Manitoba’s wildfire ‘state of emergency’ has been lifted. The premier says extra powers used to deliver supports and services are no longer needed. However, while the fire danger is now considered ‘low’, there are still 22 fires burning in Manitoba with seven listed as out-of-control. 12 communities are still under evacuation orders – but around 9,000 people have been able to return home.
———-
Brandon residents in Ward 2 are invited to a meeting at 6:30 pm Wednesday evening at Princess Park hosted by councillor Kris Desjarlais. The meeting will provide updates on the police service’s downtown strategy, the Park Community Centre and transitional housing, and more.
———-
A Dauphin man was arrested after a stand-off with police on Sunday. RCMP say the suspect allegedly threatened a woman with a gun. No-one was hurt during the stand-off, which lasted several hours, and police later charged 33-year-old Jimmy Pruden with several offences.
———-
Manitoba Mounties are looking for information about a white truck seeing fleeing the area of a double murder last week. The bodies of a 29-year-old man and a 41-year-old woman were found last Friday in Victoria Beach north of Winnipeg. Police say it was a targeted shooting.
———-
Manitoba RCMP are looking for a man accused of attacking a firefighter who was on the job battling a blaze. It happened last Friday night at a home in Cormorant, about 230 kilometres north of Brandon. Other firefighters stopped the fight before the suspect – 29-year-old Scott Wishart – ran off.
———-
Ford is recalling approximately 32,000 Mach-E vehicles in Canada over a faulty door latch that could potentially trap passengers inside. It’s part of a larger recall in the U-S impacting about 200,000 electric Mustangs for faulty door latches as well.
———-
A Zamboni-like rover will be roaming some of Ontario’s beaches this summer. The robot, called BeBot, is remotely operated and fully electric – and removes plastic, glass, metal, paper and other debris from beaches with sand-sifting technology. It can clean up to 3,000 square metres per hour for up to 8 hours – and can remove the equivalent of around 19 bowling balls worth of plastic in one use.
———-
When researchers spotted a killer whale in the Salish Sea carrying something green in its mouth, and noticed an unusual behavior, they didn’t think much of it saying ‘whales do weird things’. But further study confirmed the orcas were using kelp as a form of grooming for skin hygiene and social bonding. Some whales were seen rubbing against each other for up to 15 minutes to get the treatment.