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Prison time for letting garage be used to stash cocaine

By Skye Anderson 4 minute read Yesterday at 9:57 PM CDT

A Brandon man whose garage was used to stash cocaine for a local drug-trafficking ring has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

Craig Crofton, 59, pleaded guilty last year to possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. Crofton was one of the 10 people arrested in Project Banish, in which police seized more than nine kilograms of cocaine in 2022.

“His actions facilitated the flow of cocaine on an ongoing basis to the detriment of the community,” Justice Scott Abel said while delivering his sentence in Brandon’s Court of King’s Bench on Tuesday.

The Crown had recommended a sentence of three years, and defence recommended a conditional sentence — house arrest — of two years less one day.

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Brandon Coun. Glen Parker (Ward 9) said his departure from politics after three terms on council will give him more time to focus on family. (Alex Lambert/The Brandon Sun)

Outgoing councillor hopes to light up Rideau Park

By Alex Lambert 5 minute read Preview

Outgoing councillor hopes to light up Rideau Park

By Alex Lambert 5 minute read Yesterday at 9:56 PM CDT

Brandon’s deputy mayor says he will not seek re-election this October — but he wants to get the city to start lighting up Rideau Park next year.

Coun. Glen Parker (Ward 9) announced his retirement from city council to the Sun on Tuesday, almost exactly 10 years after he was first elected in a byelection.

“It’s been good, the people in this ward, the people in the businesses … I’ve really liked working with them,” Parker said in an interview at Rideau Park. “It’s been a privilege to represent them.”

The former longtime Brandon Sun employee said his departure from politics after three terms on council will give him more time to focus on family.

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Yesterday at 9:56 PM CDT

Local

A design rendering of the K-8 school planned for the Brookwood South community in Brandon's southwestern corner. (Supplied)

BSD to unveil plans for new school

By Abiola Odutola 3 minute read Preview

BSD to unveil plans for new school

By Abiola Odutola 3 minute read Yesterday at 9:55 PM CDT

Residents will get a first look at Brandon’s newest K-8 school this evening at an information session on the $20-million project planned for Brookwood South.

The open-house-style session will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the library at Vincent Massey High School at 715 McDiarmid Dr.

Brandon School Division Supt. Mathew Gustafson said the event will feature project renderings and virtual-design demonstrations.

“This is a chance for us to share details about the new school with people in the community,” he told the Sun on Tuesday, adding that the target date for opening is September 2027.

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Yesterday at 9:55 PM CDT

Local

Advanced Education and Training Minister Renée Cable announces an additional $2.5 million in provincial funding for adult learning and literacy programs across Manitoba at Urban Circle Training on Selkirk Avenue in Winnipeg on Tuesday. Of that total, almost $750,000 is specifically earmarked for western Manitoba. (Ruth Bonneville/Winnipeg Free Press)

Adult learning in Westman gets $750K boost

By Abiola Odutola 5 minute read Preview

Adult learning in Westman gets $750K boost

By Abiola Odutola 5 minute read Yesterday at 9:52 PM CDT

Adult learning and literacy centres in Westman are set to receive a $750,000 increase in provincial funding for the 2026-27 school year, Advanced Education and Training Minister Renée Cable told the Sun.

The funding is part of the additional $2.5 million in provincial funding for adult learning and literacy programs across Manitoba announced by the minister in Winnipeg on Tuesday morning.

Cable said the province is making a “record investment” in adult education after years of stagnant funding.

“Under the previous government, there was zero investment for like 10 years in adult education,” Cable said after Tuesday’s announcement.

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Yesterday at 9:52 PM CDT

Local

Brandon Sun The Brandon courthouse. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)

Sioux Valley man given eight years for slaying half-sister

By Skye Anderson 4 minute read Preview

Sioux Valley man given eight years for slaying half-sister

By Skye Anderson 4 minute read Yesterday at 9:54 PM CDT

A Sioux Valley Dakota Nation man has been sentenced to eight years behind bars for fatally stabbing his half-sister in 2022.

Ernest Michael Blacksmith, 23, pleaded guilty last year to manslaughter in the death of 30-year-old Aimee-Jo Antoine. Justice Scott Abel delivered his sentence in Brandon’s Court of King’s Bench on Tuesday.

The Crown had recommended a sentence of 10 years, while defence argued for a time-served sentence, which is the equivalent of about five years and three months.

“The circumstances surrounding this offence are tragic,” Abel said.

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Yesterday at 9:54 PM CDT

Local

Health-care workers at Brandon’s Western Manitoba Cancer Centre received the Outstanding Nursing Unit, Program or Interprofessional Team Award on May 14. Staff were presented with the award during a ceremony at the 2026 Association of Regulated Nurses of Manitoba Celebration of Excellence in Winnipeg. (Tessa Adamski/The Brandon Sun)

Cancer centre staff recognized as outstanding

By Tessa Adamski 4 minute read Preview

Cancer centre staff recognized as outstanding

By Tessa Adamski 4 minute read Yesterday at 9:51 PM CDT

Health-care workers at Brandon’s Western Manitoba Cancer Centre were recognized for their collaborative approach to providing compassionate patient care during an awards ceremony last week.

The centre’s staff won the Outstanding Nursing Unit, Program or Interprofessional Team Award Thursday evening in Winnipeg at the 2026 Association of Regulated Nurses of Manitoba Celebration of Excellence.

More than 200 nurses, health-care leaders, community partners and family members gathered in celebration of the 11th annual event to acknowledge the contributions of nurses and health-care professionals across Manitoba.

Clinical resource nurse Jordana Jones, who has worked at the Brandon centre for about 12 years, said she nominated the cancer care staff alongside her former manager.

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Yesterday at 9:51 PM CDT

Local

In this photo taken from video provided by Laura Jones, Billy Le Pine, Rhys Smoker and Lilli Ashby, a frog sits inside a salad bag in Esperance, Australia, on May 16, 2026. (Laura Jones, Billy Le Pine, Rhys Smoker and Lilli Ashby via AP)

Lettuce introduce you to the live frog found in this grocery store salad bag

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Lettuce introduce you to the live frog found in this grocery store salad bag

The Associated Press 2 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 1:37 PM CDT

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — When Australian farmer Rhys Smoker announced he’d found a live frog in a bag of lettuce, his housemates didn’t believe him.

Smoker had been preparing a steak and salad dinner on Saturday for the three people who share his house in Esperance in Western Australia state when he spotted the frog among the leaves inside the sealed plastic bag he'd bought from a supermarket, housemate Laura Jones said on Tuesday.

“He’s like, ‘Oh Bro, there’s a frog in the lettuce.’ And we’re like, ‘No, you’re taking the mick, like that’s not real,’” Jones told AP. Taking the mick is a slang term for attempting to fool someone.

Smoker brought the bag into the lounge room to show Jones and her partner Billy Le Pine.

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Updated: Yesterday at 1:37 PM CDT

Local

Estonia's Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur speaks with the media as he arrives for a meeting of EU defense ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

NATO jet shoots down what’s believed to be a Ukrainian drone over Estonia

Kostya Manenkov, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

NATO jet shoots down what’s believed to be a Ukrainian drone over Estonia

Kostya Manenkov, The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 9:07 AM CDT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A Romanian F-16 jet deployed with NATO air policing forces in the Baltics shot down what is believed to have been a Ukrainian drone over southern Estonia on Tuesday, authorities said.

Ukraine apologized for the “unintended incident,” and Russia warned of retaliation if Ukrainian drones are launched from Baltic countries.

Given the trajectory of the drone, “we decided that we need to take it down,” Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said.

“Most probably, today we can say that it was (a) drone which was, let’s say, meant to hit some Russian targets,” he told The Associated Press.

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Updated: Yesterday at 9:07 AM CDT

Business

Diesel prices are seen at a gas station in Montreal on Thursday, April 9, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

Inflation rises to 2.8% in April but Iran war impact limited to gas pumps for now

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Inflation rises to 2.8% in April but Iran war impact limited to gas pumps for now

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 11:31 AM CDT

OTTAWA - Higher gas prices driven mainly by the war in Iran pushed inflation higher in April but some economists argue the conflict's looming costs haven't been fully captured in the latest price data.

Inflation rose to 2.8 per cent in April, Statistics Canada said Tuesday — the highest annual inflation rate since May 2024.

StatCan's April report marks a jump from March's inflation rate of 2.4 per cent, though a Reuters poll of economists had expected inflation would accelerate even more to top three per cent.

StatCan said the cost of gasoline was 28.6 per cent higher year-over-year last month as conflict in the Middle East disrupted global oil shipments, sending costs soaring at the gas pumps. April also marked the switch to more expensive summer gasoline blends at gas stations in Canada.

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Updated: Yesterday at 11:31 AM CDT

Lifestyles

A woman wearing a protective mask stands in the corridor of a hospital in Bunia, Congo, Sunday, May 17, 2026. (AP Photo/ Dirole Lotsima Dieudonne)

Congo reports sharp rise in Ebola cases as WHO worries about outbreak’s scale and speed

The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Congo reports sharp rise in Ebola cases as WHO worries about outbreak’s scale and speed

The Associated Press 6 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 9:07 AM CDT

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — The World Health Organization director-general openly worried Tuesday over the “scale and speed” of an outbreak of a rare type of Ebola in eastern Congo, where authorities reported a sharp increase in suspected deaths — to at least 131 — and over 500 suspected cases.

The virus spread undetected for weeks after the first known death as authorities tested for a more common type of Ebola and came up negative, health experts and aid workers said. This Bundibugyo virus has no approved medicines or vaccines.

Congo’s health minister, Samuel Roger Kamba said investigations were underway to determine whether the deaths and 513 suspected cases were "actually linked to the disease.”

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said he is “deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic," adding the U.N. health agency will convene its emergency committee later Tuesday. He pointed to the emergence of cases in urban areas, the deaths of healthcare workers and significant population movement.

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Updated: Yesterday at 9:07 AM CDT

Lifestyles

Jeffrey Lensman's Quebec-born great-great-grandfather Odilon Marceau and great-great-grandmother Mathilde Goyette are seen with their adult children in a 1910 handout photo. Lensman, from Salt Lake City, Utah, is seeking Canadian citizenship on the basis of Marceau's birth in Quebec in 1838. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Jeffrey Lensman (Mandatory Credit)

Americans are looking back centuries to find Canadian ancestors — and citizenship

Nono Shen, The Canadian Press 10 minute read Preview

Americans are looking back centuries to find Canadian ancestors — and citizenship

Nono Shen, The Canadian Press 10 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 10:04 AM CDT

Cody Sibley was born and raised in Louisiana, but he always felt his family shared strong ties to Canada thanks to his Acadian ancestors from Nova Scotia.

Sibley said that as an eighth-generation descendant of Acadians, his family's roots could be traced back to "generation zero," Agathe Doucet, who was baptized on Jan. 19, 1710, in Nova Scotia.

He said Doucet married to Pierre Pitre in 1727, but the couple's lives were turned upside down in 1755 when British soldiers arrived at their doors and ordered their expulsion; like many Acadians, they ended up in Louisiana, where the community went on to become known as Cajuns.

Sibley is now among a surge of Americans combing through genealogical records in the hopes of finding a Canadian ancestor — some, like Sibley's, dating back hundreds of years, long before Canada officially existed. They plan to use the information to claim Canadian citizenship, under recently introduced legal changes that remove the so-called "first-generation limit" on citizenship for people born or adopted outside Canada to a Canadian citizen.

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Updated: Yesterday at 10:04 AM CDT