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Ritz Machine Works from Dauphin are opening their first U.S. facility.
The company plans to open a 26,000 square foot facility in Cambridge, Minnesota.
Ritz is currently moving equipment for the new plant and should be ready to start shipping product to customers by June 1st.
Adam Teeter, Director of US operations for Ritz Machine Works, says their new facility will increase their reach for new customers and help support the increasing demand here at home.
“This is only an addition to the business here at home. I think it’s important for everyone to know that this is not a downsizing of our Dauphin facility. Its growth and we are looking to utilize that U.S. facility to grow our capabilities here in Dauphin and not to detract from it.”
Some of the products manufactured by Ritz include bus frames, air intakes, pollution converter devices, engine compartments and exhaust assemblies.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
The Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off is increasing to $2.50 a head on April 1st.
The process to increase it from the current $1 has been in the works since 2016.
Brian Lemon, the General Manager from the Manitoba Beef Producers, talks about the work that was done to get to this point.
“It was passed by the membership at our AGM in 2016, so fully two years ago. It’s taken a while to get all the legal pieces in place and make sure we are aligned with the legal processes in the other provinces to make sure we implement the check-off in alignment with our key trading provinces in the beef industry, those being Saskatchewan and Alberta.”
The National Check-Off increase will be going towards market development, promotion and research initiatives that’ll continue to advance the national beef industry.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
The government recently announced funding for local child care centres.
Daily Discoveries in Gilbert Plains, as well as Magical Horizons and Little Steps Head Start Family Program in Dauphin, received the 26 newly-funded spaces.
Brad Michaleski, MLA for Dauphin explains the advantages for parents in the Parkland.
“It enables parents to get out and be able to take additional education or go to work. The childcare spaces are facilities that look after children in a good way and it helps the parents and families get ahead.”
The investment is a part of the Canada-Manitoba Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, where 1400 spaces were promised in the province.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
The following bus cancellations have been announced for the Parkland:
In Mountain View School Division, Grandview bus 1 driven by Rick Parrott.
CKDM will continue to update cancellations throughout the morning.
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The City of Dauphin has announced a road closure.
Dunfield Avenue from Mountain Road to Bond Street will be closed to all traffic to repair a water main leak.
Be prepared to detour.
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100 per cent of unionized workers at the Dauphin Safeway store voted in favour of a strike to back contract demands.
Jeff Traeger, President of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 832, says a fear of a store conversion is one of the main issues worrying local employees.
"They were going to be closing some stores in Manitoba. We asked them which stores, they refused to tell us which stores. So we don’t know if Dauphin is one of those. They also say they are going to be converting some stores to a discount banner. That’s recently happened with a recent employer in Dauphin when the Extra Food store converted to a No Frills. And we don’t know because the company refused to tell us which stores are slated for conversion.”
The union says workers will be in a legal strike position on March 18, the day after their current contract expires.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
The Mountain View School Division is holding their Public Budget Forum tonight at 7.
The Forum was originally scheduled to take place on Monday, but the winter storm caused MVSD to postpone.
The Forum will include discussing where education dollars will be going in the Parkland.
If you can’t make it to the forum, it will be live streamed on the school division’s website, MVSD.ca.
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Learning how to write from an expert is what youth attending a songwriting workshop can experience here at home.
On Saturday Desiree Doiron is leading the Youth Songwriters Workshop at the Watson Art Centre.
Clifton Flett, Organizer at the Watson Art Centre, talks about what she can help those aged 12 to 25 learn about the craft.
“I know Desiree has had experience in working with people and on her own in regards to where do you start, where are you having trouble, what if you get stuck, what inspirations do you look for, that kind of stuff. So anything that we can help them to keep going with that craft.”
Resignation for the workshop is free and can be done by calling the WAC at 638-6231.
It runs on Saturday from 1 to 4.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Human trafficking and prostitution is a concern many in the Parkland don’t think about.
For Joy Smith, former Member of Parliament the reality is all too real.
Smith responds to people who say it is not happening in small rural communities.
“I would say you’re wrong. It is happening in every district, and people aren’t recognizing it. You see, the public often looked at girls who got into trouble or got into the wrong crowd or got into prostitution as prostitutes, but they don’t know their backstory. The backstory was where someone groomed them. Someone targeted them.”
Smith presented on the issue this past Saturday, during a special presentation on Human Trafficking held at the Watson Art Centre.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
The Dauphin firefighters are getting ready for their Annual Rooftop Campout.
The firefighters are around the community up until the Campout starts on March 15th at the Co-op grocery store and serving coffee at McDonald's on March 16th.
Marie Sorlie, Campout Coordinator, explains the campout.
“We try to raise funds and awareness for Muscular Dystrophy Canada. The firefighters will face the cold of a Manitoba winter camped on the roof of the Dauphin Marketplace Mall and we have other members from other departments joining us for this worthy cause. Each year, Canadian firefighters are champions of the Muscular Dystrophy Canada vision of finding a cure for a lifetime.”
The Firefighters are focusing on a goal of 25 thousand dollars towards the cause.
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Yesterday the government announced they’ll be allocating funds for local child care centres.
Magical Horizons Day Care Centre was one of three programs in the Parkland that received funding for extra child care spaces.
Jamie Grouette, Executive Director of Magical Horizons says the funding is nice, but there is still a lot of work to do in fixing the child care problem in the Parkland.
“It obviously gives us more money to play around with, just having those extra spaces funded, those spaces were full. We have over 150 kids on our waitlist, and we were able to get 4 more spaces. Operating them without funding was important to us because we’re always trying to suit the needs of the community, so now that the spaces are funded it’s great for us because now that gives some money to put towards our program.”
Magical Horizons, along with Little Steps Head Start Family Programs and Daily Discoveries in Dauphin received a combined 26 spaces in the constituency.
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