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He has toured North America and around the world for around 40 years, and organizers of the Kin Club of Dauphin Business Expo are hoping to make him an annual guest of the event. 

Doodles the Clown, who is best known for his work on the Adam Sandler movie "Billy Madison" is among the entertainment lined up for this weekend's expo at the Parkland Recreation Complex. 

"We will keep the kids busy by doing some shows.  I have brought along a friend of mine who is a professional balloon artist, so we will be giving out free balloons to the kids - hats, swords, balloon dogs - you name it.  She can make anything in the world, and if she does not she says she can and she will try."

Doodles will have performances on both Saturday and Sunday at nnon, 2 and 4 pm on the stage in the curling rink, and will also be walking around throughout the weekend.

He is part of a strong lineup of performers, as organizer Candice Taylor explains.

"We have the Megan Bramley Memorial Steppers performing, as well as the MMF Indigenous Drumming Group.  There will be some Ukrainian Dancers hitting the stage on Sunday,  And we have a group coming in that has purchased a booth that will also be doing some CPR demonstrations." 

The Business Expo goes Saturday from 10-7 and noon to 5 on Sunday, with no admission cost to attend. 

CKDM's Alec Woolston and Justin Allin will be live on location at the Expo on Saturday.  

A Dauphin business on Main Street was the victim of theft earlier this week.

On the afternoon of April 17th, a report came into the RCMP of 2 men who'd stolen several electronics and fled in a black SUV, with a third suspect picked up shortly after.

The SUV was later stopped in Riding Mountain National Park, where the three suspects were arrested, and found to be carrying $12,000 worth of electronics.

Florin Chelu, 34; Remus Ion, 32; and Vasile Mazarche, 49 all face multiple theft charges and Possession of Property Obtained by Crime. They remain in custody at this time.

Officers continue to search for a fourth male suspect who is believed to be traveling back to Ontario in a 2011 black Chevy Equinox with an Ontario license plate of DAVB 271.

If you have info on this break-in or have spotted the Ontario-bound vehicle, call the Dauphin detachment a 204-622-5020, or Crimestoppers anonymously by phone or online.

The two men accused in the stabbing death of a man this past January in Swan River have had a new court date set,

40-year-old Tryone Guiboche and 29-year-old Dean Bell are both charged with manslaughter and are due back in court on June 5th. 

And a Swan River man arrested in connection with two break-ins at the same residence last September has also appeared in court again.

37-year-old Jeremy Gingras is accused of assaulting the homeowner and stealing items during both instances, and then vandalizing two parked vehicles and windows of a business, and is due back in Dauphin court on Monday.

Getting behind the wheel after getting intoxicated is something no one should do, but a CAA survey reveals many people ignore that fact.

This Saturday is the 20th of April, widely recognized by cannabis enthusiasts as "420", a celebratory day, and CAA ran a survey asking individuals about their habits of consuming cannabis (specifically edibles) and getting behind the wheel.

Ewald Friesen From CAA ran some of the numbers on this, which have changed substantially since legalization.

"This is important because we have a general rise in the amount of new people using cannabis. We also have a 36% increase in people who already do use cannabis using it a little bit more frequently due to its availability. Now, why that's important to road safety is because of these new users, edibles are often the preferred choice... we wanted to know if people are using this safely, and if they're using it behind the wheel"

According to the survey findings, at least 34% of people have tried cannabis for the first time in the wake of legalization.

The survey narrowed it down a bit more to people who identify as "cannabis-impaired drivers" and 27% of them said they consumed edibles before getting behind the wheel.

"The big issue here is that when it comes to edibles there's a lot of unknowns. It depends on your body type, and how you metabolize it, it can depend on how high your tolerance is. So what happens is folks will pop and edible, and they'll wait a couple of hours because they're concerned about safety, and then we'll get behind the wheel and then snap it kicks in."

The paradox of this survey was the statistics around the public perception of this problem. 

89% percent of respondents said driving high is a serious issue, but despite this fact, 67% of them also said they do it anyway.

Another thing that many of the survey takers were unaware of was the penalties. Driving high will net the same consequences as driving drunk.

That can range from suspensions, demerits, and in the case of an accident, criminal charges.

We all share the road, and everyone wants a good time. But make sure to make a plan, have a safe ride, and never drive under any influence.

To see more of CAA's findings on these topics, Be sure to visit caa.ca.

ne Parkland municipality is among 10 across the province that will be receiving funding to help improve emergency preparedness in the future. 

Mossey River Municipality is getting $13,108 towards the purchase of VHF Radios. 

Over $240 thousand dollars is being made available through the Mitigation and Preparedness Program through the Manitoba Emergency Management Organization. 

Municipalities affected by spring flooding in 2023 were eligible to apply for this round of MPP funding. 

Since it ws launched in 2020, $3.7 million in MPP support has been provided to 120 projects across the province. 

McCreary is hosting the sweetest event of the season, as this weekend is the Manitoba Maple Syrup festival!

The festival features sugar bush tours, teaching people about maple syrup production, and according to Pam Little, The festival's President, so much more!

"In town, we have taffy on snow, no maple taffy which is a big hit. That's put on by one of our producers, Claude Desrosiers. we have a maple syrup pancake breakfast, which is a fundraiser for our Marlin's baseball, we have a makers market on saturday hosted by Burrows Trail Arts Council, and we have some children and youth activities hosted by Prairie Mountain Health and Dead Ox Trailblazers"

You can also expect to see a wide variety of live music and a delicious maple dessert competition, which will be served to the public after judging at the Maple Tea. 

Little notes that its a great bargain for a weekend too.

"The $5 pass, it's for the full 2 days. if just want to come to the market, it's $3, if you just want to come to the old-time dance its $10. But I mean it's a steal of a deal at $5 for the whole festival"

So if you're looking to sweeten up your weekend plans, you won't want to miss the Annual Maple Syrup Festival!

Tell your friends about the bus coming down the mountain.

Posted by McCreary's Manitoba Maple Syrup Festival on Tuesday, April 9, 2024

"Adventure From Here On Out" has been the slogan for Tourism Dauphin for a while now, and that mindset has not gone unnoticed.

Wednesday night, Dauphin's Economic development manager  Martijn Van Luijn was proud to accept the award for Marketing Campaign of the Year from Travel Manitoba

"It really says a lot about who we are. First of all, there's a lot to do here. The word 'Adventure' can mean a lot of different things. Whether it's culture, or sport, or festivals, or outdoors, whatever it may be. And 'From Here On Out' means we don't define ourselves by borders. There's so many things to do in our region, so why would we exclusively talk about dauphin? we promote everything!"

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Martijn humbly accepted this prize on behalf of the city, offering recognition to the team behind this project at city hall, and across the entire community.

"Campaigns like this are never done alone. we have a committee, representatives from the community, and industry. This is a joint effort and I'd really like to thank everyone that's been a part of it. It's been Awesome."

With a wildly busy summer ahead, there is sure to be much adventure in Dauphin, and across the Parkland.

The Municipality of Roblin is inviting the business community to join them for a collaborative discussion regarding potential labour issues. 

The meeting is set for next Wednesday night at 7:30 at the Roblin Community Centre. 

A number of topics are expected to be discussed, including construction and housing-related issues, as well as a regional push to bring more workers to the Roblin area. 

Business owners, investors, and builders are encouraged to take part in the meeting.

You are asked to pre-register by emailing nThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by calling 204-937-8333. 

A big push will be on this weekend to sign up volunteers for the 2024 Manitoba Summer Games.

Officials from the August 11th to 17th event will be at the Kin Club of Dauphin Business Expo this weekend to sign up prospective volunteers.

Jason Beyette with the host committee says it is important to get their volunteer quotas filled as soon as possible.

"The month of June will be our time to schedule volunteer shifts, so that is the importance of signing up right now, so that we can have everyone registered and have the appropriate registrations completed."

Around 1,200 volunteers are needed to successfully stage the multi-sport event, which is returning to Dauphin for the first time since 2004. 

According to games co-chair Clayton Swanton, having a strong base of volunteers in Dauphin would be a great legacy to leave from these games.

"Dauphin always steps up and we host really good events.  But the importance for this one is to make sure that our volunteers - we do not need to know what your schedule is that week, we just need to know that you are around and that you want to help us out.  That is all that we are looking for right now - just an expression of interest.  Without volunteers to pull this event off that week, none of that legacy gets left behind." 

Swanton says there is something for everyone as far as volunteer positions go.

He said in particular, they need to fill 90 - 4 hour shifts daily during the games at the DRCSS, where the athletes are being housed and fed. 

The new CEO of Prairie Mountain Health says she is honoured to have been warmly welcomed into her new duties by staff and stakeholders across the region.

Treena Slate was hired to replace Brian Schoonbaert, who retired from the position earlier this month.

She sees recruitment and retention of health staff being both the biggest short-term and long-term issues facing PMH. 

"We have a very high vacancy rate, which of course leads to excessive overtime and agency use to fill the needs to staff our programs and units.  It is an issue that has been plaguing us more so since the pandemic.  And I think it is incumbent on us as health leaders in the province to work to re-invigorate health care and to develop that passion that existed to work in health care."

Slate says the need for more doctors, nurses, and lab technicians has also played a big role in the closure or reduction of hours at several emergency rooms throughout the PMH coverage area.

"We always work to ensure that we are looking at things from a geographical perspective.  Making sure that we have services available within a geographical area, that people have access that is required, and ensuring that they are aware of what to do if they are in need of emergency service.  And just trying to shore up those resources so that we can provide as much service as possible."

Slate adds while Dauphin is well-staffed with physicians, the same can not be said for other parts of the region, where she says there are significant gaps with regards to primary care coverage. 

UPDATE: (April 18 @ 10:13 a.m.)

The RCMP has safely located Gunter.

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Spruce Plains RCMP is on the lookout for a 35-year-old from Minnedosa.

On the morning of April 16, the RCMP received a report of the missing female, 35-year-old Ashley Gunter, who was last seen three days prior at a residence located on White Swan Street in Brandon. A possible sighting was reported earlier on April 17 in the Delta Bay area in Brandon.

Ashley is described as being 5’2”, 140 pounds, with brown hair and hazel colored eyes.

The RCMP are concerned for her wellbeing and are asking anyone who may have seen her, or have information on her current whereabouts, to contact the Minnedosa RCMP at 204-867-2916 or call Manitoba Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. Secure online tips can also be made at Crime Stoppers.