-Provincial funding may not cover teachers’ salaries and anticipated staffing costs in the Brandon and Beautiful Plan School Divisions; that could translate into a property tax hike for residents.
The Brandon Sun says that funding allocation for the 2025-26 budget; will see a 4.0 per cent increase from last year–an additional $3 million. But the Brandon School Division says there are 2- key financial pressures: wage increases for teachers and support staff under newly negotiated collective agreements, and the need to hire additional staff due to continued enrolment growth in Brandon.
-A pick up truck driven by a 17-year old crashed with a school bus carrying 14 children in the rural municipality of Lorne, just southwest of Winnipeg, Thursday morning, the 17-year old driver is now facing charges.
Police say the school bus was on its passenger side in the ditch at the intersection of Road 28 North and Road 66 West, along with the pickup truck; All 14 children had already been evacuated. The 17-year-old male pickup truck driver suffered minor injuries, and was taken to hospital, treated and released. All students were taken to hospital; with some of the victims transported to Winnipeg, for further assessment.
-4 masked, armed robbers held up 2 gas stations in southern Manitoba just days apart. RCMP says no one was hurt in either robbery, but believe the same group is likely responsible for both robberies. First, the robbers hit a station in Teulon, north of Winnipeg, last Friday at 2:30 a.m; demanding cash and cigarettes. Then, 2-days later, a gas station in Swan Lake First Nation was robbed the same way, The robbers were also dressed the same way and fled in the same type of sedan; 2- were armed with handguns, one with a baseball bat.
-A Brandon man who uploaded pornography of his ex-fiancée to a website without her consent; was sentenced to 9-months jail time, Thursday. The Brandon Sun says the 36-year-old was found guilty in court last year; but his sentence this week, came with the jail time, and an order to register himself on Canada’s National Sex Offender Registry for 20 years; and 2-years of probation. A court-imposed publication ban protects the identity of the victim; therefore the Brandon man’s name will not be released.
-It’s being dubbed : Viral Valentine: Brandon police get clicks with a video plea to turn in criminal exes. Brandon Police Service’s social media post went viral with a cheeky Valentine’s video urging jilted lovers to call the cops on their criminal ex for a stay in a private suite at the Crowbar Hotel.
That video had been played half a million times by noon Thursday and starts with an officer in a holding cell area. saying: “Hey Brandon! Do you have an ex romantic partner that constantly brags about getting away with crimes, maybe misses court, has a warrant or two? You want to do something special for them for Valentine’s Day? If so, give us a call,” the officer says
