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Dating back to 2007, three people in Manitoba are recognized every year for making key contributions to their community through the Future Leaders of Manitoba program.

Nominees come together at a banquet each January where three different nominees are given an award for their outstanding impact. 

In the 20-26-year-old age category this year, Brandon University’s Whitney Hodgins won the award for the first time in her life. The 25-year-old has made a great difference in Brandon when it comes to disability, mental health, and justice.

Whitney was first nominated for the award a couple of months ago by a faculty member at BU. The process included video interviews, an interview in front of a judging panel and it all added up to the awards evening.

It wasn't until January 30 that Whitney found out she was the winner in her age group.

"There are a lot of emotions that come to mind. When my name was called, I couldn't believe it, it was like that feeling when you see a deer on the road," said Hodgins. "It's a big accomplishment and it's great to know that the work I'm doing has been recognized, it's a special feeling."

This isn't only Hodgins' first time winning the award, but it's also a first for Brandon University. The 25-year-old became the first student at BU to win the award in its school's illustrious history. 

Hodgins is also one of just a few people that have ever won the award in rural Manitoba since the inception of the Future Leaders of Manitoba program. 

"It's nice to know that my work is being recognized within the community," added Hodgins. "It's cool to see that people in rural Manitoba can win this award and not only people in Winnipeg, it shows that the entire province of Manitoba has come a long way."

Whitney will now continue with her work in Brandon and she's hoping more students at Brandon University get nominated moving forward and she knows that's something that can happen.

"I believe because I'm the first Brandon University student ever to win this, it's going to push others to continue with their work," concluded Hodgins. "So many people do such great work and they deserve to be recognized."

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Riding Mountain National Park in Wasagaming will be seeing some upgrades beginning this month.

The work is part of the largest infrastructure plan in the history of Parks Canada.

The renovations that’ll be done include re-designing the visitor service reception area for better customer service and visitor flow, a Parks Canada merchandise store, improved accessibility to the building and the grounds, inclusive washroom facilities, updated audiovisual equipment, improvements to the building to easily host events, repairs and upgrades to the roof, and geothermal heating and cooling. 

Parks Canada claims that the visitor center hasn’t had any upgrades in over 25 years.

The government says that the renovations will ensure a safe and meaningful experience to visitors.

Construction may extend into the spring of 2020 since it’s weather dependant, but there will be an alternate building open for visitor services and programming.

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This Friday is the 35th year of the Yorkton farm toy and collectible show and sale.

The show and sale will be full of a variety of farm toys and items to purchase or bid on.

Event organizer, Kim Mehrer says that there will be lots of vendors and displays to enjoy.

“This will be the 35th year that the farm show has been put on. We have vendors from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta that all come to Yorkton. We have a huge setup of tables of displays, toys, antiques. We have a great lunch counter available, and the main thing is our pedal tractor raffle. We donate all of our proceeds to charity which this year is going to Tessa. She has Leukemia.”

The live webcast and auction will be held this Friday at 6:00pm.

The Show and Sale is this Saturday from 9am to 5pm and Sunday from 9am to 4pm.

The show and sale is located at St. Mary’s Cultural Center on 240 Wellington Avenue in Yorkton.

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The march and rally hosted by the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union saw about 350 people rally in support of those affected by the closure of the Dauphin Correctional Centre.

The march started at 4:30 with chants of “Without the Dauphin jail, our economy will fail,” “Save our jobs, save our jail,” and “Don’t close it down, don’t kill our town.”

Speakers included jail and MGEU representatives, NDP Leader Wab Kinew, Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont, and chiefs Eugene Eastman of O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi First Nation, Cameron Catcheway of Skownan First Nation, and Barry McKay of Tootinaowaziibeeng.

Dauphin MLA Brad Michaleski was invited to attend but didn’t show up, prompting “Where is Brad?” chants.

MGEU President, Michelle Gawronsky, has a message for the provincial government.

“Pay attention to the people, listen to the people of this community, listen to the inmates, their families, and listen to the correctional officers. Pay attention, keep this jail open, build a new one and let’s move on with life in a productive way that’s going to keep the economy of Dauphin going.”

Kinew says it was a very strong show of support from the community.

“It’s very clear that Dauphin and the surrounding region, including the indigenous communities who were represented, are all opposed to this move and want the jobs to stay in Dauphin.”

During Kinew’s speech, he said the jail closing isn’t Michaleski’s fault.

“While I’m talking about Brad, let me say this. That side, the Conservative side, will not let him stand up for you, the people of Dauphin. (Crowd chants shame) But we would. (Crowd cheers) If he was on our side he would be free to stand up and give voice to the people of Dauphin and most importantly, to fight for your jobs and fight for your community.”

Lamont says he saw a bigger round of support compared to the town hall meeting.

“I’ve rarely ever seen this level of unity and people coming together from every single walk of life. They’re even talking about how the inmates themselves are concerned about this, their families. This is a government that doesn’t need to do this, the money is there to build a new facility.”

For more photos and videos from the march and rally, check out 730 CKDM on Facebook.

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11 days ago, Justice Minister Cliff Cullen came to Dauphin to announce the closure of the Dauphin jail.

Manitoba Liberal leader, Dougald Lamont thought the move was done in a sneaky way.

“By just putting it at the bottom of a press release, saying ‘Oh look at all these great things we’re doing and then by the way we’re going to be closing this 100-year-old facility,’ without much explanation and no plan. It’s really terrible, and right away I saw what Dauphin city council was saying. They were saying this is a terrible blow to the community, there was no consultation. In fact, just the opposite has happened, that there have been suggestions that the jail would be replaced. So yeah, I think it’s a complete betrayal of the community.”

Lamont is pleased with how broad the support is for those affected, from the Liberal Party and NDP, local communities, as well as the MGEU, Indigenous and Metis leadership, the RCMP, and economic Dauphin.

One of Lamont’s biggest concerns is how unnecessary the decision is.

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The march and rally concerning the jail closure begins at 4:30pm today, in Dauphin.

With the large outcome of people who attended last night’s meeting, it's expected that there will be a large amount of people hitting the streets today as well.

MGEU Executive Liaison, Jodee Mason encourages people to come out, and show their support.

“So once everybody gets to the jail we have some speakers lined up from the RM of Dauphin and the city of Dauphin. We’ve also invited somebody from each of the political parties to come to the rally to say a few words. We’ve heard back for sure from the NDP and the Liberals, but we have not heard back from the local MLA whether he will be attending for not. Everybody will say a few words about the impacts it will have on the community, on the economy, on the families of the region and it’s just really a time where people can come together for the people that work at the facility and send the government a message that the decision they’re making to close the jail is a wrong one“.

The rally begins at the MGEU office located at 322 Main Street South and people who will be attending the rally are advised to dress warm, as it will be cold outside.

MGEU reminds the public that the rally is meant to be respectful and peaceful.

Commuters are also being warned to watch for pedestrians while the march takes place.

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The Brandon Police Service is looking for 33-year-old, Ambrose AIDOO, who is from Brandon.

There is a Manitoba wide warrant for his arrest for Sexual Assault, Falsely Representing a Peace Officer, and Failing to Attend Court in Accordance with his Release Order.

The BPS isn't sure of his whereabouts, but they do believe he could be staying in Winnipeg.

If you have any information or know someone who does, contact Brandon Police at 729-2345.

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Residents of the Lake St. Martin First Nation, whose homes were destroyed in a devastating flood almost a decade ago, met in Winnipeg after courts decided to end benefits for the evacuees.

Lake St. Martin Chief Adrian Sinclair is concerned that some evacuees could end up homeless with the benefits coming to an end. 1,400 people were displaced by the flood.

Sinclair said that he’s working on a plan to ensure evacuees with nowhere to go, receive financial help.

After water was diverted from the Assiniboine River into Lake Winnipeg in 2011, extreme flooding in Lake St. Martin forced the evacuation of the entire community and destruction of all homes, buildings, and community infrastructure.

Of the 1,400 people evacuated, only 475 have returned home. According to Sinclair, 314 families still have nowhere to go.

The federal government ended evacuee benefits as of January 31st, but 130 evacuees will receive benefits until the end of March when more homes in Lake St. Martin will be ready for people to move in.

The government has said that it expects that by the end of March, 350 homes will be completed. They point out that it is more than the 182 homes that were present in the community before the flood.

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Yesterday at Credit Union Place, the Aspen Lodge filled up for a town hall meeting on the closure of the Dauphin Correctional Centre. The meeting consisted of different people, groups, and organizations talking about how the jail closing will affect those in Dauphin and the Parkland.

When Dauphin MLA Brad Michaleski had his turn to speak, he said despite the jail closure being a tough decision, he was okay with it.

“Our focus and our promise to Manitobans was, again, to fix the finances, repair services, and ultimately grow the economy. Which is probably one of the greatest things we can do for the people of Manitoba and in terms of effecting the social outcome. So that’s a pretty strong thing. Along that way, we have to make decisions on a daily basis, on a whole host of issues.”

Michaleski says a lot of thought went into the decision and it wasn’t taken lightly. He adds that the local governments and stakeholders are having meetings with the provincial government on how the government can help.

“The decision on the jail, it’s not something you just come out and make promises and then don’t keep them. We’ve made a decision and we’re looking for ways to mitigate the effects of it. We also have a great offer from the province to help our entire region grow as a region, which ultimately helps the City of Dauphin.”

After the conclusion of the meeting, Dauphin Mayor Allen Dowhan said he was pleased by the crowd and the stories from the people and organizations being affected.

“Now, we have to see some change of policy or thinking from the provincial government. That’s all we ask.”

Deputy Reeve of the RM of Dauphin, Midge Sametz, was in agreeance with Mayor Dowhan.

“A lot of presenters brought a side to it that, maybe a lot of people had not thought about it previously, like how it affects the RCMP, what their role would be in it, just the business owners, how it’s going to affect them, they brought their perspective to things as well. I was very pleased with the presenters, they did an awesome job.”

There’s another chance to show your concern for the jail closure today at 4:30 as the MGEU is hosting a march to the jail where there’ll be a rally.

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Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) has submitted a list of recommendations to the Manitoba government for the 2020-21 provincial budget process.

KAP’s recommendations include:

-Committing to long-term plans that will increase funding for business risk management programs that’ll enable real improvement that reflect current income risk levels

-Maintaining the current AgriInsurance budget line

-Maintaining MASC’s lending mandate and the related operating budget

-Establishing the proper delegated financial authority to streamline approvals and administration of program funds

-Putting short-term plans in place to correct the imbalance in school tax assessments

-Expanding funding opportunities for Mandatory Entry-Level Training for Class 1 drivers

-Ensuring a possible Made-in-Manitoba carbon tax exempts fuel used for grain drying and heating barns.

-Increasing resources towards the enforcement and prosecution of trespassing on farmland.

-Filling the vacant Provincial Extension Vet position

-Maintaining the current level of support funding for Manitoban students at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine

-Keeping the previous Manitoba Agriculture budget lines separate in the presentation of the budget of the new department to maintain transparency.

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The Dauphin Regional Health Centre’s Palliative Care Unit has recently received a substantial donation.

A donation of $15,000 was submitted by Anne Stewart in memory of her late husband Peter Stewart.

Dauphin Regional Health Centre director, Curt Gullet accepted the donation on behalf of the hospital foundation.

The foundation has contributed funds toward the completion of the DRHC Palliative Care Redevelopment Project through generous donations.

Their next goal is to provide two more specialized beds to complete the next phase of the project.

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