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Les Sametz and Grant Moffatt are the two newest members of the RM of Lakeshore Council. 

The two earned seats at the council table after winning a by-election held yesterday. 

No final vote tallies were released.

Pat Nichols finished third in the vote. 

Harvest is now 95 per cent complete across the Northwest region, even though progress over the past seven days was slowed by cloudy conditions and heavy morning dews, as overnight lows dipped below zero at times. 

Canola harvest continues to near completion with around 90-95% of this year's crop being pulled off the field. Reports of green stems continue to provide challenges for some canola producers.  Yield reports are averaging from 40 to 55 bu/acre, with some crops reporting either above or below those thresholds.

Soybean harvest continues to lag behind at only 80% complete, as plants not drying down and staying green continues to be a challenge. Yields have been average to above average at around 45-50 bu/acre, with some yielding lower due to lack of rain.

Spring wheat harvest remains at around 99% done, with some fields near The Pas still needing to be harvested.  . Yields have been ranging from 50 to 90 bu/acre.

The weekly crop report also said that fall field work is ongoing, including harrowing, post-harvest herbicide application and fertilizing.

School divisions often have Professional Development days, and yesterday the Mountain View School Division hosted a special annual day.

Over 30 teachers who specialize in Ukrainian-English bilingual teaching gathered for this yearly event to network and share ideas.

The session gathered teachers from across the province to partake in this educational session.

this PD day offered a great chance for teachers from across the province, as well as the new incoming teachers from Ukraine, to share and discuss both new teaching methods and classic Ukrainian heritage

Stolen vehicles and equipment totaling an estimated $375,000 were discovered after a search warrant was executed at a property near Gilbert Plains.

A police report details that West District Crime Reduction Enforcement Support Team (CREST), along with Dauphin RCMP, executed a search warrant at a rural property in Gilbert Plains.

The search took place on October 12th, as part of an ongoing investigation into thefts around the area.

Officers recovered a large number of stolen property including, heavy machinery, trucks, off-road vehicles, trailers, and snowmobiles.

The owners of all of these stolen items have been identified.

Jordy Robertson, age 25 of Gilbert Plains has been charged with 12 counts of Possession of Property Obtained by Crime over $5000 and three counts of Altering/Destroying/Removing a Vehicle Identification Number.

RCMP continues their investigation.

Dauphin's Safe Grad Committee is making big strides in supporting students even after they graduate. 

A cheque was presented yesterday afternoon at Dauphin City Hall, where the Safe Grad Committee handed off $15,000 dollars that will go towards funding scholarships for post-secondary students.

Seth Crowhurst was one of the students presenting the cheque, and he's happy to contribute.

"It felt like it was a community thing, a little bit of everyone helping out, and we just wanted to be a part of that."

Owen Dandeneau was also one of the students presenting the cheque, and he notes there was a lot of hard work going into these funds.

"The main one was the bingo we did, and we did a spaghetti fundraiser going to the local schools giving out spaghetti."

The money will be going to a general scholarship fund to support a wide range of options for students furthering their education.

Rotary has several conferences and exchange programs that local youth can take part in. 

Local Rotarian Christine Harapiak admits the pandemic has reduced the number of local youth that have participated in these programs in the past, but she hopes to change that very soon.

"We have certainly had students participate in all of these things in the past, including short-term exchange, long-term exchange, and adventures in citizenship.  Not as much as adventures in human rights because that is a newer project.  We have sent students to the camp in Clear Lake every year." 

Harapiak says any youth under the age of 19 wanting to find out more information about Rotary youth programs can reach out to them through the Dauphin Rotary Club's Facebook and Instagram pages.

"There is also Rotary International - rotary.org.  And our Rotary District 5550 also has a website.  But if you find any of that difficult to navigate, just reach out to us and send a message saying "Christine said I could get information" and I will make sure you find information on what you need and what you are interested in."

This week is ROtary Radio Week on 730 CKDM. 

A formal cheque presentation took place on Wednesday as the Dauphin Co-op presented the proceeds of their Fuel Good Day promotion to the Court project in Ste Rose. 

Over 68 hundred dollars was raised through fuel sales and a charity barbecue on September 18th at both Dauphin Co-op Gas bar locations. 

Court Project spokesperson Shelly Brunel was very appreciative to have been selected as this year's recipient. 

"We are just so excited that Co-op selected us.  We are so thankful to the community who came out and supported us and the kids and support this project and help it get off the ground. " 

Brunel adds phase one of the project - the construction of a new outdoor basketball court in Ste Rose - is almost complete.

"Our pavement is now down and the hoops are installed.  We have a fencing crew there today and they will finish that up.  And we will get our landscaping finished in the next week or so, which will finish things off.  So the kids will be playing there within the week."

Phase two, which will be completed in the spring, will include painting lines on the court, as well as installing lighting and sponsorship signage. 

Brunel adds they have had great support in getting phase one completed.

"We have had a lot of gift-in-kind as far as labour, machinery, and equipment goes, so costs are coming in under budget, which is great."

She figures they will need to raise another 60 thousand dollars in order to fund phase two of the project. 

Dauphin's newly elected MLA will hold a spot in the provincial cabinet.

Ron Kostyshyn has been handed the agriculture portfolio by new Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew.

"It is a proud day today, and it is truly my honour and pleasure to be appointed Agriculture minister," Kostyshyn stated just prior to his official swearing-in to the cabinet.

It is a position that the Ethelbert native is familiar with, having served as Agriculture minister under then-Premier Greg Selinger from 2011 to 2016 when he was the MLA for Swan River. 

Kostyshyn was officially introduced as the new ag minister during a ceremony at The Leaf in Assiniboine Park on Wednesday, which also included Kinew being officially sworn in as the first-ever First Nations Premier of a province in Canadian history.

The Dauphin District Community Foundation always helps the community grow and thrive, but one local project decided to do some growing for them.

The Grow Project was spearheaded by Jason Beyette, who gathered up the resources needed to grow a crop and donate the funds entirely to the DDCF.

Beyette connected with farmers and businesses around Dauphin and grew 160 acres of canola just outside of Keld, which all came off the fields yesterday afternoon.

Going forward, Beyette is excited to do it all again next year.

"I think it could be a great opportunity for the foundation. Obviously, the hardest part about a growth project is getting the land. If there's someone in the community interested in donating a quarter or 80 acres to the foundation, they could contact the foundation office and let them know, and then it's just a matter of getting the input."

Kit Daley with the DDCF thinks that Beyette may be selling his efforts short in this project.

"We just are so deeply moved by the time and effort Jason put into this getting people on board. I find it funny when he says 'Just call the office and it's a matter of setting it up'. He's completely downplaying how much work and effort he put into getting all these companies on board, and we couldn't be more grateful"

Now it's just a matter of selling the canola, and this project will go from just growing in the fields to growing a strong, thriving community.

Another edition of the Fall Rotary Book Fair is right around the corner.

This year's book fair will run from November 8-11 at the Ukrainian Orthodox Hall.

Book fair co-ordinator and Dauphin Rotary member Jean-Louis Guillas says they are always appreciative of the support they receive from the community.

"The quality of the books that we get donated, and the volume, and then the willingness of people to keep coming back and buy books.  Because we do not have a full-fledged bookstore in the community, for many people this is their book shopping.  I encourage people to come and do their Christmas shopping."

Brand new for this year will be a Spirits and Sweets event, which will take place on the evening of November 10th. 

"We have nine different vendors coming with a variety of spirits.  And in partnership with Irving's Catering, we are going to have dessert samples.  So all of these will be samples, both the tastings and the desserts.  "

Guillas encourages anyone wanting to donate books to the fair to do so in advance.

"Donation bins are going to go out in front of the hall starting on October 27th.  And you can bring your books there.  The bins will be labeled Rotary books and will be out in front of the hall, and you can place your donations in there.  And that will give us the chance to sort them ahead of time and get them in the right category."

The book fair will begin at 9 a.m. on November 8th to 10th and at 1 p.m. on the 11th. 

This is Rotary Radio Week on 730 CKDM, as we profile some of the great work done by local Rotarians.  

A Manitoba judge has rejected a claim that the province's ban on homegrown non-medical cannabis is unconstitutional.

The case dates back to 2018 when the federal government decriminalized cannabis possession and allowed people to grow up to four plants at home for recreational use.

The Manitoba government enacted a law to ban homegrown recreational cannabis, saying the ban is an important part of the province's approach to regulating and controlling access.

Local pharmacist and Cannabis podcaster Trevor Shewfelt was disappointed with the decision by Court of King's Bench Justice Shauna McCarthy.

"Part of the federal law is that you can grow up to four plants in your house, and why is it fair that if I move to Yorkton I can (grow four plants) but I can not in Dauphin.  I also do not see the harm.  One argument that comes up all of the time is what if there are little kids in the house that go over to the plant and they start eating the leaves.  Won't it hurt them and won't they get high? And the answer to that is no. If you just eat the leaves off a cannabis plant, you are not getting high." 

Shewfelt says you have to de-carboxylate - or heat up - the leaves in order to get high from cannabis.

He adds though that all hope is not lost among those fighting the provincial legislation. 

"Jesse Lavoie and his TobaGrown group are planning on taking this to the Supreme Court of Canada if necessary.  But faster is our new premier-designate Wab Kinew.  He could just end this and say that they are tired of fighting Jesse, so let's allow Manitobans to be like everyone else in the country, and just end it."

"Back in 2019, he even had a Facebook post saying that he was in favour of people being allowed to grow Cannabis in their own house." 

Shewfelt is joined by Jesse Lavoie on episode 67 of their podcast, which can be found online at ReeferMed.ca.