The family of a Winnipeg high school football player is mourning his death following a severe neck injury he sustained in a game earlier this month.

Darius Hartshorne died early Thursday morning, 12 days after undergoing an emergency medical procedure that included a spinal fusion and decompression of his vertebrae.

“He went in peace,” Jesse Ciaralli, who helped raise Hartshorne and his four younger siblings with his wife Stephanie, told the Free Press by text. “He was with myself and my wife. His siblings and baby cousins got to see him and share some laughs one last time. He died with honour and dignity.”

Hartshorne, a Grade 12 lineman for the Sisler Spartans, turned 17 on Saturday.

WINNIPEG — Two First Nations are suing Manitoba Hydro and the provincial and federal governments, claiming the institutions have made billions of dollars through hydroelectric operations on land the communities never agreed to cede.

In a statement of claim filed last week in the Court of King’s Bench, Canupawakpa Dakota Nation and Dakota Tipi First Nation in southern Manitoba are seeking damages for alleged infringement on their rights.

The court filing accuses the public utility, the province and the federal government of breaching duties owed to the Dakota nations and of unjustly enriching themselves at the expense of the communities, without consultation.

“The yearly revenue Manitoba Hydro produces from the land and particularly, the activities, is substantial,” reads the lawsuit.

According to Trinity Western University, Brandon University Bobcats men’s volleyball commit Luke Schroeder did not receive an offer to play for its team. Information implying he may have received one appeared on Page B2 of Wednesday’s Sun.

WINNIPEG — A search of a Winnipeg landfill for the remains of a victim of convicted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki could begin in December.

Premier Wab Kinew says the province is in the process of hiring staff to search the city-run Brady Road landfill for the remains of Ashlee Shingoose.

“We’ve been really conscientious about the Shingoose family … We (have) made a lot of progress in terms of strengthening that relationship. So, now we’re moving ahead to the next steps, which involve hiring the searchers,” he told reporters Monday.

“We’re moving ahead with a target of searching that zone of highest interest.”

WINNIPEG — Former Manitoba premier Heather Stefanson has paid an $18,000 fine for violating the province’s conflict of interest law in pushing for a mining project.

Legislature Speaker Tom Lindsey says Stefanson submitted the payment last week and one of her former cabinet ministers, Jeff Wharton, has also paid his fine.

The former economic development minister, who remains a sitting member with the Opposition Progressive Conservatives, was fined $10,000.

In early October, members of the legislature approved the recommended penalties and other findings in a report from ethics commissioner Jeffrey Schnoor.

WINNIPEG — A Winnipeg chiropractor accused of using concealed cameras to record patients has pleaded guilty to voyeurism.

Dr. Robert Stitt, 67, appeared in court Wednesday and will be sentenced at a later date.

Stitt pleaded guilty for offences committed between Nov. 29, 2023, and Jan. 1, 2024, involving eight female victims.

“By pleading guilty, you are admitting to the allegation?” defence lawyer Richard Wolson put to Stitt during a plea inquiry before provincial court Judge Mark Kantor.