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Besides experiencing our first significant cold snap of this winter, Parkland area residents are also bracing for a sizable dumping of snow today (Wednesday).

Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued a snowfall warning for the entire region. 

An Alberta Clipper system is expected to drop as much as 20 cm of snow by tomorrow (Thursday) morning. 

The weather office says highways and roads will become difficult to navigate due to accumulation of snow, along with wind gusts at times up to 40 km an hour.

Motorists should be prepared to deal with changing road conditions throughout the course of the day. 

The RCMP has put out a missing persons report after a family lost contact with a man.

Adam Oswald was reported missing on January 6th, last seen over a week prior at a residence on Highway 16 in the RM of Glenella-Lansdowne.

He was last in contact with a family member on November 29th, but has been unreachable since then.

Oswald is described as 6 feet tall, 190 pounds with dark hair that is short on the sides and long on the top, often worn in a ponytail. He has green eyes, a Canadian flag tattoo on his right shoulder, and a scar beside his left eye. He may have grown a beard since he was last seen.

He was driving a black 2018 Ford F150, with Manitoba licence plate KXD 328.

If you have information, please call Minnedosa RCMP at 204-867-2916, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477

In remembrance of those we lost on June 15th, the province is looking to provide some funding for a local memorial, as well as one on the intersection's location.

This announcement came as part of Monday's press release, attended by Premier Wab Kinew, Minister Lisa Naylor, and Minister Ron Kostyshyn.

The Premier recognized how important it is to have this memorial to honor the memory of lost loved ones.

"The community of Dauphin has been very hard hit, as well as folks nearby. We have to remember what took place, and think that will hopefully help with the healing process for some families and the survivors and the first responders."

Premier Kinew also wanted to make it a locally meaningful memorial, leaving the design to the people of Dauphin.

"We are committed to supporting the memorial, but we do not want to direct what's going to happen. We want to leave that to the families and the other folks that are involved."

The goal is to create this memorial by June 15th of this year to honor the anniversary of this incident.

Mayor Bosiak was pleased to hear how onboard the provincial government is with their support.

"The announcement today from the province of offering financial support was very well received by those family members. That was one of their concerns, wanting to do things in a timely way so something is up by June 15th."

There will be further consultation with the families, designers, and city planners before this project moves further ahead.

The third Monday of January is recognized as Blue Monday, which is said to be the most depressing day of the year.

But Peer Connections Manitoba wants to focus the day on wellness, rather than illness, through an event that day at the Dauphin Friendship Centre. 

Eleanor Snitka is their Community Peer Supporter in Dauphin and says Blue Monday is a day to talk about our mental health.

 "I will talk about what we can do to make our lives easier in the wintertime and do some fun activities. But I want to talk about wellness rather than illness, and talk about celebrating the small victories."

Snitka says we should spend every day looking at our mental health.

"Sometimes, some people have that assumption or stigma that when you have mental health, you are kind of crazy I guess. But you know, we all have mental health, and we all have good days and we have bad days.  And for some people, it is harder than others to live.  But I do not want it to be a pity party.  I want it to be where we celebrate the good stuff."

There will also be a presentation that will discuss wellness using holistic and essential oils.

Snitka says everyone is encouraged to attend, adding those that who do show up will talk about their own experiences. 

The event takes place from 1-4 on Monday in the Literary room of the Friendship Centre and is free for anyone that wishes to attend. 

The RCMP's final investigation file into last June's deadly bus crash near Carberry has been handed over to crown prosecutors.

But the province says there is no word yet on whether any charges might be laid in relation to the crash, which claimed the lives of 17 Dauphin area residents while injuring eight more. 

A spokesperson for the Mounties says officers have yet to speak to the driver of the bus that was carrying a group of seniors from the Dauphin area to a casino near Carberry, when it collided with an eastbound semi in the intersection of Highway 5 and the Trans Canada Highway on June 15th.

The spokesperson would not elaborate further due to health privacy laws. 

The banquet room at the Chicken Chef restaurant in Russell will play host to the Russell Ag Society's annual general meeting. 

It is set for 6 pm tonight (Tuesday), and both current and new members are encouraged to attend.

The ag society reminds attendees that membership fees for the coming year are also due, and can be paid at tonight's meeting.

The event includes a supper, and you are asked to call or text Cathy at 204-773-6457 if you plan on showing up so that they can have an exact number for supper. 

There is a $30 cost to attend. 

Winter will feel a lot shorter than normal and if you're a fan of that, you can thank El Nino.

El Nino is associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in an area off the coast of South America and it brought forward some incredible conditions right through Christmas. With daytime highs in the positives, it was something that does not happen often.

"What was spectacular was how long it lasted, certainly longer than most people would have thought," said David Phillips, Senior Climatologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada. 

Leading into 2024, Phillips says on record, there was just one day that the temperature dipped below minus 20 before the wind chill and in a normal year, there should have been 21 days like that.

There has also not been a single day where the temperature has dipped below minus 30 and in a typical year, there would have been five days that would have so far.

While the beautiful weather was welcomed by most, the flip of the calendar to 2024 has brought cold conditions and they are expected to be chillier as the days go on.

The high on Saturday is minus 26 while the high for Sunday is minus 25. While Saturday's minus 26 forecast is not going to set any records, it could be a sign of things to come.

"We're going to see more of that brutally cold air," said Phillips. "That doesn't mean it is the end of El Nino, but it will go away for now. We're going to see some pretty cold conditions. On the bright side, Manitobans are used to the cold weather so we will get through it."

So you can expect a very cold start to next week; however, David also provides some hope leading into the middle part of next week.

"El Nino could blow again and it will," said Phillips. "When I look forward to the end of next week, they look a lot more promising and positive. We're going to see temperatures that will be less punishing."

David adds that models for January, February, and March are showing milder-than-normal conditions in the province. 

"This will be a milder than normal winter, we are all just going to have to deal with some very cold conditions," ended Phillips. "Winter is who we are, it would have been shocking if things continued as they were in November and December."

After last year's deadly crash, a report of safety improvements at the intersection of Highway 5 and the Trans Canada Highway has been released.

Premier Wab Kinew joined Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor and Ag Minister Ron Kostyshyn to release the details on three options.

"We came here today to share the information with some of the families first, as well as first responders who joined and local leaders. We've narrowed it down to 3 options, which are 3 of the safest choices. Now we need the public to weigh-in because you are going to be the actual user of the roads. If the engineer comes up with the safest option, we want to hear if that works for you."

The three "medium-term" options being considered include a round-a-bout, the widening of the highway median, or an "R-cut interchange".

Over the next 6 to 9 months, the viability of these plans will be assessed, as well as public feedback on what nearby communities think is the most suitable option for the area.

The funding for the project is expected to total 12 million dollars from the provincial government.

It was also stated that further information will be gathered from other high-risk intersections for further improvements.

The core message of the release is increased road safety to get more people home.

The 2023 holiday season was another successful one for Dauphin's RIDE program.

The organization has released its final numbers, which saw increases in the number of passengers transported, volunteers, shifts worked, and volunteer hours from last year. 

The only decrease was in the number of trips, which was down 3 from the previous year.

The RIDE program operated on weekends throughout the month of December, wrapping up on New Year's Eve.

Organizers say the numbers reinforce the need and demand for a program like this, adding community support, awareness, promotion, and volunteerism are all driving factors in its success. 

Dauphin's Malanka celebrations go this Saturday night at the 8th Avenue Hall.

The night begins with refreshments at 5 and a supper at 6:30.

Dauphin's own Party Time Orchestra will be providing music throughout the evening, but co-organizer Robert Yaciuk says there will be other entertainment as well.

"There is a group from Ukraine that is going to perform a skit, then we are going to have carolers from Smith Jackson School, and we will also have Ukrainian Dancers from Ethelbert."

Yaciuk says the event has a long-standing tradition in our city.

"It has been held for as long as I can remember, it has been going for the last 30 years or more.  When we stepped in, we just kept on going with the same thing."

Tickets for the event are $50 each, and Yaciuk explains how you can purchase them.

"They can call Robert at (204)638-6157, or they can phone Ruff's Furniture and ask for Ryan."

Yaciuk adds tickets must be purchased by Wednesday so that they can let the caterers know how many people there will be for supper. 

Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries is advising residents about a fraudulent online gaming app that is being advertised on Facebook.

They say they were made aware late last week about the app for Club Regent Casino. 

MBLL stresses that both Club Regent and McPhillips Station Casino do not offer mobile apps or online gaming, and that anything advertising such is a scam. 

They advise people not to click on any links provided in these ads, or provide any personal or credit card information, adding you should block and report the ads if you come across them on Facebook.