Brandon Local Immigration Partnership co-ordinator Katrina Casulla went back to university sometime after arriving in Brandon. Incorrect information appeared on page A4 of the Sept. 14 edition of the Sun.

» The Brandon Sun

Braxton Whitehead said Friday he has verbally committed to Arizona State, making him the first member of a Canadian Hockey League team to attempt to play the sport at the Division I U.S. college level since a lawsuit was filed challenging the NCAA’s longstanding ban on players it deems to be professionals.

Whitehead posted on social media he plans to play for the Sun Devils beginning in the 2025-26 season.

An Arizona State spokesperson said the school could not comment on verbal commitments, citing NCAA rules. A message left with the CHL was not immediately returned.

The last WHL player to jump to college hockey was former Brandon Wheat Kings owner Kelly McCrimmon, who joined Michigan for the 1980-81 season and spent four years there. The rules were tightened up after he arrived.

WINNIPEG — A new electronic booking system is being hailed as a gamechanger that will cut down surgery wait times in Manitoba.

“You’re on the list, (the) clock starts ticking,” said Dr. Ed Buchel, the provincial specialty lead for surgery at Shared Health, at a technical media briefing Friday.

The surgical wait list information management system gives medical professionals the ability to prioritize patients. It was introduced to Winnipeg hospitals in February and is scheduled to be implemented across Manitoba over the next six months.

It standardizes the collection, prioritization and reporting of surgical wait lists and provides a day-to-day count of all cases on waiting lists. It can be filtered by procedure, priority, days on a wait list, and the surgeon on the case.

WINNIPEG — Two Winnipeg men have been charged just weeks apart with possessing sex dolls designed to look like children — a new trend raising alarms for law enforcement and child-protection advocates.

A 45-year-old Winnipeg man is charged with several offences after a package containing a sex doll was intercepted by border officers in Vancouver last month, the Winnipeg Police Service announced Thursday.

The WPS internet child exploitation (ICE) unit was notified by the Canada Border Services Agency that a package destined for a local address contained a sex doll “anatomically designed to appear to look like a prepubescent child.”

When executing a search warrant at a suspect’s Fort Richmond home on Sept. 4, investigators allegedly found about 20 more female dolls ranging in appearance from newborns to early teens, along with clothes and accessories for them.

The Brandon Police Board is inviting residents to come meet the Wheat City’s new police chief this Friday, but the event is by invitation only.

New Brandon Police Service Chief Tyler Bates will be present from 4 to 6 p.m. in the foyer of Brandon City Hall, according to a release sent out Tuesday.

But on Wednesday, city communications officer Merrilea Metcalf clarified that the event is only open to invited stakeholders in the community. The Sun was not aware of the nature of the event and incomplete information appeared in Wednesday’s newspaper.

Metcalf said a public open house will be held later this fall to introduce Chief Bates once he gets settled. Bates is expected to start in his new role on Tuesday, Oct. 15.