Brandon Sun – Breaking News, Sports, Manitoba, Canada

Five-time Canadian Olympian Valerie Maltais shows a training technique during a drill to members of the Westman Speed Skating Club at the Sportsplex on Tuesday. Maltais and her fellow Olympian Anders Johnson visited classrooms and then had activities with the team in the evening that were sponsored by Speed Skating Canada. The visit was part of the prize after the club was named the winner of the Intact Insurance Club Excellence Award last October. (Perry Bergson/The Brandon Sun)

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Province better prepared for fire season: NDP

By Alex Lambert 5 minute read Preview

Province better prepared for fire season: NDP

By Alex Lambert 5 minute read Yesterday at 10:06 PM CDT

The provincial government says it is more prepared to deal with this year’s wildfire season — though it doesn’t expect 2026 to be as busy as last year.

Cabinet ministers Lisa Naylor and Ian Bushie gave a summary of the interim after-action review of the 2025 wildfire season in Brandon on Tuesday, highlighting improvements for the coming season.

The review is helping to shape this year’s wildfire response, Naylor, the minister responsible for the Emergency Management Organization, said at a news conference at the Keystone Centre during the first day of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities convention.

Naylor said last year’s wildfire season “tested Manitobans like never before.”

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Yesterday at 10:06 PM CDT

Natural Resources and Indigenous Futures Minister Ian Bushie speaks during a press conference at the Keystone Centre in Brandon on Tuesday after the province released its 2025 Wildfire Interim After Action Review. (Photos by Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

Police investigating spate of weekend break-ins, thefts

1 minute read Preview

Police investigating spate of weekend break-ins, thefts

1 minute read Yesterday at 9:47 PM CDT

The Brandon Police Service is investigating break-ins that took place at two businesses and a construction site over the weekend.

On Monday, BPS received three reports of break and enters.

A business on the 900 block of 18th Street was reportedly broken into between 4:30 p.m. on Friday and 8 a.m. on Monday, during which cash had been stolen, BPS said in a news release on Tuesday.

In another incident, someone entered a construction site on the 100 block of 26th Street between Friday and 6 a.m. Monday. A trailer on the site had been broken into, and several items were stolen, police said.

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Yesterday at 9:47 PM CDT

City closes three recreational spots due to flooding

1 minute read Yesterday at 10:04 PM CDT

The City of Brandon has closed one of its parks and two recreational spots due to overland flooding.

Dinsdale Park, the Fat Bike Trail and the Red Willow Pathway walking bridge are all closed for public safety, the city announced in a Facebook post.

The city is also urging people to be careful if they are near the Assiniboine River Corridor, saying open waterways can be dangerous.

The province issued a high-water advisory for the Assiniboine River between the Shellmouth Dam north of Russell and Portage la Prairie late last week. The bulletin said warming spring weather was expected to speed up snowmelt, increase ice movement and raise water levels across the region.

Rossburn home destroyed as fire spreads from garage

By Skye Anderson 1 minute read Preview

Rossburn home destroyed as fire spreads from garage

By Skye Anderson 1 minute read Yesterday at 10:05 PM CDT

A Rossburn home was “a complete loss” following a weekend blaze, the community’s fire chief says.

The Rossburn Fire Department received a report of a house fire on Cloverdale Avenue at around 12:45 a.m. on Saturday.

Rossburn fire Chief Kelly Slon said the fire started in the garage, which was attached to the home, and quickly consumed the entire residence.

“(It was) a complete loss,” Slon told the Sun. “After fighting it for over an hour, we had to call it off.”

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Yesterday at 10:05 PM CDT

A Rossburn home in flames early Saturday morning. (Supplied)

City greenlights transit master plan

By Alex Lambert 3 minute read Preview

City greenlights transit master plan

By Alex Lambert 3 minute read Yesterday at 9:48 PM CDT

The City of Brandon approved its transit master plan at Monday evening’s council meeting.

The plan, to be implemented in three phases, will create seven completely new bus routes, move from one to three transit hubs, increase evening bus services and extend operating hours on Sunday.

Council unanimously approved the changes, which have gone through years of prior engagement with the public and Watt Consulting Group.

Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett said he was glad to see the plan approved, but noted that small changes could still be coming.

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Yesterday at 9:48 PM CDT

Three-year sentence for robbing taxi driver

By Skye Anderson 4 minute read Preview

Three-year sentence for robbing taxi driver

By Skye Anderson 4 minute read Yesterday at 9:50 PM CDT

A provincial court judge sentenced a Brandon man to more than three years behind bars on Tuesday after he got into an argument with a taxi driver and stole his cab.

Nicholas Wanbdiska, 45, had pleaded guilty to robbery along with failing to attend court and two counts of breaching his release order.

On Feb. 8, 2024, Wanbdiska got into an argument with a taxi driver in front of the Canad Inns in Brandon and “struck” him, court heard.

Crown attorney Caroline Lacey said the comments Wanbdiska made to the driver had a “racial undertone.”

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Yesterday at 9:50 PM CDT

The front doors of the Brandon courthouse on 11th Street. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)

Shakespeare comedy gets modern makeover

By Tessa Adamski 5 minute read Preview

Shakespeare comedy gets modern makeover

By Tessa Adamski 5 minute read Yesterday at 9:53 PM CDT

Two theatre groups in Westman are teaming up for the first time to present a modernized reinterpretation of William Shakespeare’s romantic comedy “Twelfth Night” that hits the spotlight this week.

About 30 cast members unite Brandon University’s theatre students with performers from the Assiniboine Theatre Company at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium from Thursday to Saturday.

BU drama instructor Rochelle Douris, the play’s director, said it has been a positive experience working with the theatre company, which reached out to her last year for a collaboration.

Douris said she hopes this is only the beginning of more partnerships between theatre groups in the city.

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Yesterday at 9:53 PM CDT

Cast members for Assiniboine Company and the Brandon University Drama Department’s production of “Twelfth Night” perform during a dress rehearsal for the Shakespearean comedy at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium on Tuesday evening. The play opens Thursday and runs until Saturday. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

Brandon eateries linked to possible measles exposure

1 minute read Preview

Brandon eateries linked to possible measles exposure

1 minute read Monday, Apr. 20, 2026

Two Brandon restaurants have been identified as possible measles expsoures sites and Manitoba public health officials are warning people to watch for early symptoms.

Anyone who was at The Dock on Princess on April 1 from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. should monitor for signs until April 23. Similarly, those who went to Browns Socialhouse on March 30 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. should watch for symptoms until today.

There’s been a total of 474 confirmed measles cases and 68 probable ones across Manitoba this year, with 60 new cases reported in the first 11 days of April, provincial data current up to Friday show.

So far, Manitoba has had 155 more cases of measles in 2026 compared to the total amount last year.

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Monday, Apr. 20, 2026

Digital version of the measles screening signs that have been put around the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg. (HSC)

Helping Hands delivering food to BU students on campus

By Abiola Odutola 3 minute read Preview

Helping Hands delivering food to BU students on campus

By Abiola Odutola 3 minute read Monday, Apr. 20, 2026

Brandon University has partnered with the Helping Hands Centre of Brandon to provide students with free food on a monthly basis.

BU spokesperson Rob Henderson said the partnership grew out of a conversation between members of the university’s administration and the Helping Hands board.

“Supporting students who need food fits within the Helping Hands mandate, and this is a great example of how being connected to our community and being nimble can allow us to quickly put together an initiative that is beneficial for our students,” Henderson told the Sun on Monday.

The first food delivery was unloaded and placed on tables in two locations on the campus earlier this month — and was gone by noon the next day, he said.

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Monday, Apr. 20, 2026

Some food items supplied by the Helping Hands Centre of Brandon to Brandon University in its first delivery earlier this month. The non-profit will provide students with free food on a monthly basis. (Supplied)

Westman pharmacists recognized for outstanding leadership

By Tessa Adamski 5 minute read Preview

Westman pharmacists recognized for outstanding leadership

By Tessa Adamski 5 minute read Monday, Apr. 20, 2026

Two Westman pharmacists have been recognized for their outstanding contributions to community service and empowering staff to deliver an exceptional level of care to patients.

Pharmacists Manitoba, a non-profit advocacy organization that represents pharmacists across the province, held its annual 2026 award ceremony at the Norwood Hotel in Winnipeg on Saturday afternoon.

Among the nine award recipients this year, Jennifer Ludwig of Brandon won the Bowl of Hygeia Award and Matt Williams of Souris received the Ozturk Financial Pharmacy Business Leadership Award.

Ludwig said she was “speechless” and “shocked” when she found out she had won the award that recognizes her devotion to helping her community.

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Monday, Apr. 20, 2026