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Dinsdale Park in Brandon is almost completely submerged by flood water on Sunday, while super sandbags mostly protect First Street North from the floodwater. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

First Street North partially closed as river peaks

By Abiola Odutola 4 minute read Yesterday at 11:34 PM CDT

The Assiniboine River continued its gradual rise through Sunday, prompting the closure of northbound traffic on First Street North and leaving Grand Valley Road under water.

As of 7 a.m, Sunday, the river level at First Street measured 1,179.23 feet, an increase of 1.62 feet over the previous 24 hours. The City of Brandon said the river is expected to peak today and that crews continue to monitor dikes, lift stations and other flood protection around the clock.

By Sunday afternoon, rising water had forced the closure of northbound First Street North. Traffic was directed in both directions using the southbound lane, where water has already covered portions of the road.

Motorists are asked to use extreme caution, allow extra travel time and consider alternate routes. Brandon Transit riders are also expected to experience delays because of the traffic changes.

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Local

A police evidence marker rests on the pavement of the westbound lane of Richmond Avenue just west of the intersection with 18th Street. The marker lies on the opposite side of the street and several feet from a crosswalk where an SUV collided with 16-year-old Faith Flett last week. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun files)

Teen hit in crosswalk faces long recovery

By Abiola Odutola 4 minute read Preview

Teen hit in crosswalk faces long recovery

By Abiola Odutola 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 11:15 PM CDT

Krista McPherson said every hour is now focused on helping her 16-year-old daughter, Faith Flett, endure the pain and begin what is expected to be a lengthy recovery after she was struck by an SUV while crossing a marked crosswalk on Richmond Avenue last week.

Faith remains at the Children’s Hospital at Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg, where she continues to receive treatment for multiple serious injuries, including two punctured lungs, about nine broken ribs, a fractured pelvis, a broken hip, lacerations and extensive road rash.

Speaking from the hospital on Friday, McPherson said her daughter had just completed a physiotherapy session that left her in severe pain.

“She had physio about an hour ago. She’s in a lot of pain right now,” McPherson told the Sun. “They’ve got her on morphine and diazepam, so she’s just slowly calming down and slowly bearing the pain at this point.”

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Updated: Yesterday at 11:15 PM CDT

Local

Harper Holland brushes the tail of her cow during the 2026 Souris Peacock Days and Fair on Saturday afternoon. (Abiola Odutola/The Brandon Sun)

New attractions, familiar favourites draw crowds to Souris festival

By Abiola Odutola 4 minute read Preview

New attractions, familiar favourites draw crowds to Souris festival

By Abiola Odutola 4 minute read Yesterday at 11:06 PM CDT

SOURIS — Hundreds of visitors turned out for the 2026 Souris Peacock Days and Fair as organizers expanded the annual celebration with new attractions despite sweltering temperatures.

The multi-day festival, which began Friday and wrapped up Sunday, showcased the community spirit that has made the event a longstanding summer tradition

The event brought together agricultural competitions, family entertainment, vendors, food trucks and equestrian events, with organizers hoping to surpass last year’s estimated attendance of about 500 people. For the first time, officials used a gate clicker to accurately measure attendance.

Micheala Sigurdson, a director with the Souris and Glenwood Agricultural Society, said the fair was the result of months of collaboration among numerous volunteer groups and community organizations.

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Yesterday at 11:06 PM CDT

Local

Longtime Brandon School Division trustee Jim Murray has decided not to run in this October’s municipal election, after decades on the board of trustees. (Abiola Odutola/The Brandon Sun file)

Longtime trustee to step aside after over 30 years

By Abiola Odutola 3 minute read Preview

Longtime trustee to step aside after over 30 years

By Abiola Odutola 3 minute read Yesterday at 11:06 PM CDT

Longtime Brandon School Division trustee Jim Murray has decided not to seek re-election in this October’s municipal election, after decades on the board of trustees.

Murray said it was simply the right time to step away after more than 30 years of public service.

“I never intended for it to become a career,” Murray told the Sun.

“I’ve enjoyed every single minute of it, but we sold our business recently, and I’m now officially fully retired, sitting here with my wife. I think it’s time to move on. It’s time for a new group of people to take over at the board table.”

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Yesterday at 11:06 PM CDT

Local

First Street northbound closed due to flood water

2 minute read Preview

First Street northbound closed due to flood water

2 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 2:21 PM CDT

The Manitoba government has closed the northbound lanes of 1st Street as the Assiniboine River continues to rise toward its anticipated peak. The northbound traffic was closed after water flowed onto portions of the roadway, and traffic is now being directed in both directions using the southbound lane only, with motorists urged to slow down and use extreme caution while travelling through the area.

Residents are being encouraged to avoid the area if possible, use alternate routes and allow extra travel time. The road closure is also expected to cause delays for Brandon Transit services.

Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett said the river is behaving much as officials had forecast, with water levels remaining within expected projections.

"The forecast on the river has been very accurate, and it is where it was expected," Fawcett told The Sun on Sunday afternoon. "We do expect just a little bit of a rise still, but that's well within what we were expecting."

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Updated: Yesterday at 2:21 PM CDT

Local

Toronto Police hold back crowds as they respond to an active shooter at the Salsa on St. Clair event in Toronto, on Saturday, July 11, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Keito Newman

Fear, grief and calls for security after deadly shooting at Toronto street festival

Monique Kasonga, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview

Fear, grief and calls for security after deadly shooting at Toronto street festival

Monique Kasonga, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 2:33 PM CDT

TORONTO - A Toronto street that should have been packed with vendors and dancing people was all but deserted on Sunday after a shooting the night before at the Salsa on St. Clair festival left two people dead and sent thousands running for cover.

The street festival on St. Clair Avenue West was scheduled to run through Sunday, but organizers called it off as police continued their investigation into the sudden gunfire that also sent four people to hospital with serious injuries.

Instead, only a handful of businesses were open along the street as police blocked access to all cars. Bright festival signs hung amid empty vendor booths and only a few people were walking around.

Redon Hoxhaj was on his way to Pain Perdu, a café on St. Clair Avenue West he visits every Sunday. It was closed.

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Updated: Yesterday at 2:33 PM CDT

Business

General Manager at Cameco's Cigar Lake Operation Kirk Lamont stands for a photograph above ground during a media tour of Cameco's Cigar Lake uranium mine in Cigar Lake, Sask., Monday, June 15, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESSLiam Richards

‘Power hungry’: Nuclear renaissance a boon for Canada’s mining and reactor sectors

Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

‘Power hungry’: Nuclear renaissance a boon for Canada’s mining and reactor sectors

Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 2:09 PM CDT

CIGAR LAKE, SASK. - Taryn Roske lost her job twice when the nuclear industry had ground to a halt.

The Cameco employee and hundreds of others were laid off from the company’s Rabbit Lake mine in northern Saskatchewan after it shut down in 2016.

"I had to sell my house," Roske said in a recent interview. "I ended up taking a loss on that, because the housing market was in a horrible place."

Four months later, she got a job at Cameco's McArthur River mine and Key Lake mill. But they stopped operating two years later, and more layoffs followed.

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Updated: Yesterday at 2:09 PM CDT

Local

FILE - U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. answer media questions near damaged Russian vehicles exhibition in central Kyiv, on July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)

Sen. Lindsey Graham likely died after aorta tear, medical examiner says

Seung Min Kim, Mary Clare Jalonick And Meg Kinnard, The Associated Press 8 minute read Preview

Sen. Lindsey Graham likely died after aorta tear, medical examiner says

Seung Min Kim, Mary Clare Jalonick And Meg Kinnard, The Associated Press 8 minute read Updated: 2:25 AM CDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of President Donald Trump's closest allies in Congress who traveled the globe to advocate for a more aggressive U.S. foreign policy, died after a tear in his aorta, according to a preliminary medical examiner finding shared by his office.

The tear in the inner wall of the aorta, called an aortic dissection, was related to the hardening of Graham's arteries. An official cause of death will be disclosed after toxicological and microscopic testing.

Graham, a prominent South Carolina Republican and former Air Force lawyer who served in Congress for more than three decades, had turned 71 years old just two days before dying on Saturday night. His office had originally said he had suffered from a “brief and sudden illness."

Trump, who talked to Graham frequently, said he was “like a member of the family. It’s very tough.” He said on NBC’s ”Meet the Press" that Graham had called him on Saturday night after returning from a trip to Ukraine and “sounded a little bit tired, but perfect.” The president ordered that flags across the country be flown at half-staff until next Saturday evening.

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Updated: 2:25 AM CDT

Local

A fire breaks out at the Walmart in St. Vital Centre on Monday. A 47-year-old man is accused of setting the blaze, which caused more than $10 million in damage. (Supplied)

Man accused in Walmart blaze previously set other fires

By Erik Pindera 3 minute read Preview

Man accused in Walmart blaze previously set other fires

By Erik Pindera 3 minute read Saturday, Jul. 11, 2026

WINNIPEG — A judge urged Ronald Marmito Amigo to address his addiction to methamphetamine as she sentenced him last year for lighting a fire in a storage area at Garden City Shopping Centre and another in a nearby dumpster while high.

“Where you are right now is a direct result of your addictions, everything that is going on in your life is a direct result of your addictions, and until you see that, accept that and deal with your addictions, things aren’t going to get better in your life,” provincial court Judge Patrice Miniely told Amigo last July.

She gave Amigo 27 days in jail and 18 months of supervised probation for arson to property and a court order breach over the Jan. 29, 2025 incidents.

The 47-year-old is now accused of setting the bedding section of the St. Vital Centre Walmart ablaze on Monday, resulting in more than $10 million in damage and forcing the evacuation of 150-200 customers and staff.

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Saturday, Jul. 11, 2026

Local

Premier Wab Kinew and Emergency Management Organization director Christine Stevens answer questions from the media about flooding support at Manitoba Legislative Building in Winnipeg on Friday. (Ruth Bonneville/Winnipeg Free Press)

Advance cheques coming for flood victims

By Scott Billeck and Morgan Modjeski 6 minute read Preview

Advance cheques coming for flood victims

By Scott Billeck and Morgan Modjeski 6 minute read Saturday, Jul. 11, 2026

WINNIPEG — About 1,800 Manitobans who have applied for provincial disaster financial assistance will receive $500 advances as recovery efforts continue in flood-ravaged communities, Premier Wab Kinew said Friday.

The advance cheques, along with a letter that outlines the aid payment process, will be mailed out.

“Right now, our focus is on helping families recover as quickly as possible,” Kinew said. “While disaster financial assistance arrangements have existed over many years in Manitoba, these have typically been programs that roll out over months after a natural disaster occurs. What we’re doing this year is rushing to ensure that help gets to you as as soon as possible.”

Kinew said about 1,800 applications have been received. He encouraged residents to contact their insurance providers first, and said aid applications are on the province’s website.

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Saturday, Jul. 11, 2026

Local

Ukrainian dance competitors wait backstage in 2018 to perform during Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival at the CNUF Selo Ukraina festival site south of Dauphin. The festival has been cancelled this year because organizers decided they could not ensure safety at the event since flooding of the Dauphin Regional Health Centre led to the displacement of local health-care providers. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun files)

Dauphin Ukrainian festival cancelled

By Connor McDowell Local Journalism Initiative 4 minute read Preview

Dauphin Ukrainian festival cancelled

By Connor McDowell Local Journalism Initiative 4 minute read Friday, Jul. 10, 2026

The 2026 edition of Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival has been cancelled due to a lack of nearby health-care options in Dauphin.

The festival’s board of directors released a statement Thursday night saying it “determined that we cannot confidently provide the safe environment” needed for the event to take place. The cancellation comes after flooding displaced staff at the Dauphin Regional Health Centre.

“Emergency health-care services have been relocated to rural communities more than 30 minutes away, creating significant challenges in providing timely medical care for the event,” the board wrote.

After the Dauphin Regional Health Centre, including the emergency department, sustained flooding damage this summer, it was closed, and was not expected to reopen by the time of the festival, the board of directors wrote. Premier Wab Kinew said on Friday the most recent estimates put the hospital’s reopening between nine and 12 months into the future.

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Friday, Jul. 10, 2026