Millennium Library starts new support program
Winnipeg’s Millennium Library has opened the Downtown Resource Corner, which is now readily accessible for safety, well-being and inclusion downtown. Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine said it offers a variety of resources, such as mental health support, help securing IDs, rent assistance and even free phones and photocopying. The staff includes two mental health workers and a WRHA public-health nurse. Operating mainly in afternoons with one late day, the hub works with the Downtown Community Safety Partnership and builds on the library’s 2022 Community Connections program.
Winnipeg poet and filmmaker makes National Youth Panel
Winnipeg artist Sarah Simpson-Yellowquill — filmmaker, poet and advocate for Indigenous and women’s health — has been selected for the 2025 National Youth Panel in Quebec City this October. Simpson-Yellowquill, a survivor of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, now manages programs and development at the National Screen Institute and supports community care at the Women’s Health Clinic. She teaches emerging creators and brings working Indigenous artists to train in lighting, sound, cameras and writing. “I am a storyteller through poetry, paint and film,” she said, adding that she aims to uplift communities and pass knowledge forward.
Elmwood-East Kildonan by-election
Emma Durand-Wood won Saturday’s by-election for Winnipeg’s Elmwood–East Kildonan council seat with 1,567 votes, ahead of Abel Gutierrez with 887 and Braydon Mazurkiewich with 842, unofficial results show. The 44-year-old community activist who succeeded the late Jason Schreyer said she’ll focus on investing in community, housing-first approaches, transit and youth programs. Turnout for the byelection was 4,977 out of 31,819 eligible voters in the Elmwood-East Kildonan area.
Ukrainian church thriving after 100 years in the community
Marking 100 years in Winnipeg’s North End, St. Mary the Protectress Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral remains a community anchor at 820 Burrows Ave. The parish owns a 72-unit, non-profit seniors complex next door, opened in 1990, and celebrated a symbolic mortgage-burning last year. Centenary events will culminate Nov. 1 with a sold-out gala at the Hotel Fort Garry, which is backed by a $100,000 fundraising drive drawing support nationwide. The parish is also helping recent Ukrainian arrivals navigate settlement and services.
Man responsible for Langside execution pleads not guilty
Jamie Randy Felix pleaded not guilty Monday in Court of King’s Bench to five counts of second-degree murder tied to a November 2023 shooting at a Langside Street apartment. An attempted-murder charge was upgraded after the lone survivor, Shawn Marko, 56, died in June. The other victims were Melelek Leseri Lesikel, 29; Dylan Maxwell Lavallee, 41; and sisters Crystal and Stephanie Beardy, 34 and 33. Court filings say Felix, a former Canadian Forces member, has mental health and substance-use issues.
