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The Manitoba Government has put out their March Flood Outlook and despite large amounts of snow this winter, lakes around the Parkland aren't expected to flood. Dauphin Lake is expected to have the highest rise above normal for this time of year, with around 2 extra feet expected after spring runoff.

Lake Manitoba is currently sitting 1.41 feet below normal for this time of year, but after spring runoff is expected to be right in the middle of its operating range. Lake Winnipegosis is less than a foot under its normal for this time of year and is expected to be sitting just below its normal level after the runoff.

These numbers are better than expected due to the slow start to this spring's melt, however, they could still change. The numbers the government put out are based on average precipitation, and an above-average amount of rain this spring could change the outlook.

The Royal Manitoba Winter Fair returns to the Keystone Centre in Brandon next week. Provincial Exhibition's Manager of Operations and Sponsorship Lead, Rick Dillabough, says they have a great week full of events planned.

So much going on throughout the week with a lot of special entertainment, the heavy horse shows of course, the cattle at the north end, the hackneys, the Ag education area.

While they have been working hard to get everything ready for the event, they're not done yet.

There's a lot of moving parts, a lot of things that still need to come together over the next couple of days, but we're all excited about Monday and the start of the fair. 

You can get your tickets and see the event schedule here.

The Spring Market is back at the Kelwood School this year. Organizer Kalee Mund says the market will be full of locally made products, and you have four chances to make it out.

This Saturday March 26th, and then April 16th which is easter weekend, so there will be some farmers there with local meat. People will be able to pre-order ham, bacon, roasts, burgers, and then pick them up at the market. Then Mothers day weekend May 7th, and May 21st

The market will run 10 - 2 each day and Mund said there's so much to do in Kelwood if you're planning to make the trip out.

There's actually a lot that people can do out here after they go to the market from hiking if they want to go down 19, to walking around in the Kelwood Arboretum Garden.

You can find all the information you need about the Market on The Kelwood Barn's Facebook page. 

Tomorrow night, Dauphin's Countryfest's Return to the Hill tour hits Dauphin, with Doc Walker and Don Amero playing the Watson Art Centre at 7:30pm. Tickets for the Return to the Hill Concert  are only $25 and are still available to purchase here.

Before the show, Countryfest will be unveiling a brand new sign out at the hill at 1pm. 

This afternoon Dauphin's Countryfest was in Portage La Prairie for the announcement of their full festival lineup ahead of the first leg of the Return To The Hill Concert series tonight at the William Glesby Centre.

Today's artist announcement included the additions of more local Manitoba artists including Desiree Dorion from Dauphin, Kendra Kay from Elkhorn, Ryan Keown from Roblin and Jade Turner from Grand Rapids Manitoba.

One of the new big names to be announced today was Clayton Bellamy, from the Road Hammers, who will be bringing The Congregation to the festival for the first time after previously performing at the festival with the Road Hammers on 5 separate occasions. 

This year's headliners for the festival are Paul Brandt, Johnny Reid, Dallas Smith, Dean Brody and Terri Clark with the festival running Friday July 1st to Sunday July 3rd.

As the snow starts to melt, the question that is on Manitoba producers' minds is, will this help with soil moisture levels. Ernie Sirski says the melt has been near perfect so far.

With the tempuratures we've got, its been almost what you can call a perfect melt. It's been slow, and surprisingly very little water standing around, so I think the water is going into the groud which is a good thing for us.

While the slow melt is ideal, the true need is for consistent moisture throughout the summer.

We'll see what happens throughout the course of the summer, because snow really doesn't make a crop.

A group that represents surgeons in Manitoba says the number of surgeries and tests delayed since the COVID-19 pandemic began has climbed significantly.

Doctors Manitoba estimates the surgical wait-list includes at least 54,820 cases -- an increase of nearly 2,500 from the group's previous report.

The group's president, Dr. Kristjan Thompson, says the backlog is likely affecting a significant part of the population.

He says the provincial government must add new capacity to the health-care system to deal with the problem.

On February 24th, 2020, Joshua Britton from Roblin was charged with Manslaughter. Now, just over two years later, he has been sentenced to 9 years in Jail, less time served. He's also been given a Lifetime weapons prohibition and a mandatory DNA Order.

February 22nd, 2020, Roblin RCMP got a report of an unresponsive 35-year-old male, who later died from his injuries. The victim was identified as Daniel Paul from Roblin.

There was a new council announced this morning by the Manitoba Provincial government that will provide advice and guidance to help support future and current searches for the bodies of children who died at residential schools.

The newly announced council will include members of local, provincial and federal governments including members from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada.

The council will be co-chaired by the province and Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) and has representation from Indigenous leadership organizations and governments, including the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Southern Chiefs’ Organization, Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, Manitoba Métis Federation and the Manitoba Inuit Association.

The council has had an initial discussion about the principles they will use during their work.

  • the search for the missing children must be Indigenous-led and with support from municipal, provincial and federal governments;
  • families and survivors must be at the heart of all search efforts;
  • health supports are essential to the wellness and healing of families, survivors, communities and all of those who are engaged in this work;
  • the remains of the children who died while attending residential schools and their burial locations be protected at all times; and
  • commemorations are essential for healing, truth-telling and education.

For more on the council, you can find the province's press release here.

The Manitoba Government announced this morning that they'll release its 2022 provincial budget on April 12.

Manitoba Finance Minister Cameron Friesen made the announcement and said that this year's budget will provide Manitobans with the plan for the province's financial priorities along with their plans for economic and social recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Budget 2022 is about strengthening our health-care system, focusing on affordability, finding ways to invest in our communities and protecting Manitoba’s environment,” said Friesen. “We must continue to rebuild our economy and work toward resolving something that everyone is concerned about – making life more affordable.” said Friesen

Friesen also said that over 51 thousand Manitobans took part in the budget consultations over the past few months including virtual and phone town halls, virtual surveys, and email and mailed-in submissions.

The number one priority of those who answered the online survey was Healthcare. View the survey results, listen to the telephone town hall recordings, and watch recorded virtual meetings here.

$730 has been given to the Ukrainian Family Fund thanks to the Parkland U18 Rangers.

The organization donated the funds to Jim Perchaluk on Tuesday night after they hosted a pierogi toss recently at one of their games.

The pierogies were donated by Ryan Rauliuk.

Manitoba Hydro rate increases could be capped at 5% or the rate of inflation, whichever is higher. New legislation the Government introduced today would also allow the Public Utilities Board to set rates for three years at a time, rather than holding yearly hearings.

Finally, it would also open up the retail supply of power to people other than the utility. Finance Minister Cameron Friesen says the measure is aimed at allowing people with solar or wind power to sell electricity back to the grid. The Opposition New Democrats, however, say they fear it will in effect partially privatize Crown-owned Manitoba Hydro.