Leonid Meteor Shower Reaches Peak

You may have seen meteors shooting across the sky this month, and that's because of the Leonid Meteor Shower.

The meteor shower ranges from November 6th to 30th every year, with the peak coming tomorrow night.

The shower happens because Earth crosses through the orbital path of Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle.

Moonlight is expected to decrease the number of meteors that can be seen, but brighter meteors will still be visible.

If the night was dark, 10 to 15 meteors would be seen every hour.

Details: Contributed by Isaac Wihak; Published: Nov 16, 2019 - 8:16 am

The Manitoba Métis Federation announced its new Post-Secondary Education Support Program on Friday.

The MMF, in partnership with the Canadian government, will receive close to $90 million over the course of the next 10 years, and then after that, they will receive $9.9 million yearly.

The Federation is hoping to award up to $5,000 to 1,000 students for the upcoming school year. MMF said this agreement ensures that Métis students in the province can have access to financial and much-needed student supports for the next decade.

“That young person can now say, I can be whatever I want to be because the Métis nation is there to back me up,” said President of the MMF, David Chartrand.

Chartrand added that the funding is long overdue, and new opportunities will be created for Métis people.

Anyone wanting to apply for funding is encouraged to do so online.

Details: Contributed by Josh Sigurdson; Published: Nov 16, 2019 - 5:00 am

November is Philanthropy Month in Manitoba.

David Bosiak, chair of the Dauphin and District Community Foundation, says all Manitoba community foundations host a challenge fundraising day as part of the month.

“This Saturday, November 16^th, is Community Challenge day in Manitoba and all donations that day goes into a pot for the community foundation. If we can achieve 10 thousand dollars of contributions, we’ll be able to top that up by a 4 thousand dollar gift from the province and Winnipeg foundation.”

The goal is to raise 10 thousand dollars.

Bosiak says they raised over 43 thousand dollars last year.

If you’d like to help them achieve their goal, you can check out their website.

Details: Contributed by Isaac Wihak; Published: Nov 15, 2019 - 4:30 pm

CN Rail has announced they have made the “difficult decision” to lay off an unspecified number of workers.

A spokesperson for CN said that job numbers would be cut “due to a weakening of many sectors of the economy” and that some employees will be placed on furlough.

In an emailed statement, a senior media relations advisor for the company said “These adjustments have already started to take place across the network. CN would like to express gratitude to the employees who will be leaving the company and thank them for their service.”

CN would not confirm how many jobs would be affected.

CN transports more than $250 billion worth of goods annually across a 32,000 km rail network within Canada and the U.S.

Currently, CN has about 24,000 staff.

Details: Contributed by Josh Sigurdson; Published: Nov 15, 2019 - 4:08 pm

Politicians and delegates were on hand at the Dauphin Regional Health Centre to celebrate the grand opening of the new entrances to the Emergency Department.

Central Services Minister Reg Helwer, Board Chair of Prairie Mountain Health, Lee Jebb, and Dauphin MLA Brad Michaleski all made speeches commemorating the opening.

“This new site will make a real difference for people in the community and surrounding area,” said Minister Reg Helwer. “I’m pleased to note the investments that our government is making will ensure people across rural Manitoba have access to quality health-care services.”

The entrances officially open up to the public on Monday, November 18^th.

Details: Contributed by Josh Sigurdson; Published: Nov 15, 2019 - 2:44 pm

It’s set to be a busy weekend in Dauphin with hockey galore.

The weekend starts with the Dauphin Minor Hockey Peewee Tournament at Credit Union Place and the Rotary Arena. The tournament runs all weekend with the first game between Roblin and the Fusion Kings starting at 10:15 this morning.

Tonight, the Parkland Rangers are at home against Southwest, and the Dauphin Kings are on the road in Selkirk to play the Steelers. You can hear the Kings game with the voice of the Kings, Darnell Duff, on CKDM with the pre-game show starting at 7:15.

Tomorrow, the Peewee Tournament continues and the festivities for Rogers Hometown Hockey kickoff at noon.

The Kings and Rangers both play again on Saturday night, with the Rangers holding their Ukrainian Night against the Winnipeg Bruins. Hometown Hockey host Tara Slone will be drop the puck at the Rangers game.

The Kings are paying a visit to the Steinbach Pistons, with Darnell Duff having that call on CKDM starting at 7:15.

Sunday, the Peewee tournament wraps up with the finals at 2:15. Hometown Hockey festivities start up again at noon and the weekend wraps up with an outdoor broadcast of the Calgary Flames taking on the Vegas Golden Knights.

Be sure to listen to CKDM at 12:40 after the Noon Ag Show, when Josh Sigurdson and Darnell Duff will preview the weekend’s events.

You can find the weekend schedule under the sports tab all weekend long.

Details: Contributed by Josh Sigurdson; Published: Nov 15, 2019 - 10:01 am

A part of the 2019 budget in Manitoba was adding 35 full-time equivalent rural paramedic positions.

Most of those positions have been filled with the rest to come in January.

The new paramedics are based out of Russell, Swan River, Flin Flon, and Snow Lake/Cranberry Portage.

Once all 35 positions have been filled, Manitoba’s EMS funding will be at 12.1 million dollars.

Health, Seniors and Active Living Minister Cameron Friesen says these investments are in addition to the government’s most recent commitment to hire an additional 80 full-time paramedics over the next four years.

Since 2016, the provincial government has improved emergency services by giving paramedics the right to self-regulate under the Regulate Health Professions Act, purchasing 65 new ambulances, and reducing ambulance fees by half to 250 dollars.

Details: Contributed by Isaac Wihak; Published: Nov 15, 2019 - 5:00 am

Rogers Hometown Hockey is set to take over Dauphin this weekend, and co-host of the show Tara Slone is excited to pay a visit to the City of Sunshine.

Hometown Hockey has toured around Canada for 6 seasons now, making stops in big cities and small towns alike.

Tara says the decision to come to Dauphin was an easy one to make.

“It’s a great hockey community, and it’s a place we haven’t been. We’ve had a few repeats along the way in some of the bigger places, like Winnipeg, but (Dauphin) is, sort of, my favourite size, I like the smaller markets,” said Slone. “Obviously, there’s a ton of great hockey talent that’s from Dauphin, and from around Dauphin. Lots of great stories, and we haven’t covered it yet.”

Slone says that the thing she is most looking forward to immersing herself in the Ukrainian culture by dancing with the Zirka Ukrainian Dance Ensemble and the Dancing and Riding Cossacks.

“You learn by being on the ground, there’s only so much you can get out of Youtube and Google. I think it’s really only by being with people in Dauphin, that you get a sense of understanding of the community itself and what it means to them,” said Slone. “The dancing itself is something I’m going to marvel at, and it’ll be fun for me to try, but really, there’s a lot of skill so I’ll get to actually just be able to watch that unfold.”

Slone says that even after hosting the show for 6 years, she is constantly amazed by the kindness of Canadians. She adds that her favourite part about Hometown Hockey is seeing smiles on people’s faces.

By coming out to the event, Slone says people can expect a free and fun event, with a chance to meet some hockey legends like Butch Goring, Colton Orr, and Brigette Lacquette.

The Hometown Hockey co-host says she is lucky to be able to travel the country, telling stories about communities and hockey with Ron MacLean.

On top of everything Tara is doing with Hometown Hockey, she will also be dropping the puck at the Parkland Rangers Ukrainian Night game.

Details: Contributed by Josh Sigurdson; Published: Nov 15, 2019 - 5:00 am

A lot of people living with schizophrenia don’t respond to their medication, and a new study out of the University of Manitoba may help those cases get recognized sooner.

Dr. Kaarina Kowalec, the lead author, is an assistant professor at the College of Pharmacy at the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, and an affiliated researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

The research points to two risk factors associated with treatment-resistant schizophrenia. People who have multiple family members with schizophrenia, or people who have a low intelligence score, have a higher chance of failing drug treatment.

The study looked at data from close to 25,000 Swedish people, and another subgroup of 5,000 people who gave genetic samples. With that information, they found that a person’s genetics was not related to treatment-resistant schizophrenia.

People who suffer from treatment-resistant schizophrenia have a higher risk of death or suicide compared to those who respond to treatment. Kowalec hopes that these findings will affect clinical practices and future research.

“This work also points us to future research into understanding the shared genetic and environmental risks for treatment resistance in schizophrenia, including more comprehensive genetic markers," said Kowalec.

The work was funded by grants through the EU’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme and the Government of Canada Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship program.

Details: Contributed by Josh Sigurdson; Published: Nov 14, 2019 - 9:44 am

The Dauphin and District Community Foundation has announced all the grant recipients.

David Bosiak, Chair of the foundation, says by allowing 2 intakes for grants this year, they were able to help more groups than before.

Bosiak says their funds have grown every year, and are close to 90 thousand dollars currently.

Moving forward, they are planning to support different kinds of projects, such as programs and services that enhance the community.

At yesterday’s grant luncheon, Kathy Freiheit was named Philanthropist of the Year.

22 grants were accepted for the intakes, receiving a total of $82,725.

Intake	Grantee	Project	Award
Fall	City of Dauphin - Active Transportation	Safe school routes	5,000
Spring	Countryfest Cinema	UPS for projects	1,000
Fall	Dauphin & District Allied Arts Council	Royal Winnipeg Ballet & Artsfest 2020	3,000
Fall	Dauphin & District Community Food Bank	Printer copier upgrade	700
Fall	Dauphin & District Snowmobile Club	Bridge repair and maintenance	1,800
Spring	Dauphin Friendship Centre	Kitchen shelves	663
Spring	Dauphin Minor Hockey	Upgrade goalie equipment	1,000
Spring	Dauphin Neighborhood Renewal	Solar light project	4,222
Fall	Dauphin Neighborhood Renewal	Under One Roof	3,000
Fall	Dauphin Public Library	Pocket Park	3,250
Spring	Fort Dauphin Museum	Fort's Fresh Coat Project	200
Fall	Fort Dauphin Museum	Smart Lite Project	1,890
Fall	Henderson Elementary School	Breakfast program	1,000
Spring	Manitoba 2020 Summer Games	Volleyball Sport Crt & various sport upgrades	15,000
Fall	Manitoba 2020 Summer Games	various sport upgrades	15,000
Spring	MVSD	Robb Nash	1,500
Spring	Parkland Humane Society	Outdoor catio	2,000
Spring	Parkland Men's Shed	start up	1,500
Fall	Theatre Amisk	Community production	500
Spring	Ukrainian Folk Arts Centre & Museum	MHTP startup	2,500
Fall	Ukrainian Folk Arts Centre & Museum	Heritage Village roofing project	1,000
Fall	Whitmore School	Breakfast program	2,000
Spring	Whitmore School Parent Council	Whitmore Playground structure	15,000