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Wild turkeys forage for food in Souris on a mild Monday afternoon. Turkeys were first introduced into Manitoba in 1958. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)
Wild turkeys forage for food in Souris on a mild Monday afternoon. Turkeys were first introduced into Manitoba in 1958. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

Turkey in the snow

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Developer files plan for South Village Neighbourhood

By Alex Lambert 4 minute read Preview

Developer files plan for South Village Neighbourhood

By Alex Lambert 4 minute read Yesterday at 9:37 PM CST

A proposed new development in south Brandon could create new retail and commercial space as well as about 544 homes.

The South Village Neighbourhood, located west of 18th Street and south of Patricia Avenue, is currently in the planning stages. Aside from a giant retention pond and the residential component, most of the land that will be built on is earmarked for commercial use.

VBJ Developments, which owns the land, asked the city to adopt a new neighbourhood plan last month.

“We do have a sufficient long-term supply of residential land. However, commercial land is in high demand and in short supply compared to residential land,” Andrew Mok, the city’s senior planner, said on Monday.

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Yesterday at 9:37 PM CST

A screenshot of a map of the South Village Neighbourhood in south Brandon. The red section will be developed for commercial uses. Orange is moderate-density homes, yellow is low-density homes and green is for a retention pond and green space. (Supplied)
A screenshot of a map of the South Village Neighbourhood in south Brandon. The red section will be developed for commercial uses. Orange is moderate-density homes, yellow is low-density homes and green is for a retention pond and green space. (Supplied)

Province launches new digital health card

By Tyler Searle 4 minute read Preview

Province launches new digital health card

By Tyler Searle 4 minute read Yesterday at 10:02 PM CST

WINNIPEG — The provincial government has launched an online application that allows Manitobans to access a digital version of their health card on their cellphones.

The move is intended to modernize access to health care, alleviate administrative burdens and provide added convenience to patients and parents, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said Monday.

“This is a big deal,” Asagwara said. “This is about removing small barriers that cause pretty big stress. It’s about making sure that you can access care no matter where you are.”

Manitobans who are registered in the provincial health system can request a digital version of their health cards, provided they have access to a Manitoba health card account and have installed the MB Wallet app on their mobile device.

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Yesterday at 10:02 PM CST

Premier Wab Kinew and Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Uzoma Asagwara announce the New Digital Health Card for Manitobans at a news conference in Winnipeg on Monday. (Ruth Bonneville/Winnipeg Free Press)
Premier Wab Kinew and Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Uzoma Asagwara announce the New Digital Health Card for Manitobans at a news conference in Winnipeg on Monday. (Ruth Bonneville/Winnipeg Free Press)

Witness says Blacksmith had gun ‘trained’ on victim

By Tessa Adamski 5 minute read Preview

Witness says Blacksmith had gun ‘trained’ on victim

By Tessa Adamski 5 minute read Yesterday at 9:59 PM CST

A witness testified in court that he saw Jeremy Blacksmith pointing a sawed-off shotgun at a 21-year-old man moments after he was fatally shot in Sioux Valley Dakota Nation.

The Crown witness — a 19-year-old man who can’t be named because he was a youth when the shooting occurred — testified on Monday in Brandon’s Court of King’s Bench.

Blacksmith, 43, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Blaze Tacan, and two weapons offences.

The witness, who was 17 at the time, described the events that led up to the moment Tacan was shot on Aug. 5, 2023.

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Yesterday at 9:59 PM CST

The Brandon courthouse. (File)
The Brandon courthouse. (File)

Ag Days returns with Prairie-made focus

By Abiola Odutola 4 minute read Preview

Ag Days returns with Prairie-made focus

By Abiola Odutola 4 minute read Yesterday at 10:00 PM CST

Manitoba Ag Days, Canada’s largest indoor farm show, returns to the Keystone Centre next Tuesday, focusing on Prairie-made products, innovation and community impact.

Organizers are expecting between 35,000 and 40,000 people to attend the three-day event, which will feature more than 580 exhibitors under one roof.

This year’s theme, Produced on the Prairies, was intentionally chosen to reflect where much of Canada’s agricultural innovation begins, general manager Kristen Phillips told the Sun in an interview on Monday.

“Produced on the Prairies, and you’ll see that evidence throughout the entire show,” Phillips said. “We have 125 exhibitors that signed up as people who produce or manufacture their product right here in Canada.”

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Yesterday at 10:00 PM CST

Visitors explore all the displays and booths during last year’s Manitoba Ag Days at the Keystone Centre. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun files)
Visitors explore all the displays and booths during last year’s Manitoba Ag Days at the Keystone Centre. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun files)

Assault in vehicle; robbed for sunglasses; delivery vehicle stolen

2 minute read Preview

Assault in vehicle; robbed for sunglasses; delivery vehicle stolen

2 minute read Yesterday at 10:01 PM CST

Assault in vehicle

Brandon police arrested a man on Sunday after a woman was assaulted inside a vehicle.

Officers responded at 7:44 p.m. to a report of a male hitting a female in a vehicle near the 1400 block of Van Horne Avenue, police said in a news release Monday.

A witness told police the female victim tried to get out of the vehicle, but the male driver drove away with her still inside, the release said.

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Yesterday at 10:01 PM CST

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

Keystone Centre returns to surplus in 2024-25

By Abiola Odutola 3 minute read Preview

Keystone Centre returns to surplus in 2024-25

By Abiola Odutola 3 minute read Yesterday at 9:36 PM CST

The Keystone Centre, Brandon’s cornerstone of the event industry, reported an operating surplus of $126,538 in the 2024-25 fiscal year.

The result marked a financial turnaround from an operating deficit of $726,889 the previous year.

The centre’s operating revenues fell to approximately $5.336 million from about $7.018 million in 2023-24, largely due to lower rental revenue, which declined to $4.266 million from $5.761 million.

However, operating expenses were reduced to $5.562 million from $6.891 million the year before, helping offset the revenue drop.

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Yesterday at 9:36 PM CST

The Keystone Centre in Brandon as seen from above. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun files)
The Keystone Centre in Brandon as seen from above. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun files)

Province plans for impending intimate partner violence law

Carol Sanders 5 minute read Preview

Province plans for impending intimate partner violence law

Carol Sanders 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 8:53 AM CST

Women’s shelters, police and the province are preparing for a long-awaited law that aims to prevent Manitobans from becoming the next victim of an intimate partner.

Manitoba’s Disclosure to Protect Against Intimate Partner Violence Act, which will come into law March 1, will allow someone who believes they might be at risk of violence from a current or former partner to apply for verbal disclosure about the significant other’s documented history of violence.

“By allowing individuals to access information about a partner’s history of violence, people are able to better assess risk and make decisions that may prevent harm before it actually escalates,” Manitoba Association of Women’s Shelters provincial co-ordinator Tsungai Muvingi Van Landeghem said.

“As it is, we’re seeing families or individuals who are going into relationships and then, on the back end of things, learning that there was a history that maybe would have prevented them from actually entering into a relationship with an individual or better preparing themselves,” she said.

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Updated: Yesterday at 8:53 AM CST

SVJETLANA MLINAREVIC / THE CARILLON FILES

Tsungai Muvingi Van Landeghem is the provincial co-ordinator for the Manitoba Association of Women’s Shelters.
SVJETLANA MLINAREVIC / THE CARILLON FILES Tsungai Muvingi Van Landeghem is the provincial co-ordinator for the Manitoba Association of Women’s Shelters.

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Ollie’s Schnitzel House to close Saturday

By Abiola Odutola 3 minute read Preview

Ollie’s Schnitzel House to close Saturday

By Abiola Odutola 3 minute read Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026

Ollie’s Schnitzel House will close its doors on Saturday, ending a short but heartfelt chapter for the European-inspired restaurant at 363 First St.

Co-owner Steffen Spiess and his fiancée, Kendra Rudneski, were unavailable to respond to inquiries from the Sun, but the business confirmed the planned closure through a series of social media posts that have drawn an outpouring of support from customers.

“It is with incredibly heavy hearts that we share this news,” the restaurant wrote in a post last week announcing the decision. “Ollie’s Schnitzel House will be closing, with our final day of business on January 17th. This decision was not made lightly and comes from unfortunate circumstances beyond our control.”

In the message, the owners thanked patrons for embracing the restaurant from the beginning, describing how what started as a business quickly became a place of connection and community.

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Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026

Ollie’s European Market owners Steffen Spiess (left) and Kendra Rudneski were unavailable to respond to inquiries from the Sun, but the business confirmed the planned closure through a series of social media posts that have drawn an outpouring of support from customers. (Abiola Odutola/The Brandon Sun file)
Ollie’s European Market owners Steffen Spiess (left) and Kendra Rudneski were unavailable to respond to inquiries from the Sun, but the business confirmed the planned closure through a series of social media posts that have drawn an outpouring of support from customers. (Abiola Odutola/The Brandon Sun file)

George Floyd and Renee Good: 5 years between Minneapolis videos, and confusion has increased

David Bauder, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

George Floyd and Renee Good: 5 years between Minneapolis videos, and confusion has increased

David Bauder, The Associated Press 6 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 8:32 AM CST

Five years ago, video images from a Minneapolis street showing a police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd as his life slipped away ignited a social movement.

Now, videos from another Minneapolis street showing the last moments of Renee Good's life are central to another debate about law enforcement in America. They've slipped out day by day since ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot Good last Wednesday in her maroon SUV. Yet compared to 2020, the story these pictures tell is murkier, subject to manipulation both within the image itself and the way it is interpreted.

This time, too, the Trump administration and its supporters went to work establishing their own public view of the event before the inevitable imagery appeared.

But half a decade later, so many things are not the same — from cultural attitudes to rapidly evolving technology around all kinds of imagery.

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Updated: Yesterday at 8:32 AM CST

Bystanders film a federal immigration officer in their car Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Bystanders film a federal immigration officer in their car Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Red lines and increasing self-censorship reshape Hong Kong’s once freewheeling press scene

Kanis Leung, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Red lines and increasing self-censorship reshape Hong Kong’s once freewheeling press scene

Kanis Leung, The Associated Press 6 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 8:33 AM CST

HONG KONG (AP) — From 18th place to 140th. That's how much Hong Kong's ranking plunged in a global press freedom index over some 20 years.

Behind the decline are the shutdown of pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, more red lines for journalists and increasing self-censorship across the territory. The erosion of press freedom parallels a broader curtailment of the city's Western-style civil liberties since 2020, when Beijing imposed a national security law to eradicate challenges to its rule.

Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai was convicted in December under the security law, facing up to life in prison. Hearings began Monday for Lai and other defendants in the case to argue for a shorter sentence.

His trial has been watched closely by foreign governments and political observers as a barometer of media freedom in the former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997. The government insists that his case has nothing to do with press freedom.

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Updated: Yesterday at 8:33 AM CST

FILE - Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, center, wearing a face mask arrives at court for charges relating to unlawful protests in Hong Kong, May 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
FILE - Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, center, wearing a face mask arrives at court for charges relating to unlawful protests in Hong Kong, May 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)

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