The Canadian Press

THE PAS - Manitoba’s NDP has easily held a riding in the province’s north in a byelection.

Unofficial results posted by Elections Manitoba say Jennifer Flett received 2,635 votes on Tuesday in The Pas-Kameesak, well ahead of Progressive Conservative candidate Edna Nabess, who received 616 votes.

Dan Quesnel of the Manitoba Liberal Party got 165 votes, while Wally Daudrich under the Keystone Party banner received 105 votes.

WINNIPEG — More than 120 watercraft failed a roadside inspection that began on the weekend aimed at slowing the spread of aquatic invasive species, including zebra mussels.

The inspections were conducted by Fisheries and Oceans Canada in partnership with the Manitoba government between Sunday and Tuesday on the Trans-Canada Highway at the Manitoba-Ontario border. It was the second roadside blitz of the summer season.

One of the 455 vehicles transporting 502 watercraft or related equipment had visible zebra mussels present. Inspectors found 120 watercraft were not cleaned, drained or dried and failed the inspection. Thirteen watercraft required decontamination.

“Healthy lakes and rivers are essential to the communities that rely on them,” federal Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson said in a news release. “Through joint inspection efforts with the Government of Manitoba, we are working to protect those waters from aquatic invasive species and preserve Canada’s freshwater ecosystems for generations to come.”

Makayla McLeod of Brandon finished third in the girls 9-10 division on the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour at Winnipeg’s The Players Course on Saturday.

McLeod, 8, carded a score of 109, finishing 19 strokes back of Winnipeg’s Paulina Brunner, who is 10.

The only other Westman golfer who participated was 10-year-old Mason McLeod, also of Brandon, who finished fifth in the 10-player boys 9-10 division with a score of 85. He was three back of William Harding of Regina, who beat Levi Penner of Oakbank in a playoff after both carded scores of 82.

There were five divisions of 12-and-under golf with spots on the line for the MJT Mini Tour Nationals next month in Tsawwassen Springs, B.C. The final MJT event of the summer is at Winnipeg’s Shooters Family Golf Centre on Aug. 8.

WINNIPEG — The Bishnoi Gang, which is run by a convicted gangster from his prison cell in India, appears to have gained a foothold in Manitoba.

A civil forfeiture lawsuit filed in the Court of King’s Bench this month has revealed a 36-year-old man, who was arrested this year, had claimed he is a member of the Bishnoi Gang when he tried to extort cash from a Winnipeg resident.

Arshdeep Singh Brar was arrested by Winnipeg Police Service officers in Headingley on March 3 and charged with extortion and two firearms offences, says the claim.

The victim, identified in the court documents as a man of South Asian descent, had gone to police.

WINNIPEG — Less than a month after a Pride billboard in the Pembina Valley was vandalized, spray paint meant to obscure the sign has become part of a message that’s being shared even further.

“You can’t spray the gay away,” reads the slogan Pembina Valley Pride has reclaimed from the vandalism.

It’s now the centrepiece of a merchandise fundraiser featuring an image of the defaced billboard across a range of items like T-shirts, sweaters and tote bags.

The campaign has drawn an outpouring of support, reaching about 80,000 people online and attracting orders from across Canada and the United States.

WINNIPEG — Thirty-five highways remain closed weeks after torrential rain caused destructive flooding in several Manitoba communities.

Crews continue to assess flood damage and repair roads and highways as conditions allow, after historic precipitation washed away many routes.

Some areas in the Parkland region of the province received more than 200 millimetres of rain between June 6 and July 1.

The majority of road closures are in the Roblin area. A storm at the end of June undid a lot of repair work in the Municipality of Minitonas-Bowsman after an early June deluge, officials said.

WINNIPEG — Business owners in the East Beaches area of Lake Winnipeg hauled out generators Wednesday after a planned Manitoba Hydro outage left thousands of residents and cottagers without power.

Lise Bourassa, who runs several stores in Grand Beach, had to rent generators to accommodate the eight-hour blackout, which affected the area from Beaconia to Victoria Beach as well as Sagkeeng First Nation, while Hydro crews fixed a pole that was damaged by fire in May.

Despite the spare power source, she was only able to open one of her stores during the outage and said it came at a bad time.

“I understand the importance of what Manitoba Hydro is doing, the problem all the businesses in this area are having is that our season is very short and to be shut down for a full day has a fairly big impact, plus the added cost of getting generators,” she wrote in a message to the Winnipeg Free Press. “We also had less than one week to make arrangements, find electricians and generators to be able to keep all the food safe.”