Drive Sober This Holiday Season

There have been 82 deaths related to fatal collisions in Manitoba this year, one-third of which are related directly to drinking and driving.

With the holiday season here, the RCMP knows people are going to be out and about having fun, but they want you to know that if you need to drive, you must do so sober.

Whether it's alcohol or cannabis, driving under the influence continues to take lives.

"People can't be drinking and driving, we lose too many people in impaired fatal collisions," said Paul Manaigre, Sargeant with the RCMP. "Our officers are going to be out there and the ones that get caught will face the consequences."

The consequences could include a criminal record, suspension of your license, and your license will cost more, to name a few. Manaigre says you should always enjoy time with your family and friends, you just need to make sure to do it safely.

"We want everyone to enjoy themselves throughout the holiday season," said Manaigre. "If you're going to drink or use cannabis, find an alternate ride or stay where you are."

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Dec 20, 2022 - 5:00 am

The Dauphin Food Bank is preparing for a very busy two days to assure that hundreds of families in need have food to eat and that's not it.

On Wednesday, 238 applicants will be getting hampers full of food, treats, and toys for the kids. Robin Gambler with the Food Bank says she is very pleased to be able to help those in need.

"It's a really good feeling that we're going to be able to help out so many families," said Gambler. "146 of those families were adopted and those that weren't adopted out are going to have a great Christmas as well."

If you missed out on applying but you and your family are still in need, the Food Bank will be hosting an intake on Thursday from 5 to 7 at Parkland Crossing.

"We will have very large hampers for the folks that come in," said Gambler. "It's going to be larger than our normal hampers."

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Dec 20, 2022 - 5:00 am

All previous extreme cold warnings are now over.

ORIGINAL STORY:

It has been a chilly week so far and it looks to get a little chillier south of Dauphin.

Environment Canada has issued an extreme cold warning for Minnedosa - Riding Mountain National Park and Brandon - Neepawa - Carberry - Treherne. Periods of cold bringing windchills of -40 are expected this morning and through the week.

The worst of the cold weather will occur at night and in the early morning hours. Temperatures should return to seasonal norms by the weekend. Click here for a map of weather alerts in Manitoba.

Details: Contributed by Alec Woolston; Published: Dec 20, 2022 - 5:21 am

Russell RCMP responded to an assault at a business on Main Street in Russell last Thursday, December 15th.

Reportedly, a woman who appeared to be intoxicated had entered the business and assaulted an employee. The employee then locked themself in a back room and called police.

Officers attended quickly and were able to arrest the female, who became combative and spat at officers. While in transport to the detachment, she was kicking at the windows of the police vehicle. Upon arrival at the detachment, she attempted to assault other officers. She also refused to identify herself.

Just before the assault at the business on Main Street in Russell, the female approached an adult male who was shoveling snow with a five-year-old child and struck the child with her purse before leaving the scene. The child was not physically injured.

33-year-old Renee Gambler of Waywayseecappo First Nation is charged with:

2 counts of Assaulting a Peace Officer
2 counts of Obstructing a Peace Officer
2 counts of Resisting Arrest
2 counts of Assault
2 counts of Mischief
1 count of Assault with a Weapon

Details: Contributed by Alec Woolston; Published: Dec 19, 2022 - 12:13 pm

The Canada Post office in Winnipegosis is closed for now due to unexpected staffing issues. In the meantime, customers can pick up their mail at the Fork River post office, which will have extended hours.

Keep in mind that you will need to provide valid government-issued photo identification to pick up your mail.

Canada Post says they are working on a contingency plan to re-open the Winnipegosis post office as soon as possible and apologize to their customers for the inconvenience.

If you have any questions about postal services, you can contact the customer service team at Canada Post by going to canadapost.ca or calling 1-866-607-6301.

Details: Contributed by Alec Woolston; Published: Dec 19, 2022 - 11:18 am

The Canadian crop hail industry provided 10-billion dollars in coverage for 2022, which is a record-setting amount, according to the Canadian Crop Hail Association (CCHA).

The association also notes that producers bought more insurance in 2022 in the face of heightened input costs, inflation, and stronger crop prices. Any producers who delayed getting insurance likely had issues finding it as there was an unanticipated 20% increase in demand.

Insurance payments to producers in the prairie provinces will be more than 265-million dollars while premiums producers paid totaled over 375-million dollars. This makes for an industry loss ratio of 71%.

Manitoba reported a loss ratio of 43%, compared with Saskatchewan at 68%, and Alberta at 98%.

The CCHA has been serving the crop insurance industry since 1915 and represents the interests of Canadian crop hail managing agencies and insurance companies.

Details: Contributed by Alec Woolston; Published: Dec 19, 2022 - 8:20 am

Prairie Mountain Health is preparing for the holidays, and part of that includes making it easy for people to find out what emergency departments are open, and when.

The regional health authority knows it can be frustrating for people to be uncertain about what services they can access, but there is even more uncertainty around the holidays says CEO Brian Schoonbaert.

"As we know we have been having some issues, obviously with staffing, both nursing, physician staffing, and others. It gets particularly worse during, unfortunately, the holiday season, because it's more difficult for us to get agency nurses for example and alike. So we want to make sure that people know where they can go, and how they can find out what's open and when."

One way that PMH is doing this is by making sure its webpage which has emergency service hours and locations is updated as quickly as possible.

"Unfortunately during this time, it could be that maybe the physician is sick, or one of the staff calls in sick, and we could close down at the last minute because of that. So this is letting people know what it's like at any given time, and we actually have people on call to make sure that those updates are made as fast as we can."

PMH wants to remind people that they have emergency department hours available on their website, and they've also created the QR code below that will take anyone directly to the page.

Details: Contributed by Sam Brownell; Published: Dec 19, 2022 - 6:00 am

The City and RM of Dauphin have partnered to try and grow the area economy, and the most recent effort comes in the rejuvenation of an old project.

The Dauphin Business Park, formerly known as the Industrial Park, presents a great opportunity for a variety of new businesses to come into the area says Economic Development Manager Martijn van Luijn.

"It is industrially zoned, but it does allow for a variety of other uses, we could call it commercial uses, as well. So the Business Park sounds more modern and all-encompassing."

The park is located off Highway 362, just north of the City says van Luijn, and it has 123 acres of affordable land ready to develop.

"Everybody wants new business, everybody wants more industry, we've been hearing that all over and I agree, so this is one of the ways we can do that. We're offering this land at a very attractive rate. We've done some research in Western Manitoba on what land prices are and we're offering the land at a far lower price than that. We're selling it for $20,000 an acre."

Aside from the competitive price of land, van Luijn says there are some development and tax incentives available as well.

"We also have a pretty strong incentive package, and of course, it all depends on what kind of business comes into it and how many jobs it creates, if it's something new, or if it's something that compliments something else, we will try to do what we can to make sure that if somebodies interested, or has a really good proposal, we're going to try to find a spot for them in the business park."

Businesses interested in the land can get more information by calling (204)638-4531, emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or online here.

Details: Contributed by Sam Brownell; Published: Dec 17, 2022 - 6:44 am

Manitoba Hydro has officially updated its General Rate Application with the Public Utilities Board.

Hydro announced the intent to decrease their ask from 3.5% to 2% increases each of the next two years at the end of November, and now they've filed the paperwork. The decrease is thanks to the provincial government lowering what they collect from Hydro for provincial debt guarantee and water rental payments annually says President, Jay Grewal.

“The changes will allow us to start reducing our debt while continuing to make the needed investments in our system to maintain reliable service to our customers. They also ensure we have the financial resources available to address the risks created by factors out of our control like increasing interest rates, export prices, and droughts like what we saw in 2021.”

The two increases would come into effect on September 3^rd, 2023, and April 1^st, 2024. The bill impact for both 2% increases will be less than $3 a month for the average residential customer without electric heating, and under $6 a month for those with electric heating.

Hydro's still looking for confirmation on the 3.6% interim rate increase that came into effect at the start of this year. That increase was put into place to help Hydro counter the effects of the 2021 drought.

Details: Contributed by Sam Brownell; Published: Dec 16, 2022 - 2:41 pm

The Ste. Rose - McCreary - Alonsa - Gladstone region is under a blowing snow advisory as of earlier this morning.

The blowing snow is causing poor visibility in some locations. Please drive with caution. Conditions in affected areas are expected to improve later this afternoon.

The full statement is below:

Blowing snow advisory in effect for:

Mun. of Glenella-Lansdowne incl. Arden and Tenby
Mun. of McCreary incl. Norgate
Mun. of Ste. Rose incl. Laurier
Mun. of WestLake-Gladstone incl. Plumas and Langruth
R.M. of Alonsa incl. Ebb and Flow Res. and Sandy Bay Res.

Poor visibility in snow and blowing snow is expected or occurring in some locations.

Poor visibility in snow and blowing snow with some highway closures are occurring this morning in areas south and west of Winnipeg, along the Manitoba Escarpment and especially approaching the International border.

The snow, gusty winds and poor visibility are expected to improve later this afternoon.

Visibility may be significantly and suddenly reduced to near zero. Be prepared to adjust your driving with changing road conditions. Consider postponing non-essential travel until conditions improve.

Please continue to monitor alerts and forecasts issued by Environment Canada. To report severe weather, send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or tweet reports using #MBStorm.