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Crocus Plains Regional Secondary School students Victor Aderemi-Fawoye, Cody Johnson, Parker Martin, Landon Klassen, Kayla DeCosse, Nia Smith and Laurie Paquet were recently awarded gold medals in the Skills Manitoba competition. Not pictured among the gold-medal winners is Avery Maendel. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

Crocus Plains team brings home 8 gold medals

By Abiola Odutola 4 minute read Yesterday at 10:04 PM CDT

Eight students from Crocus Plains Regional Secondary School are heading to Toronto next month to represent Manitoba at the Skills Canada national competition.

The students will join more than 500 competitors from all parts of the country to participate in over 40 skilled trade and technology competitions May 28 and 29.

All eight earned gold medals by excelling at the Skills Manitoba competition in Winnipeg last Thursday.

The delegation includes Grade 11 students Nia Smith, Kayla DeCosse, Cody Johnson, Parker Martin, Landon Klassen and Avery Maendel, and Grade 12 students Victor Aderemi-Fawoye and Laurie Paquet.

The Royal Manitoba Winter Fair

Accused killer said he couldn’t recall severe 1998 accident

By Skye Anderson 3 minute read Preview

Accused killer said he couldn’t recall severe 1998 accident

By Skye Anderson 3 minute read Yesterday at 10:00 PM CDT

A Brandon man accused of killing his 71-year-old mother had been severely injured in a workplace accident almost 30 years ago, court heard on Wednesday in Brandon.

Gabriel Heymans, 47, told Const. Tyler Nichol of the Brandon Police Service that he had no recollection of the 1998 accident during a police interview on Nov. 3, 2023 — the same day his mother’s body was found and he was arrested.

A recording of the interview was played in Court of King’s Bench during the third day of Heymans’ trial.

Heymans has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Maureen Heymans, whom court heard he shared an apartment with at 264 McDiarmid Dr. for seven years.

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Yesterday at 10:00 PM CDT

The Brandon courthouse.
The Brandon courthouse.

Music fest gets nod for late closing, alcohol sales

By Alex Lambert 3 minute read Preview

Music fest gets nod for late closing, alcohol sales

By Alex Lambert 3 minute read Yesterday at 10:04 PM CDT

Brandon City Council has given the green light to the Salamander Summer Music Festival to rock on later into the night and to serve alcohol.

The community-event designation allows music to be played until 11 p.m. on the Friday and Saturday during the festival.

The fourth edition of the festival is slated for July 17-19 at Rideau Park.

“It gets dark so late in the summer, then if we were to shut down early, you wouldn’t get that evening festival atmosphere,” organizer Jenn Watson said in an interview on Tuesday.

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Yesterday at 10:04 PM CDT

Salamander Summer Music Festival organizer Jenn Watson speaks during last week’s city council meeting in Brandon. Watson says the festival has seen significant growth, with a record number of artists applying to perform at this summer’s event. (Alex Lambert/The Brandon Sun)
Salamander Summer Music Festival organizer Jenn Watson speaks during last week’s city council meeting in Brandon. Watson says the festival has seen significant growth, with a record number of artists applying to perform at this summer’s event. (Alex Lambert/The Brandon Sun)

Austin grain elevator bites the dust

By Tessa Adamski 5 minute read Preview

Austin grain elevator bites the dust

By Tessa Adamski 5 minute read Yesterday at 9:58 PM CDT

AUSTIN — Community members in Austin watched in awe as a grain elevator built in 1951 crashed to the ground during a planned demolition led by the Pine Creek Hutterite Colony late Wednesday morning.

John and Nellie Reimer — who stood among a large crowd of people behind a barricade on Second Avenue — said they felt mixed emotions as an excavator gutted the elevator before knocking it over, creating a massive cloud of dust.

“I guess it’s sad in a way to see it go, but it’s rotten and it’s not safe anymore,” said Nellie, 77, who has lived in Austin with her husband since 2011.

John, 81, said it was “almost sad” to watch the demolition, but he knew it was only a matter of time before it could have collapsed anyway.

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Yesterday at 9:58 PM CDT

The grain elevator in Austin, built in 1951, comes crashing down on Wednesday during demolition by members of Pine Creek Hutterite Colony. (Photos by Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)
The grain elevator in Austin, built in 1951, comes crashing down on Wednesday during demolition by members of Pine Creek Hutterite Colony. (Photos by Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

Dangerous driving; woman sought

2 minute read Preview

Dangerous driving; woman sought

2 minute read Yesterday at 10:03 PM CDT

DROVE INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC

Police arrested a Waywayseecappo First Nation man after he allegedly drove into oncoming traffic while impaired on Sunday.

Officers from the Manitoba First Nations Police Service’s Waywayseecappo detachment saw a vehicle travelling at a high rate of speed on Highway 45 against oncoming traffic and straight toward the police cruiser at around 7:30 p.m., MFNPS said in a news release on Wednesday.

Police stopped the vehicle and arrested the driver, who appeared to be intoxicated by alcohol, the release said.

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Yesterday at 10:03 PM CDT

The Manitoba First Nations Police Service logo. (File)
The Manitoba First Nations Police Service logo. (File)

Let’s Do Something! — April 16, 2026

22 minute read Preview

Let’s Do Something! — April 16, 2026

22 minute read Yesterday at 9:09 PM CDT

TODAY

• 10 a.m. — Ten Thousand Villages (Unit A, 829 Rosser Ave.) is hosting a Fair Trade Rug Event from April 16 to May 6. Meet Bunyaad Rug experts from April 16-18 and learn more about hand-knotted rugs and more. Kickoff event taking place April 18 at 10:30 a.m. featuring coffee tasting and Pakistani rice pudding. Come and see these hand-knotted, exquisite quality rugs with natural dyes, bold designs and lasting artistry. Sizes from 2 x 3 to 9 x 12-plus square, round and runners.

• 1:30 p.m. — Taoist Tai Chi meets every Thursday afternoon at Trinity United Church (1515 Sixth St.) until 3 p.m.

• 6:30 p.m. — The Western Manitoba Regional Library presents Puzzle Building Competition at Section 6 Brewing. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; starts at 7 p.m. Cost is $50 per team. All-ages event. Registration is required by emailing michelle@wmrl.ca.

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Yesterday at 9:09 PM CDT

Nolan Low with Ethelbert Vitriwka Dance Club performs during the first day of the Ukrainian dance festival hosted by the Brandon Troyanda School of Ukrainian Dance at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium in 2024. The biennial festival returns to the WMCA this weekend. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun files)
Nolan Low with Ethelbert Vitriwka Dance Club performs during the first day of the Ukrainian dance festival hosted by the Brandon Troyanda School of Ukrainian Dance at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium in 2024. The biennial festival returns to the WMCA this weekend. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun files)

Colon sworn in as MFNPS chief

By Skye Anderson 5 minute read Preview

Colon sworn in as MFNPS chief

By Skye Anderson 5 minute read Tuesday, Apr. 14, 2026

Jason Colon was officially sworn in as chief of the Manitoba First Nations Police Service in its new headquarters near Brandon on Tuesday, with provincial and First Nations officials praising his leadership.

“I know that there is no question that today we are swearing in the right person for the job,” Manitoba Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said.

“(Colon’s) work focused on building safe communities, on strengthening relationships and on ensuring that policing is delivered with respect, with fairness and with integrity.”

The swearing-in ceremony marked the first event held at the newly built Waywayseecappo Convention Centre off Highway 10 near Brandon.

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Tuesday, Apr. 14, 2026

New Manitoba First Nations Police Service Chief Jason Colon (left) is presented with the first of two star blankets during his swearing-in ceremony at the Waywayseecappo Convention Centre on Highway 10 on Tuesday morning. (Photos by Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)
New Manitoba First Nations Police Service Chief Jason Colon (left) is presented with the first of two star blankets during his swearing-in ceremony at the Waywayseecappo Convention Centre on Highway 10 on Tuesday morning. (Photos by Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

Accused blamed mother’s injuries on unknown attacker

By Tessa Adamski 5 minute read Preview

Accused blamed mother’s injuries on unknown attacker

By Tessa Adamski 5 minute read Tuesday, Apr. 14, 2026

A man accused of killing his mother in 2023 told police he thought an attacker used his hatchet to injure her and that she was “sleeping” on the floor near the kitchen for more than a week before being found dead.

A video recording of the interview Gabriel Paul Heymans, 47, had with Sgt. Russell Paterson of the Brandon Police Service played on the second day of the trial in Brandon’s Court of King’s Bench on Tuesday.

Heymans has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the death of 71-year-old Maureen Heymans, whom he said he lived with for seven years in an apartment complex at 264 McDiarmid Dr. in Brandon.

“You said it looked like she was sleeping … but nine days later she hasn’t moved,” Paterson said during Heymans’ interview with police hours after he was arrested on Nov. 3, 2023, the same day his mother’s body was found.

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Tuesday, Apr. 14, 2026

A Brandon police vehicle is parked in front of an apartment block on McDiarmid Drive on Nov. 3, 2023, after the body of 71-year-old Maureen Heymans was discovered inside one of the units. (Geena Mortfield/The Brandon Sun files)
A Brandon police vehicle is parked in front of an apartment block on McDiarmid Drive on Nov. 3, 2023, after the body of 71-year-old Maureen Heymans was discovered inside one of the units. (Geena Mortfield/The Brandon Sun files)

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Trial begins for man, 47, accused of killing his mother

By Skye Anderson 5 minute read Preview

Trial begins for man, 47, accused of killing his mother

By Skye Anderson 5 minute read Monday, Apr. 13, 2026

A former maintenance man testifying in Brandon’s Court of King’s Bench on Monday described finding a woman’s body inside a Brandon apartment in 2023.

Duwayne Myran was the first of three witnesses called by the Crown in the trial of Gabriel Paul Heymans, 47.

Heymans pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the death of his mother, 71-year-old Maureen Heymans.

Myran, 64, was a maintenance worker for TDel Holdings when he came across the body on Nov. 3, 2023, in a unit at 264 McDiarmid Dr. — an apartment complex in Brandon.

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Monday, Apr. 13, 2026
Trial begins for man, 47, accused of killing his mother

Student arrested after alleged weapons threat

By Alex Lambert 2 minute read Preview

Student arrested after alleged weapons threat

By Alex Lambert 2 minute read Monday, Apr. 13, 2026

The Brandon Police Service arrested a student on Monday after an alleged weapons threat at École secondaire Neelin High School.

The Brandon School Division placed six schools in the area under a hold and secure as a precaution, BPS said in a news release.

Police responded to the threat at 12:51 p.m. and arrested the suspect about 28 minutes later at a residence several blocks from the school without incident, the release said.

Hold and secure measures were lifted once it was determined there was no ongoing threat to students, staff or the public.

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Monday, Apr. 13, 2026

École Secondaire Neelin High School on Monday afternoon. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)
École Secondaire Neelin High School on Monday afternoon. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

Flourish Wellness Conference makes its debut in Brandon

By Tessa Adamski 4 minute read Preview

Flourish Wellness Conference makes its debut in Brandon

By Tessa Adamski 4 minute read Monday, Apr. 13, 2026

A new Brandon conference brought more than 100 health-care and social-sector professionals together to learn the importance of looking after their own well-being and managing stress in roles focused on helping others.

The Flourish Wellness Conference hosted by The Breathing Room — a wellness initiative of the United Way West Central Manitoba — made its debut at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium on Monday.

The one-day conference was created to expand The Breathing Room’s community outreach to support non-profits and other front-line workers, said Jamie Stouffer, the United Way’s director of staff development and community wellness.

“I think that’s one of the things about this group of people, is that they are not as likely to reach out and say, ‘I need help,’ and so (we’re) recognizing that the need is there, and it’s spoken quietly in groups of people who understand or who share the burden,” she said.

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Monday, Apr. 13, 2026

Dawn Marie Chartrand — a visual artist, singer-songwriter and wellness facilitator from Rolling River First Nation who is based in Winnipeg — teaches participants laughter yoga while delivering a talk titled "Expressive Wellness" during the Flourish Wellness Conference 2026 at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium on Monday. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)
Dawn Marie Chartrand — a visual artist, singer-songwriter and wellness facilitator from Rolling River First Nation who is based in Winnipeg — teaches participants laughter yoga while delivering a talk titled

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