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The Portage la Prairie RCMP responded to a robbery and kidnapping in the RM of Westlake-Gladstone. Two males were traveling in a truck with a camper when they stopped for the night on Provincial Road 227, off highway 16.
One victim, a 33-year-old male, was sleeping in the truck when around 4:30 a.m. three males opened the door and yelled at him to get out. The suspects threatened the victim with a firearm, and as they were fleeing the scene in the truck, ran him over. He was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The suspects know there was another person in the camper when they fled. Officers found the camper and truck near the intersection of Highway 16 and Highway 50. The suspects had fled the scene and the victim, a 69-year-old male, was safe inside the camper.
Police are asking anyone with information to please call Portage la Prairie RCMP at 204-857-4445, call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477, or a secure tip online here.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
The Town of Swan River wants to remind residents that flushing or putting anything other than human waste and greywater down the drain is prohibited.
They say that large items like disposable diapers, clothing and towels have been making their way into the sewer system and are causing problems by jamming pumps and limiting their pumping capacity within their sewage lift stations.
They also want to remind residents never to dump hazardous materials like paint and solvents into the sewer system, since they could damage its piping, pumping and dumping zones.
According to the Town, it's important that people cooperate to avoid potentially costly or dangerous situations.
Anyone interested in learning more can call the Town Office at 204-734-4586.
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- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
People are being asked to remove all flowers, solar lights, solar panels and memorial decorative items they wish to keep from the Birchwood Cemetery in Swan River before Saturday, October 15th.
A general fall clean-up will commence at the cemetery on Monday, October 17th, which will include the removal of such items, including ones that aren't mounted directly to the headstone or base stone.
The Birchwood Cemetery is making this request to prevent possible damage to memorial keepsakes throughout the winter months.
Memorial items may be replaced at the headstone after May 1st, 2023.
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- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
The City of Dauphin is working on a new City Development Plan, and they're looking for public feedback as part of the latest step in the process. The City is hosting a Public Open House on Thursday, October 6th at City Hall from 6 to 8 p.m. and people can come and go as they want throughout the evening.
They hosted multiple events looking for public input in the spring, and now, their consultants have come back with a draft plan. Economic Development Manager Martijn van Luijn says they want they plan to represent what the people of Dauphin want to see in their city.
"This is the publics opportunity to come and listen in, and see what the draft plan is about, and to provide their comments."
The city will make the plan as well as an online survey about the plan available on their website on Thursday.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
The Parkland Chamber of Commerce is hosting a Municipal Election Forum and Debate for the RM of Dauphin tonight at 7 p.m. in the Aspen Lodge at the Parkland Rec Complex.
The first half of the event will feature a forum with the 10 council candidates, while the second half of the evening's going to be a debate between Reeve Candidates Tom Gibbs and Ernie Sirski says Chamber Executive Director Stephen Chychota.
"We'll have them up for the second part of the evening, and they can address some questions that came from the public, as well as have an opportunity to ask each other questions in the form of a bit of a debate. So we'll have lots to go over, and some pretty important elements to the election that's happening."
Chychota says it's not too late for people to get their questions in for the event.
"You can either phone the office and leave a message or talk to me directly, or you can email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.."
You can also submit questions online, and the event will be streamed live on the Parkland Chamber of Commerce Facebook Page. Check out the full list of candidates running for Mayor, Reeve, Councilor, or School Trustee in the City and RM of Dauphin here.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
The provincial minimum wage in Manitoba increased over the weekend and now sits at $13.50 an hour. The change was the first of three scheduled increases that'll see the provincial minimum wage go from $11.95 an hour to $15.00 by October 1st, 2023.
The province announced the scheduled increases over the summer after Saskatchewan announced its minimum wage would be increasing, which would have left Manitoba with the lowest in Canada. The next increase will be April 1st, 2023, and will see the minimum wage go to $14.15 an hour.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
According to GasBuddy, the average retail gas prices in Manitoba have risen 14.0 c/L in the past week, averaging 184.59 c/L yesterday. This compares with the national average, which increased by 7.8 c/L in the last week to 165.93 c/L.
The change in gas prices in Manitoba during the past week showed that yesterday's prices were 51.8 c/L higher than the same day a year ago and 19.1 c/L higher than a month ago. The national average has increased 9.7 c/L during the last month and stands 28.3 c/L higher than this day one year ago.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
The Town of Swan River will be running its Fall Clean-Up campaign from October 3rd to 7th.
The Town says that they will be following the garbage schedule as close as they can and that there will be no callbacks.
They will only be picking up grass, yard waste, and branches under 2.5 centimetres (1 inch) in diameter.
The Town is asking that everyone bundle and bag their waste for easy loading and warn that materials that are not bagged or bundled will be left behind.
In addition, no construction materials, stones, bricks, large trees/branches, or material other than that specified will be picked up.
Anyone looking for more information can call the Town Office at 204-734-4586.
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- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
Tamara Michèle is aiming for a seat on Dauphin City Council as she runs in the municipal election.
Michèle was born in Edmonton, Alta. and moved to Dauphin with her mother when she was fifteen years old.
"From there, I met the love of my life and we raised our family here and I've been living here ever since [for] thirty-one years," she adds.
Michèle says that people should vote for her because she's honest, has integrity and is caring.
"I think if you want to vote someone into council that you're [going to] trust with making decisions for the community, being a part of making decisions for the community, that they have values and I think that that's the thing that I hold most dear," she adds.
Although Tamara Michèle wasn't planning on running for council initially, she felt a moral obligation to do so.
"I feel that it's really important to put your money where your mouth is, to walk the talk, and so I decided that if I was going to be a part of encouraging others to run for council and to step up... I should do the same," she adds.
If elected, Michèle plans to bring her morals and values to city council, in addition to being a good listener and someone who can bring forth ideas and positivity.
"And also be [a] part of action and that's going to be by collaborating with others, so that we can get stuff done on city council," she adds.
As for the crime situation, Tamara Michèle says that in the thirty-one years she's been living in Dauphin, she's never seen so much crime in the city.
"I was part of the city when they had Citizens on Patrol. I remember when they had neighbourhood watch signs in windows when I was a child and I would come [to] visit my grandma. I think those are the things that have to come back. We have to take responsibility as a community... It doesn't matter how beautiful Dauphin is. If we're riddled with crime and poverty, we're not going to be able to grow," she adds.
Michèle went on to say that her main priority is to be a positive, supportive member of the council who can help when it comes to coming up with ideas and who brings people together.
"I think that's my biggest skillset... I do love people. I love working with people and I want to see a functioning, healthy city council, so that we can accomplish so so much," she adds.
A complete list of candidates running for office in the City and R.M. of Dauphin can be found here.
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- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
The Cowan Community Centre is inviting everyone for a fall supper that will be held tomorrow, October 2nd, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Donna Kovachik, a member of the community centre, says that there will be a large variety of food.
"We have cabbage rolls, perogies, turkey... vegetables... salads... cheesecakes [and] pies," she adds.
According to Kovachik, admission will cost $15 and the money raised will be going towards keeping the community centre up and running.
"We have to pay hydro bills and... [the] last couple [of] years, we [didn't have anything], so the hydro bills [need to be paid] and insurance and that," she adds.
Donna Kovachik went on to say that the centre is mainly funded by events and donations.
For the same price as dining in, people are also welcome to place an order for takeout.
Anyone interested in doing so can call 204-569-4812.
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- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
The Manitoba Crop Alliance is looking for delegate nominees for their upcoming election.
There are 17 spots up for election, with five open for the Wheat/Barley Committee, and four open for each of the Corn, Flax, and Sunflower Committees. MCA Chair Robert Misko says it's a great opportunity for people to get involved in the organization.
"They have a few things they have to do, they recommend research and sort of go over what we're planning for the year in general. Then they also elect, amongst themselves, the directors of the board of MCA."
Nominations for the MCA Crop Committee delegate positions are due by October 30th at 4:30 p.m. MCA has compiled some commonly asked election questions, including how to register, and you can find them on their website here.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell