Advertisement

Learn more about Brandon Sun Advertising solutions

Local

An RCMP collar tab pin is seen in Edmonton, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Injury postpones concert; man tasered

2 minute read Yesterday at 11:23 PM CST

DAUPHIN RCMP TASER MAN WHO REFUSED TO DROP PIPE

Dauphin RCMP arrested a man on Wednesday after receiving a report of a vandal using a pipe to smash building windows and vehicles.

Mounties found a man holding a large pipe and wearing only socks and underwear, RCMP said in a news release on Friday.

The man refused to drop the pipe despite several demands, and police used a Taser on the man to take him into custody, RCMP said.

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

Weather

Jan. 31, 12 PM: -8°c Blowing snow Jan. 31, 6 PM: -7°c Snow

Brandon MB

-17°C, Cloudy

Full Forecast

Mayor, MP advocating for Brandon research centre jobs

By Connor McDowell Local Journalism Initiative 4 minute read Preview

Mayor, MP advocating for Brandon research centre jobs

By Connor McDowell Local Journalism Initiative 4 minute read Yesterday at 11:53 PM CST

Mayor Jeff Fawcett said he will be pitching Brandon as a place to centralize federal agricultural research staff while the workforce is affected by cutbacks.

The Brandon Research and Development Centre has a few selling points that make it attractive as a hub for the future, such as the quality of the facility and the breadth of land available to it, Fawcett said.

The site could be a good option to centralize staff, he said, and he will be looking to see if that is possible.

“I want to be one of the cities that says, ‘Build on us over time,’” Fawcett said on Thursday.

Read
Yesterday at 11:53 PM CST

Jeff Fawcett
Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett also voted in support of the tower, warning that cellphone service in the area could become an issue in the future. (Alex Lambert/The Brandon Sun)

Parker apologizes at council for ICE post

By Alex Lambert 2 minute read Preview

Parker apologizes at council for ICE post

By Alex Lambert 2 minute read Yesterday at 11:15 PM CST

Brandon Coun. Glen Parker formally apologized on Friday for comments he made in reference to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a post on the East End Community Centre Facebook page earlier this week.

“I just want to offer an apology to the community as a whole,” Parker (Ward 9) said in council chambers at the start of budget deliberations.

“Probably more specifically, the immigrant community and the newer Canadians.”

On Tuesday, Parker, a volunteer board member at the community centre and the city’s deputy mayor, posted a photo on Facebook of three people with their faces partially covered and the caption: “ICE Agents spotted at East End CC today.”

Read
Yesterday at 11:15 PM CST

Brandon Ward 9 Coun. Glen Parker listens to discussion around the council table during the first day of two full-day budget deliberations at city hall on Friday afternoon. Parker formally apologized at the start of the meeting for comments he made earlier this week on Facebook about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)
Brandon Ward 9 Coun. Glen Parker listens to discussion around the council table during the first day of two full-day budget deliberations at city hall on Friday afternoon. Parker formally apologized at the start of the meeting for comments he made earlier this week on Facebook about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)

Judge denies bail to accused in Strathclair hotel robbery

By Skye Anderson 5 minute read Preview

Judge denies bail to accused in Strathclair hotel robbery

By Skye Anderson 5 minute read Yesterday at 11:17 PM CST

A Brandon judge denied a man’s bail after he allegedly robbed a Strathclair hotel of more than $5,000 while armed with bear spray.

Styles Hotain, 21, made an unsuccessful bid for bail in provincial court Thursday. Hotain is charged with robbery with a weapon, possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose, disobeying a court order and several counts of breaching a probation order.

The Crown opposed Hotain’s release, citing concerns for public safety and his willingness to comply with court orders, while defence argued the proposed bail plan, which included an ankle monitor, would manage any risk Hotain poses.

Crown attorney Reid Girard detailed the allegations.

Read
Yesterday at 11:17 PM CST

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

Three men arrested after theft, armed break-in

2 minute read Preview

Three men arrested after theft, armed break-in

2 minute read Yesterday at 11:16 PM CST

Three Ebb and Flow First Nations men have been arrested after Mounties received reports of theft and a break and enter on Wednesday.

A truck was reported to be taken without consent from Ebb and Flow First Nation at around 9:40 a.m., and roughly three hours later, RCMP received a report that someone had stolen multiple bottles of liquor from a business in Dauphin.

The suspect and the vehicle they left the business in matched the description from the earlier incident, RCMP said in a news release on Friday.

RCMP patrolled the area in search of the suspect.

Read
Yesterday at 11:16 PM CST

The RCMP logo. (The Canadian Press files)
RCMP logo shown in Edmonton, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

BU students gather for bannock cooked over fire

By Abiola Odutola 4 minute read Preview

BU students gather for bannock cooked over fire

By Abiola Odutola 4 minute read Yesterday at 11:52 PM CST

Smoke rose from a small fire in Brandon University’s Kavanagh Courtyard on Friday as students and passersby gathered for something warm and cultural.

About 50 people showed up around lunchtime to watch, wait for and eat bannock prepared over an open flame as part of a new Indigenous foodways of the Western Hemisphere course. Some stopped briefly to grab a piece and move on, while others lingered in the cold, chatting and waiting their turn.

The outdoor cooking session was a way to bring classroom discussions to life, Ian Puppe of BU’s Rural Development Department told the Sun in an interview.

“I’m teaching a course right now on Indigenous foodways of the Western Hemisphere, and we’ve been talking about a bunch of different kinds of food that people made and continue to make here in Canada and across Turtle Island,” he said. “Bannock, or fry bread as it’s sometimes called, is a really popular food in lots of communities.”

Read
Yesterday at 11:52 PM CST

Brandon University’s Ian Puppe (right) and one of his students, Alyx Storm, fry bannock during the outdoor cooking session in the university’s Kavanagh Courtyard on Friday afternoon. (Abiola Odutola/The Brandon Sun)
Brandon University’s Ian Puppe (right) and one of his students, Alyx Storm, fry bannock during the outdoor cooking session in the university’s Kavanagh Courtyard on Friday afternoon. (Abiola Odutola/The Brandon Sun)

Last-minute cuts proposed for city budget

By Alex Lambert 6 minute read Preview

Last-minute cuts proposed for city budget

By Alex Lambert 6 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 11:49 PM CST

Two Brandon councillors made last-minute proposals on Friday to lower the city’s 6.6 per cent recommended property tax hike ahead of today’s final day of budget deliberations.

Coun. Glen Parker (Ward 9) proposed a one per cent reduction in staff salary and wage costs citywide as a way of reducing the budget.

The cut would represent about $460,000 in savings, he said, adding it would include all city staff with the exception of police.

Parker said he didn’t think the proposal would pass but mentioned it during the meeting to have the discussion with council.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 11:49 PM CST

A view of the City of Brandon’s council chambers on Friday afternoon during the first of two full-day budget deliberations at city hall. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)
A view of the City of Brandon’s council chambers on Friday afternoon during the first of two full-day budget deliberations at city hall. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)

City revises giant ‘Brandon’ sign cost to $600K

By Alex Lambert 2 minute read Preview

City revises giant ‘Brandon’ sign cost to $600K

By Alex Lambert 2 minute read Yesterday at 11:14 PM CST

The city has dropped the estimated cost for a giant ‘Brandon’ sign to $600,000.

On Thursday, a city spokesperson said the price tag would be $6 million — but the next day, staff said the figure was actually one-tenth of that amount.

Troy Tripp, the city’s finance director, confirmed Friday that $600,000 was the correct amount.

The proposal for the giant sign had been presented by economic development director Gerald Cathcart at Monday’s special meeting ahead of budget deliberations. Cathcart recommended council not approve the expenditure this year but instead develop a “comprehensive tourism and event attraction strategy.”

Read
Yesterday at 11:14 PM CST

A rendering of a giant Brandon sign that city officials hope would boost tourism. (Supplied)
Rendering of a giant Brandon sign that city officials hope would boost tourism. (Supplied)

More Local

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

Union criticizes contract for school projects

By Gabrielle Piché 3 minute read Preview

Union criticizes contract for school projects

By Gabrielle Piché 3 minute read Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026

WINNIPEG — As Penn-co Construction starts work on four new Manitoba schools, including one in Brandon, the entity acting as its union is criticizing the construction contract — one of the first unrolled through the Manitoba Jobs Agreement.

“Let the workers choose,” Geoff Dueck Thiessen, regional director of the Christian Labour Association of Canada’s Winnipeg member centre, said of union involvement.

CLAC, which calls itself an independent union, has represented Penn-co for the past 18 years, Thiessen said.

But wages, benefits and apprentice usage are among the items preset in the new contract — which overrides CLAC’s terms of employment, the regional director said.

Read
Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026

Premier Wab Kinew greets workers before a press conference on the Manitoba Jobs Agreement in Winnipeg on Monday. (Mike Deal/Winnipeg Free Press)
Premier Wab Kinew greets workers before a press conference on the Manitoba Jobs Agreement in Winnipeg on Monday. (Mike Deal/Winnipeg Free Press)

Tip leads to arrest for child porn

1 minute read Preview

Tip leads to arrest for child porn

1 minute read Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026

A 44-year-old Brandon man has been arrested for allegedly accessing and possessing child pornography.

The Brandon Police Service’s Major Crimes Section received a Cybertip in August 2025 about suspected access to child pornography from an IP address within the city.

After further investigation, BPS executed a search warrant at a residence on the 3800 block of Centennial Boulevard, BPS said in a news release on Thursday.

Police said an initial review of the man’s devices confirmed the content referenced in the Cybertip and police seized all his electronic devices.

Read
Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026

Brandon Police Service emblem. (File)
Brandon Police Service emblem. (File)

Smith, Carney say Trump team must respect Canadian sovereignty

David Baxter, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview

Smith, Carney say Trump team must respect Canadian sovereignty

David Baxter, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith both said Thursday the United States needs to respect Canadian sovereignty following reports that leaders of the Alberta separatist movement met with American government officials seeking their support.

But neither agreed with British Columbia Premier David Eby's description of those meetings as "treason."

Eby, citing a report in The Financial Times, told reporters before the first ministers' meeting on Thursday that it's completely inappropriate for a group to ask a foreign power for help in breaking up Canada.

"Now, I understand the desire to hold a referendum, to talk about the issues we want to talk about in Canada," Eby said.

Read
Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026

Premier of British Columbia David Eby takes questions after meeting with Canadian premiers at a Council of the Federation meeting in Ottawa on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Premier of British Columbia David Eby takes questions after meeting with Canadian premiers at a Council of the Federation meeting in Ottawa on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

LOAD MORE