Producers can contribute to court project

Farmers in the Ste Rose area looking to contribute towards the construction of a basketball court in that community now have an avenue in which they can do so.

Project committee member Shelly Brunel says they have talked with several producers who wanted to donate to the project, and so they have created a Producer Challenge.

"A producer can donate the proceeds of five acres of any crop that they have grown, to our court project. And then they will be honoured with signage that will be up at the site as being part of this challenge and receive a charitable donation receipt as well."

Brunel says the idea for the challenge originated from a Field of Dreams project that they have done.

"To kick our fundraising off last year, Derek Brunel and David Hopfner each donated 70 acres of their own land, and then got donations of inputs before growing the crops for our project. We have harvested both of those crops and are just in the process of selling those crops, and the proceeds will be donated to our basketball project."

She adds the response from the local farming community has been very good so far.

"We have had our first producer donate to the challenge. Shelton and Kristi Kehler are from our area, which is great. So they have kicked things off for us and are helping spread the word."

Farmers interested in taking part can contact either Derek Brunel at 204-648-3174, or David Hopfner at 204-647-7619.

Shelly adds they hope they can break ground on the $300,000 basketball court project before year's end, and have it opened in 2024.

Details: Contributed by Jeff Henson; Published: Sep 8, 2023 - 12:46 pm

An explosion Thursday night at Brandon's Civic Services Complex has sent one person to hospital.

Brandon police and fire crews were called around 6 p.m. Thursday.

A natural gas line is said to be the cause of the explosion, although an investigation is underway.

The Civic Services Complex is closed while the investigation is ongoing, and the City of Brandon says there will be some service disruption as a result.

However, all transit routes in that city are expected to continue as scheduled.

The condition of the injured person is unknown.

Details: Contributed by Jeff Henson; Published: Sep 8, 2023 - 12:19 pm

Manitoba Public Insurance has announced plans to resume appointments for hail claim insurance as of next week.

The crown corporation says in a news release that a combination of the ongoing labour dispute as well as a sharp increase in the number of hail claims this year has led them to put additional measures in place for their customers.

MPI says it will open dedicated resources at its Physical Damage Centre, in order to provide faster estimates, and help more customers get their vehicles fixed sooner.

They say they have received over 11,600 hail claims so far this year, with over 3,800 alone coming as a result of a storm that battered parts of southern Manitoba on August 24th.

They project this year will be one of the worst years for hail-related claims in the past two decades.

Details: Contributed by Jeff Henson; Published: Sep 8, 2023 - 12:15 pm

The RCMP released a report of an incident, and it's a good reminder to double-check equipment heights if you're going under bridges or powerlines.

Yesterday at roughly 11:35 am, the Spruce Plains RCMP responded to reports of a trailer carrying farm equipment that had lodged itself under a railway bridge on Highway 10 near Minnedosa.

A tow company was called to clear the vehicle and free up the lane. CP Railway was also called so they were aware of the incident and could examine and ensure the integrity of the bridge.

Traffic in the area was affected for approximately two hours.

Luckily, Nobody was injured in this incident.

Details: Contributed by Michael Brossart; Published: Sep 8, 2023 - 11:05 am

The Right to Housing Coalition is asking Manitoba's political parties whether or not they support the five pillars announced in their "Social Housing Action Plan for Manitoba" report that they released on Wednesday.

Coalition spokesperson Shauna MacKinnon says the current low-rent housing situation in Manitoba will not be solved without re-investing in social housing.

The coalition adds low-rent housing supply is a problem across several parts of the province, including Dauphin, where they say options are especially limited.

The pillars include increasing the social housing supply by 1,000 rent-geared-to-income units annually for at least 10 years, as well as increasing and stabilizing funding to ensure all social housing tenants have access to supports.

Limiting exemptions to rent regulations, such as above guideline rent increases and disallowing rent discounts are also on that list, as well as supporting and partnering with social enterprises to provide employment and training opportunities in social housing construction and maintenance.

The coalition also suggests protecting existing rent-geared-to-income units from being lost due to disrepair, lack of subsidies, or the sale of properties.

They have asked the political parties to express their support by September 15th, adding they will release the results prior to the October 3rd election.

Details: Contributed by Jeff Henson; Published: Sep 7, 2023 - 4:46 pm

Several Parkland residents have been nominated for Manitoba Country Music Association awards.

Highlighting the list is Emma Peterson of Winnipegosis, who is up for five awards - including fans choice, female artist of the year, and interactive artist of the year.

Her song "Got It Back" is also nominated for single and music video of the year.

She will be competing in both of those categories against Roblin's Ryan Keown and his song "A Lie I Can Live With".

Meanwhile, Dauphin's Desiree Dorion received three nominations - for Female Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, and the Indigenous Country Music award.

Nelson Little, who originally hails from the Winnipegosis and Pine River area - is also up for the Indigenous Country Music award, as well as Top Male Artist and the Roots Artist of the Year.

Other local nominees include Ethelbert's Jerry Sereda for both Album of the Year and the Indigenous Country Music award, and Alonsa's Rylan Knaggs, who was nominated for the All-Star Band as a guitar player.

Lastly, 730 CKDM has been nominated for radio station of the year, while our midday host Alex DeVries is nominated for radio personality of the year.

The awards will be handed out on November 4th in Winnipeg.

Details: Contributed by Jeff Henson; Published: Sep 7, 2023 - 3:44 pm

The provincial election is set for October 3 and us here at 730 CKDM will have complete coverage leading up to and on the day.

In Dauphin, Gord Wood is running for the conservatives while Ron Kostyshyn is running for the NDP. Stephen Chychota of the Parkland Chamber of Commerce was on the Al Gaines Morning Show Thursday to announce that they will be hosting a provincial election public forum on September 27.

It will take place at the Watson Art Centre at 7:00 p.m. and with just a little less than a month away from the election, Chychota says you can submit questions that could be answered on September 27.

You can submit your questions online at 'Ask the Canditates'. You can also email them to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., call 204-622-3140, or deliver them in person at 100 Main Street South in Dauphin.

"We know the public wants to have their many questions answered and we're giving them their chance to ask," said Chychota.

Make sure you stay tuned to 730 CKDM for everything provincial election in our province.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Sep 7, 2023 - 9:04 am

Eye, nose and throat irritation, three things that many people have been dealing with this summer.

Some have also been dealing with more serious problems such as reduced lung function, worsening of asthma and other lung and heart conditions. 2023 has brought with it one of the worst wildfire seasons in Canadian history. Hundreds and hundreds of fires have ravaged the country with many of them having devestating effects.

For example, the 2023 wildfire season is the most destructive on record in British Columbia and parts of that province continue to burn. While fires continue to blaze in B.C., the effects of those fires continue to pose problems in Manitoba and specifically in this case, the Parkland region. Smoke from that part of the country has made its way to Manitoba and with it, comes continued smoky conditions. It's those conditions that can pose a health risk, with children, the elderly, and those with heart or lung conditions at greater risk.

Anna Johnston is with Prairie Mountain Health and she says when the skys are smoky, it's best to stay inside.

"It's important to limit your outdoor activity, especially if you notice that it's making you tired or short of breathe," said Johnston. "If it makes you tired, just stop and go inside. It's also important to limit the amount of time your children are spending outside, you have to watch out for them as well."

If you feel completely fine and fully awake when going outside and you then become fatigued, this is one of the biggest signs that it's time to make your way inside. Even if you don't think the smoke will affect you, it very well could be. More smoky conditions are expected for Thursday and while wildfire season is coming to an end, now is not the time to stop taking care of yourself and being cautious.

"If you're tired, you want to be going into a place where there is air conditioning or some kind of clean air filter being used, just take a break," ended Johnston.

In Manitoba, there are still dozens of fires burning; however, all are either under control or being monitored. In British Columbia, more than 400 fires continue to burn.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Sep 7, 2023 - 5:00 am

After a weekend plagued by landline call-in issues, The Dauphin and District Handi-van can now receive calls from landlines again,

The problem was first reported on Friday, noting that any landline phone call would not reach the service.

Cell phone calls were unaffected through the weekend.

you can click the link provided to reference The Original Article.

To get a hold of The Dauphin and District Handi-van, you can call (via landline or cell phone) 204 638 8884.

Details: Contributed by Michael Brossart; Published: Sep 6, 2023 - 4:49 pm

First-time homebuyers will not have to pay the land transfer tax if the Manitoba Progressive Conservatives are returned to power after the October 3rd election.

The Tories made the promise during day two of the election campaign, saying such a move would allow Manitobans to put that instead towards other things such as a down payment.

Meanwhile, the Manitoba NDP promised to open five minor illness and injury clinics, which would offer same-day appointments through online booking.

Leader Wab Kinew says they would be located in neighbourhoods where they are needed the most.

Manitoba Liberals are proposing roughly one billion dollars in new spending, such as minimum income for seniors, bonus pay for all front-line healthcare workers, and Medicare coverage for mental health services.

Leader Dougald Lamont says this would be paid for by raising income taxes paid by people earning more than $120,000 a year while reducing income tax levels for many other people.