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The Manitoba RCMP were called to the scene of a VIA passenger train derailment this morning in the Katrime area, which is between Neepawa and Portage.

The train had 12 people on board.

Passengers and crew are being assessed but at this time the injuries do not appear to be serious.

The derailment occurred at approximately 6:45 am.

Aspen Insurance in Dauphin is expanding.

They have acquired A/C Insurance of Winnipegosis.

Tyler Carefoot, president of Aspen is excited.

“Aspen Insurance is very excited to announce that we’ve acquired A/C Insurance, it’s something that we’ve been exploring for the past several months and it fits our business model. Not only are we working with our Dauphin and area customers but there’s an opportunity to acquire A/C Insurance and we’re excited to be a part of their community.”

Carefoot says there isn’t going to be a lot of change.

“Other than the re-branding of Aspen Insurance. Long-time staff member Kelly is going to be there, she’s staying on and she’ll be supported and complemented by some of our current staff here with Aspen Insurance. We plan to go up to Winnipegosis for sure once a week, considering two times a week on an appointment basis. Otherwise, it’s business as usual, there will be some growing pains with the change, but that’s to be expected.”

The official take over day is tomorrow and they’re open for business in Winnipegosis on Thursday.

The Dauphin RIDE program had another successful year.

Sho-Sho Shuttleworth-Lafontaine says the program made sure a lot of people made it home safely.

“The weekends we were running, we had lots of participating people that were needing safe rides home,” said Shuttleworth-Lafontaine. “We were able to get everyone home in a fairly speedy fashion.”

Sho-Sho added that in the program’s first week they were struggling with volunteers, but by the next week they had enough to run smoothly.

That being said, New Year’s Eve is the RIDE Program’s busiest night of the year, and they are looking for more volunteers.

Some things that Sho-Sho said to keep in mind is they will go wherever you need to go whether that be Ste. Rose or Winnipegosis, but they want volunteers to be done driving at 3 am. If you need a ride, they recommend calling far enough in advance that the driver can be home by 3.

The Dauphin RIDE Program will drive you and your vehicle home from wherever you are, if you need a ride call 204-638-5707

Manitoba has proclaimed the Watershed District Act and added two regulations to form a watershed-based approach to watershed management.

The act will modernize the Conservation District Program by changing districts to watershed-based boundaries and adding some flexibility for local watershed districts.

The flexibility is for board appointments and terms, calculating municipal contributions, handling board contracts and agreements related to water and soil projects that build watershed resiliency in a changing climate.

The changes made are renaming conservation districts to watershed districts with watershed-based boundaries, allowing partnerships with non-municipal entities to improve watershed management plan implementation, identifying a consistent approach to the transition into watershed districts, and clarifying watershed district board policies and procedures.

Manitoba has also announced more than $150 million in funding to the GROW Trust and the Conservation Trust. 

The Conservation Trust is intended in part to help support the work of the now Watershed Districts including for watershed planning and projects.

Starting on Wednesday, Manitobans will no longer have to pay PST on the preparation of wills.

Finance Minister Scott Fielding said that the move is part of the government’s 2020 Tax Rollback Guarantee. 

“Many Manitobans do not have wills and reducing the cost may encourage more people to get one,” said Fielding. “Our government remains committed to making Manitoba’s tax environment more fair and affordable.”

The move will remove PST from the preparation of wills, health-care directives, and powers of attorney when created in conjunction with a will or a health-care directive.

The government predicts the move will save people nearly $1 million a year.

Fielding added that the 2020 Tax Rollback Guarantee, which was part of the government’s 100-action plan, and throne speech, will include the removal of probate fees starting July 1st.

“By removing probate fees and the provincial sales tax to prepare a will, we will save the average family estate more than $2,600 in unnecessary death taxes,” said Fielding.

The province promises to fully implement the 2020 Tax Rollback Guarantee over the next four years.

The Dauphin RCMP received a report of a missing man on Boxing Day at 11:45 at night. 

41-year-old Robert Gilbert Genaille was last seen that morning at 9. 

It was believed he was heading to the grocery store, he may be in Dauphin or Brandon.

Genaille is described as 5'10", 220 pounds, with hazel eyes, and brown hair. He was last seen wearing a greyish-green bulky winter jacket, black winter boots, and possibly a touque and mitts.

The RCMP are asking anyone with information to call the Dauphin RCMP at 204-622-5050, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477. 

Residents of the Eclipse District, east of Road 108, are under a boil water advisory.

The precaution comes after a water main break was repaired yesterday.

Stay tuned to CKDM for updates.

The Canadian Automobile Association has released a study that suggests more needs to done to raise awareness of driving while high.

A CAA poll found that over one-fifth of people said that they had either driven after consuming cannabis or got into a car with some who had.

When it came to driving ability while high, 15 percent of respondents said that a driver who had used cannabis was the same or better behind the wheel.

The recent results echo those of a federal poll conducted just before cannabis was legalized. Around that same time, the federal government launched public-awareness campaigns on the dangers of driving while high.

If you or someone you’re with is high this New Year’s Eve, call the Dauphin RIDE program for a ride home at 204-638-3315

The body found on Christmas Eve, near Neepawa has been identified as 32-year-old Cody Mousseau, from Sandy Bay First Nation.

Mousseau was reported missing to the Manitoba First Nations Police Service on December 8th. It is believed he was last in Sandy Bay between November 27th and December 1st.

Mousseau’s death is being investigated as a homicide.

Anyone with information about the death and disappearance of Cody Mousseau, is asked to call the Portage RCMP at 204-857-4445, the MFNPS Sandy Bay Detachment at 204-843-7700, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

A man wanted for his role in a home invasion in Russell, has turned himself in to police yesterday.

The 32-year-old was at large after the RCMP arrested two other men responsible for a home invasion and assault that landed a woman in the hospital.

All three men face the same charges of aggravated assault, robbery, and breaking and entering.

The incident occurred in Russell early Sunday morning.

One of the men arrested is from the Birdtail Sioux First Nation, and the other two are from Waywayseecappo.

A study done at the University of Manitoba found that Manitoban students are incredibly unprepared for calculus classes, resulting in half of them failing or quitting long before their final exams.

It was also found that regardless of how well the student performed in high school pre-calculus, it did not matter when it came to university calculus.

Darja Barr, a math professor at the U of M, conducted the study by analyzing 15 years of marks of students who took pre-calculus at a Manitoba high school and introductory calculus at the U of M.

Barr saw that high school grades did not represent future success, which she says is concerning because pre-calculus is supposed to prepare students for university calculus.

Barr blames the education system in the province for the dismal results. Recent nationwide test scores ranked Manitoba last in math and science skills.

“I want to figure out why the disconnect is happening,” said Barr. “I would have students come to me after a midterm and say ‘I don’t understand what’s happening, I got 90’s in high school.”

In light of her research, Barr has asked the commission reviewing the province’s Kindergarten to Grade 12 system, to look at improving the pre-calculus curriculum to better prepare students for continuing their education.

Barr says that changes to the curriculum have made high school math worse, adding that more standardized tests are needed to gauge where students’ skills are coming out of high school.

Even after the recent PISA scores show how dismal math scores are in the province, the government has said they aren’t considering changing the current math curriculum.