Brandon Sun – Breaking News, Sports, Manitoba, Canada

A crane is used to remove the old observatory dome for the Gulliver Astronomical Observatory from the roof of the McMaster Building at Brandon University and then to install the new dome on Tuesday. The old dome, installed in 1971, was replaced due to age and weathering. The new dome is weather-sealed and fully integrated with the telescope and automated so it can be operated remotely. The telescope was replaced in 2009. The Manitoba government provided $100,000 toward the dome replacement, alongside a $50,000 donation from the family of Brandon University astronomy Prof. Austin Gulliver. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

Changing of the domes

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Hermanos closes its doors ‘indefinitely’

By Tessa Adamski 3 minute read Preview

Hermanos closes its doors ‘indefinitely’

By Tessa Adamski 3 minute read 10:21 PM CDT

Hermanos South American Steakhouse has closed its doors “indefinitely” just over two months after it officially opened in the historic Brandon firehall building on Princess Avenue.

Co-owner Riley Bernier said in a statement Wednesday the closure is due to “circumstances involving one of our business partners (that) have made it impossible for us to continue operating Hermanos in a way that aligns with our values.”

Bernier, who declined an interview with the Sun, did not name the business partner in the statement.

“While we believed this individual would bring valuable experience and expertise to the business, we later became aware of business practices that raised serious concerns for us about the impact their decisions were having on our employees and our family,” he said.

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10:21 PM CDT

Local

Admitted gang member facing firearm charges denied bail

By Tessa Adamski 6 minute read Preview

Admitted gang member facing firearm charges denied bail

By Tessa Adamski 6 minute read 10:20 PM CDT

A self-proclaimed gang member from Waywayseecappo First Nation was denied bail on Tuesday after Brandon police say he was involved in stealing and trafficking firearms in March.

A judge raised concerns about whether the public’s trust in the justice system would be undermined by releasing 32-year-old Jordan Brandon, who allegedly told police he sawed off three stolen shotguns and disposed of the remaining parts near a park.

In his police statement, Brandon denied breaking into a house and taking any items, including about nine firearms, while the homeowner was away on March 27, despite being arrested in possession of a shotgun and shotgun shell the following month, court heard.

“I am concerned that a gang member is found to be in possession of a sawed-off firearm with ammunition,” said Judge Geoffrey Bayly, who appeared virtually in Brandon provincial court.

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10:20 PM CDT

Local

Some of the 445 firearms seized from 78-year-old Inky Mark's home in Dauphin in July. (Supplied)

Inky Mark facing 26 additional weapons charges

By Scott Billeck 4 minute read Preview

Inky Mark facing 26 additional weapons charges

By Scott Billeck 4 minute read 10:18 PM CDT

WINNIPEG — A former member of Parliament accused of firearms trafficking has been hit with 26 new charges after an RCMP investigation uncovered 445 guns and more than four times the legal limit of explosives at his Dauphin home.

Inky Mark, 78, was rearrested Aug. 12 and charged with 26 offences, including weapons trafficking, unauthorized possession of prohibited and restricted firearms, possessing firearms with ammunition without a licence or registration, failing to report lost firearms and possessing more than six kilograms of explosives. He was released from police custody.

In total, he faces 38 charges in connection with the months-long investigation, RCMP said Wednesday.

“I think this is definitely going to be a wake-up call to some people,” Cpl. Barry Kirby of the RCMP west district investigative section said Wednesday.

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10:18 PM CDT

Local

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

Mischief at gas station; stolen vehicle recovered

2 minute read Preview

Mischief at gas station; stolen vehicle recovered

2 minute read 10:17 PM CDT

Gas station mischief

A 31-year-old man was arrested after a glass door was smashed at a gas station in Brandon early Wednesday morning.

Brandon police officers responded to an alarm going off at a business on the 1200 block of First Street North around 1:45 a.m., police said in a news release Wednesday.

When officers arrived on scene, they saw the front door of the gas station had been broken with a rock and reviewed video surveillance to help identify a suspect.

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10:17 PM CDT

Local

Conservative MP Dan Mazier rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in February. (The Canadian Press files)

Westman MPs warn of tariff impacts

By Rylee Gerrard 4 minute read Preview

Westman MPs warn of tariff impacts

By Rylee Gerrard 4 minute read 10:16 PM CDT

The most recent round of U.S. tariffs could have a significant impact on western Manitoba, the region’s federally elected officials are warning.

Conservative MPs Grant Jackson (Brandon-Souris) and Dan Mazier (Riding Mountain) say the fallout from the tariffs will cover a broad range of sectors — from families struggling with affordability to large manufacturers.

“My fear, locally, is that the Americans are going to be after jobs,” Jackson told the Sun at a community barbecue he hosted Wednesday, adding that many constituents are angry with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump’s new tariffs on $27.6 billion of Canadian goods came into effect after the trade deadline passed at midnight on Saturday.

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10:16 PM CDT

Lifestyles

People take photographs and videos of the swollen, debris-choked banks of the Trishuli River after a flash floods in Nepal's Nuwakot district on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

Floods caused by a glacial collapse kill at least 160 people on Nepal-China border, hundreds missing

Niranjan Shrestha And Sibi Arasu, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Floods caused by a glacial collapse kill at least 160 people on Nepal-China border, hundreds missing

Niranjan Shrestha And Sibi Arasu, The Associated Press 6 minute read Updated: 9:21 PM CDT

UDIN DHUNGA, Nepal (AP) — Massive flash floods in a border area of Nepal and China killed at least 160 people and left hundreds of tourists, workers and others missing Wednesday after suddenly sweeping through communities and halting travel in some areas. Experts said a glacial collapse caused the disaster in the warming Himalayan region.

Police in Nepal reported at least 157 dead. China’s state broadcaster CCTV reported at least three dead and 265 missing in the Tibet region’s Gyirong County near the national border. Drone footage showed roads destroyed and buildings buried by thundering water the color of wet cement. State news agency Xinhua reported significant casualties.

The region's steep valleys are economic lifelines and travel corridors but are precarious when disaster strikes. Images showed what appeared to be the second floors of buildings in Nepal's hard-hit Nuwakot district slathered in mud after the torrent rushed by. Debris hung from tree branches and wires, vehicles were buried and some stunned survivors were caked in mud.

There was little time for anyone to flee.

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Updated: 9:21 PM CDT

Business

Dolly Parton’s philanthropy was based on ‘her belief in the goodness of people’

James Pollard And Glenn Gamboa, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Dolly Parton’s philanthropy was based on ‘her belief in the goodness of people’

James Pollard And Glenn Gamboa, The Associated Press 5 minute read Updated: 9:30 AM CDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Dolly Parton didn't think her philanthropy made her special. She thought it was just part of being human.

“I think it’s important for everyone to do their share to help their fellow man,” she told The Associated Press in 2022, adding, “I get paid more attention than maybe some others that are doing more than me."

Fans across generations and places may disagree, saying it will remain a pillar of the music legend and multimillionaire businesswoman's legacy, following her death Tuesday at the age of 80. One of her most enduring images is that of the charismatic humanitarian, whose good humor and straightforward generosity lifted the well-being of communities in her home state and beyond.

Weeks after Hurricane Helene devastated the American South in 2024, she donated $1 million of her money, matched by her Dollywood companies and their partners, to the flood-ravaged community in her native Tennessee. The Library of Congress called Parton a “titan of children’s literacy” for the millions of free books provided monthly through her Imagination Library.

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Updated: 9:30 AM CDT

Business

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is pictured arriving ahead of the First Ministers Meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney in Charlottetown on Thursday July 23, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

Alberta’s Smith bucks NDP call to cancel separation vote amid Canada-U.S. trade war

The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Alberta’s Smith bucks NDP call to cancel separation vote amid Canada-U.S. trade war

The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: 6:42 PM CDT

GRANDE PRAIRIE - Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is continuing to buck calls to postpone a fall referendum she scheduled about the province quitting Canada.

Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi has said the vote projects an image of national weakness amid Canada's tense trade war with the United States.

When asked Wednesday about the risks to Canadian unity, Smith said holding the vote is a "separate process," and she pointed to the province's citizen initiative law, last changed by her government this spring.

The Oct. 19 referendum will ask Albertans whether they want the province to stay in Canada or to start the legal process to hold a future binding vote on separation.

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Updated: 6:42 PM CDT

Local

Robbery with violence; alleged thief arrested after collision

3 minute read Preview

Robbery with violence; alleged thief arrested after collision

3 minute read Yesterday at 10:04 PM CDT

Robbery with violence

Two people face a charge of robbery with violence after Brandon police say they threatened a woman with a weapon and stole money from her.

Officers received a report from the victim on Monday at 10 p.m., police said in a news release on Tuesday. The woman said she was threatened with a knife and had $40 taken from her.

The suspects went to a business on Rosser Avenue and purchased beverages before they were arrested by police.

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Yesterday at 10:04 PM CDT

Local

The Brandon courthouse, as shown from Princess Avenue.(File)

Erickson man, 21, pleads guilty to attempted murder in brutal attack on pregnant woman

By Tessa Adamski 4 minute read Preview

Erickson man, 21, pleads guilty to attempted murder in brutal attack on pregnant woman

By Tessa Adamski 4 minute read Updated: 9:31 AM CDT

A 21-year-old man pleaded guilty to attempted murder on Monday, admitting he repeatedly stabbed and cut a pregnant woman’s throat during a random 2023 home invasion in Erickson.

Carter Prince, who was 18 at the time of the attack, said he was too intoxicated with alcohol to remember violently assaulting Candace McMunn (formerly Richardson) while she was asleep in her basement.

An agreed statement of facts obtained by the Sun said the 30-year-old woman awoke to the accused crawling into bed with her early in the morning on June 6, 2023.

McMunn tried to grab a knife from the teen, who she had never met, as he hit her head 20 to 30 times and stabbed her.

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Updated: 9:31 AM CDT