its financial position, spokesperson Synthia Wright said.

“We were very lucky that we got a really great donation from the NDP government when they sold the U.S. liquor at last Christmas,” Wright told the Sun.

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10:33 PM EST

Local

Sex assault victim says she had to speak out

Tessa Adamski 6 minute read Preview

Sex assault victim says she had to speak out

Tessa Adamski 6 minute read 10:32 PM EST

A woman who was sexually assaulted on campus at Brandon University said she has become a powerful voice for victims who are afraid to speak out as she directly addressed her rapist before he was sentenced to three years in prison.

“Staying silent meant people like you would continue to get away with preying on victims, thinking there were no consequences, and I couldn’t let that happen — not just for myself, but for all people whose voices could not, have not, or will not be heard,” the 28-year-old woman said in Brandon’s Court of King’s Bench on Monday afternoon.

The Indigenous woman from Thompson sobbed as she recalled feeling scared and shattered in the hours following the sexual assault in the men’s dormitory on Sept. 24, 2017, including the mental health challenges she continues to face.

“I don’t forgive you. I will, however, thank you for showing me that I’m stronger than I ever thought I could be, and that I don’t have to feel guilty for tolerating anything I’m not OK with,” she said as her hands shook.

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10:32 PM EST

Local

The Brandon Police Service crest. (File)

Woman faces charges of assaulting police officer

1 minute read Preview

Woman faces charges of assaulting police officer

1 minute read 10:31 PM EST

A woman is facing charges of resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer after she allegedly became “unco-operative” and “combative” during an incident in Brandon on Monday.

Police were called to a hotel in the 1100 block of 18th Street around 2:15 p.m. for a report of a woman causing a disturbance outside the main entrance, police said in a news release on Tuesday.

The woman was also involved in causing a disturbance outside the hotel on the previous day, police said.

When officers located the woman and tried to take her into custody, she resisted arrest, the release said.

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10:31 PM EST

Local

Man accused of pointing sawed-off shotgun at victim’s face

1 minute read Preview

Man accused of pointing sawed-off shotgun at victim’s face

1 minute read 10:30 PM EST

A 38-year-old man is facing multiple charges after Mounties say he threatened a man with a sawed-off shotgun outside a home in Ebb and Flow First Nation more than a week ago.

Ste. Rose du Lac RCMP responded to the incident around 8 p.m. on Oct. 25 and determined a 48-year-old man had gone to the residence to visit a friend, police said in a news release on Tuesday.

The victim said he was approached by the man, who accused him of being there to visit his girlfriend.

The man struck the victim in the chest and pulled a sawed-off shotgun from his backpack, RCMP said.

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10:30 PM EST

Local

A person walks to the City of Arlington South Service Center ahead of the polling place opening on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Democrats win US Senate, ending Republican dominance by harnessing voters’ frustration with Trump

Jill Colvin, Mary Clare Jalonick And Will Weissert, The Associated Press 8 minute read Preview

Democrats win US Senate, ending Republican dominance by harnessing voters’ frustration with Trump

Jill Colvin, Mary Clare Jalonick And Will Weissert, The Associated Press 8 minute read Updated: 11:44 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats have retaken control of the U.S. Senate, delivering a decisive rebuke of Republican control of governance in Washington and ushering in a new era of congressional resistance to President Donald Trump.

The midterm elections that came to a close Tuesday channeled voters’ deep frustration with high prices, the war in Iran and concerns about government corruption. The House remains too early to call, but Democrats have already flipped seven seats as they try to win the majority in that chamber as well.

Democratic control of the Senate will profoundly reshape Trump’s final two years in office and likely hamstring his ability to push his agenda, including his hopes for sustaining a conservative shift to the Supreme Court.

Trump has promised he would use his veto power to block Democrats’ agenda, forecasting the potential for gridlock in Washington.

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Updated: 11:44 PM EST

Business

Volunteers sort and pack food donations at the Daily Bread Food Bank’s spring public food sort in Toronto, on Saturday, April 4, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy Kogan

More Canadians report skipping meals because they can’t afford groceries: survey

Kathryn Mannie, The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

More Canadians report skipping meals because they can’t afford groceries: survey

Kathryn Mannie, The Canadian Press 2 minute read Updated: 8:34 AM EST

Results from an annual national poverty survey paint a worsening picture of food affordability in Canada, especially for young people, as tariffs imposed by the United States continue to shake up the Canadian economy.

The Salvation Army’s 2026 Poverty and Socioeconomic Analysis, released today, polled more than 1,500 Canadians and found that 31 per cent skipped meals or reduced their meal sizes because they couldn’t afford groceries, up from 27 per cent one year ago.

The number of people who reported using community supports such as food banks was also up — 15 per cent of those surveyed this year, compared with 11 per cent last year.

Young people report an even worse situation, according to the research conducted by Edelman Data and Intelligence on behalf of the Salvation Army.

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Updated: 8:34 AM EST

Lifestyles

A damaged RCAF CH-148 Cyclone helicopter is seen on the landing pad of HMCS Ville de Quebec in the Norwegian Sea in an undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout — Royal Canadian Air Force, Cpl G. Cole (Mandatory Credit)

No injuries after military chopper damaged in night landing on Canadian navy ship

Aaron Sousa, The Canadian Press 1 minute read Preview

No injuries after military chopper damaged in night landing on Canadian navy ship

Aaron Sousa, The Canadian Press 1 minute read Updated: 8:34 AM EST

Defence officials say there were no injuries after a military helicopter was seriously damaged during a night flight landing on a Canadian navy frigate.

A flight safety report from the Department of National Defence says it happened Oct. 6 aboard the HMCS Ville de Québec in the Norwegian Sea.

The report says as the Cyclone helicopter came in for landing, two main rotor blades clipped its tail boom and severed multiple components, including a tail rotor drive shaft.

It says the four crew members on board performed an emergency engine shutdown and fled the aircraft.

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Updated: 8:34 AM EST

Entertainment

Former prime minister Stephen Harper, right, and Prime Minister Mark Carney share a laugh during a ceremony to unveil Harper's official portrait in Ottawa on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

In new memoir, Harper says he offered Carney a job — but not finance minister

Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

In new memoir, Harper says he offered Carney a job — but not finance minister

Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: 8:35 AM EST

OTTAWA - Former prime minister Stephen Harper says he offered Mark Carney, then the governor of the Bank of Canada, a role in his Conservative government in 2012 — though not as finance minister. Not right away, at least.

In his new book "Here for Canada: Memoirs of the 22nd Prime Minister," Harper says he told Carney the finance position was already taken but indicated that he would be next in line for the job when it became vacant.

"Obviously, I did not offer him the post of minister of finance, as it was then not available. However, I indicated that, if he chose to join the government, he would be the leading candidate should the post come open," Harper writes.

Carney said in an interview on CBC during the 2025 Liberal leadership race that Harper had "asked me if I would be his finance minister in 2012." He said at the time it wouldn't be appropriate to go directly from the Bank of Canada governorship to party politics.

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Updated: 8:35 AM EST