Record Amount Of Contraband Cigarettes Seized In Brandon

Officials are calling it Manitoba's largest-ever seizure of contraband cigarettes.

360 cases, the equivalent to 3,570,400 contraband cigarettes were seized in Brandon last week on Wednesday.

Brandon Police arrested 4 men from Brandon ranging in age from 46-60 years old.

The cigarettes came from a First Nation community in Ontario.

The province could’ve lost $1,071,120 in tax revenue had the cigarettes been sold.

The men face charges under the Tobacco Tax Act and the Tax Administration and Miscellaneous Taxes Act. For a first-time offence, they could be fined between $1,000 and $10,000, and/or face up to 6 months imprisonment if convicted. Additionally, they may face a triple tax penalty of $3,213,360 and a loss of assets to the Criminal Forfeiture Unit. They’ll also face charges under the Criminal Code of Canada.

Anyone with information on contraband tobacco is encouraged to contact their local police department, call the Manitoba Finance Special Investigations Unit at 204-945-1137, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or call Manitoba Crime Stoppers (toll-free) at 1-800-222-8477.

Details: Contributed by Isaac Wihak; Published: Sep 17, 2020 - 11:00 am

MVSD Superintendent Dan Ward describes the first few days back in the classroom as having gone relatively smooth.

Ward tells us the feedback from principals, staff and students has been positive — although the transition to a new routine takes some getting used to.

The MVSD Superintendent/CEO is emphasizing the importance of screening kids every day before they go to school.

“The most important piece of advice is if your child is symptomatic in any way, to keep them home and go to the Shared Health website and do the self-screen, and follow the direction of public health,” said Ward.

Goose Lake High Transitions To Full Time Learning

Like many high schools in the province, Goose Lake High started the year using a blended learning approach — but discussions with the school staff indicate they're able to safely bring back more students for full-time learning.

Grade 10 students at Goose Lake High will transition to full time on September 29.

On October 5, Grade 11 and Grade 12 students will follow suit.

Technical Support For Parents

The MVSD is offering Parent/Guardian Tech Training through their IT department.

Parents have until Friday, September 18 to register.

Dan Ward says the optional tech training program will give parents a chance to get familiar with Microsoft Teams, accessing student marks and attendance in PowerSchool, and available tech supports for MVSD families.

Details: Contributed by Matt Hamel; Published: Sep 17, 2020 - 4:28 am

September 17th Update:

Early this morning around 4:15 the frost advisory ended in the Parkland.

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A frost advisory has been put into effect for much of the Parkland tonight.

The advisory is in effect for the following areas:

Gilbert Plains Mun. incl. Ashville
Grandview Mun. incl. Valley River Res.
Mossey River Mun. incl. Winnipegosis and Fork River
Mun. of Ethelbert incl. Garland
Mun. of Roblin incl. Makaroff Shortdale and Bield
Mun. of Russell-Binscarth incl. Gambler Res.
R.M. of Dauphin incl. Sifton and Valley River
R.M. of Lakeshore incl. Ochre River and Makinak
R.M. of Lakeshore incl. Rorketon and Toutes Aides
R.M. of Riding Mountain West incl. Asessippi Prov. Park

Environment Canada is warning of damage to plants in the areas, as temperatures are expected to dip down to minus 5 overnight with a wind chill of minus 8.

Details: Contributed by Tess Kovach; Published: Sep 16, 2020 - 4:12 pm

The province has announced 23 new cases of COVID-19 today, with none of them in Prairie Mountain Health.

There has been a total of 7 cases in the Dauphin health district, all of which are recovered.

There are now 1,489 cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba. Of the cases, 283 are active, and 1,190 are recovered.

There are 9 people in the hospital with 3 in intensive care. The number of deaths remains at 16.

Six new cases have been identified at the John Pritchard School in Winnipeg, taking the school's total number of cases to 7. Beginning today, the school is moving grades 6, 7, and 8, as well as a 4/5 split class to online remote learning, and the school has been placed under orange level restrictions.

For more information about COVID-19 in Manitoba, click here.

Details: Contributed by Tess Kovach; Published: Sep 16, 2020 - 1:18 pm

Dauphin’s 17^th Fill A Truck event is next week, accepting clothing donations for Diabetes Canada.

The donation truck will be parked at the Dauphin Clinic Pharmacy On Friday, September 25^thfrom 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and again on Saturday, September 26th from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m, or until the truck is full.

This year they’ve had to make changes to the donation process, switching it to a drive-thru style event. Everyone donating must stay in their vehicles while workers pick up their items for them.

Sue Petersen is with the Fill A Truck event and explains what kind of items they are looking for.

“Basically it’s gently used clothing, things like belts, fabric, shoes, pillows, and bedding and what have you, but they have to be packed in green garbage bags.”

Sue says that when the truck is full, it can hold between 28,000 to 31,000 pounds of clothes.

Items must be in plastic garbage bags – not boxes.

For any questions, you can contact Sue at 204-648-5657.

Details: Contributed by Tess Kovach; Published: Sep 16, 2020 - 11:42 am

Portage la Prairie RCMP have arrested a man after he allegedly grabbed a 12-year-old girl and refused to let her go at a hotel pool.

On Saturday, September 12 at 6 p.m., police in Portage responded to a local hotel following reports that an adult man had inappropriately touched a 12-year-old girl.

It was determined that the girl was in the hotel pool with other youths when an adult man, unknown to the group, attempted to start a conversation.

Police say at one point the man grabbed the 12-year-old girl and refused to let go despite her attempts to get away.

An adult nearby was informed of the situation and the police were called.

A 28-year-old man from Winnipeg was arrested and is facing multiple charges, including Sexual interference and Forcible confinement. He has since been released from custody with a court date scheduled for November 10th in Portage la Prairie.

Police can not reveal the man’s name at this time as charges have not yet been formally laid.

Details: Contributed by 730 CKDM; Published: Sep 16, 2020 - 9:15 am

If you live in Dauphin and having issues with your internet, cable and home phone service since last night — you’re not alone.

Many residents are reporting this morning they are still unable to connect to their wi-fi.

It seems that Bell MTS users may be the most affected by the service disruption, although a few CKDM listeners have reported their router and TV are back online as of this morning.

Bell MTS Support on Twitter says there is no available estimate for when service might be fully restored.

@HamelRadio Hi there, we are working towards resolution of the issues in Dauphin since last night, we will have it up as soon as possible thanks for your patience. ^Teddy
— Bell MTS Support (@Bell_MTSHelps) September 16, 2020

Details: Contributed by Matt Hamel; Published: Sep 16, 2020 - 7:35 am

Multiple sources are reporting the partial closure of the Canada-U.S. border will be extended.

This would have the ban on non-essential traffic remain in effect until at least October 21.

The border restrictions were first introduced in March to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Essential workers, such as healthcare professionals and truck drivers, are still permitted to cross the border.

Canadians are still allowed to fly to destinations in the U.S.

Details: Contributed by Matt Hamel; Published: Sep 16, 2020 - 7:19 am

A Winnipeg school is reporting even more cases of COVID-19, and will now be moving some grades to remote learning.

A letter sent out to parents on Tuesday evening reported four more cases of COVID-19 at John Pritchard School in Winnipeg.

This comes after the school already reported a possible exposure last week, after an asymptomatic student attended class.

Starting today, the school will begin remote learning for students in grades 6, 7, 8, and a split grade 4/5 class.

The letter stated the remote learning protocol may be in effect for up to two weeks.

Details: Contributed by Matt Hamel; Published: Sep 16, 2020 - 6:18 am

The Mountain View School Division (MVSD) has partnered with five other school divisions to deliver remote learning.

The Westman Consortia Partnership is made up of six Manitoba school divisions, working together to provide remote learning to K-8 students who, based on the advice of a physician, must be accommodated with an at-home delivery of classes.

MVSD Superintendent/CEO Dan Ward explains there is a relatively small number of students in the division that fit into this category, and so trying to hire 1 or 2 teachers to deal with a large range of grades could pose significant challenges.

Ward says that's why the MVSD is pooling their resources with the other school divisions in southwestern Manitoba and "essentially dedicating specific teachers to teach specific grades.”

There are three school divisions contributing teachers — MSVD being one them — while the remaining school divisions are contributing financial resources.

This means a child being accommodated with remote learning may actually be dealing with a teacher from another school division — something Ward says the Division is monitoring closely.

“It’s going to be important — even though your child’s teacher might be from a different school division in southwestern Manitoba — to ensure that there’s a strong relationship and linkage with their home school as well. So that’s part of the plan in terms of rolling out this consortia approach.”