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Today is your last chance to check out Canada’s largest indoor farm show.
MLA Brad Michaleski says one of the highlights for him at Manitoba Ag Days is seeing the new farm equipment, seeing what’s out there for new seed varieties and chemical varieties.
MP Robert Sopuck was at the show on Tuesday and says it’s apparent that agriculture is alive and well in Manitoba. “It’s mid-winter, it’s been a cold spell, it’s a great chance to see old friends, make new friends, see the latest trends in farm machinery. As the Premier said this is Disney World for farmers. It’s just a great mid-January break for all of us.”
MLA Rick Wowchuk shares why Ag Days shouldn’t be missed. “The displays, the technology, and the fellowship that you see here is overwhelming. Our agricultural industry puts so much into our province. It’s really kind of awesome to see all the people here.”
The three-day show ends at 5 pm this afternoon at the Keystone Centre in Brandon.
Awards were given out yesterday
The annual Investor’s showcase features new inventions and new products that will assist in farm operations. This year’s showcase features 14 new inventions and 19 new products.
1st Place Amazone / Mid -Implements Ltd.: Amazone – Mid Plains Implements Ltd. for their SmartService 4.0 which uses the possibilities of the digital VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality) technologies and digital media to for the end customer, and the customer service the learning, training and Repair processes to expand further in the area of technical customer service and to support the end customers and service technicians for maintenance and repair work. They received a banner and a cheque for $1000 from Manitoba Ag Days and an advertising package from the Manitoba Co-operator.
2nd PLACE: Dave’s Welding Shop: “The Bullet” is a simple towable machine that pulls a large steel "Bullet" to depths as deep as 5' to create underground drainage tunnels providing underground drainage in farmers’ fields. The idea is similar to tile drainage but without the use of expensive tile pipe henceforth much lower costs with much higher travel speeds. *It works in all field conditions *G.P.S |R.T.K |L.I.D.A.R| compatible.
The winner of the 2018 Best New Products is Copperhead Ag. The Copperhead Concave System utilizes notched bars for restricted flow. This allows more material in the concave area, increasing grain on grain threshing. As grain moves along the system, the concaves are progressively open, leading to increased unloading of grain as it’s threshed. With the Copperhead Concave System, you can thresh in any crop in any condition, have cleaner samples,decrease field time (resulting in less fuel cost), and stop rotor loss.
Farm safety winner is Northern Strands. Northern StrandsGrain Bins are one of the most common accident locations on a farm. In 2015, there were 1,633 injuries in Saskatchewan alone from workplace falls. This is only the reported WCB number of falls, one can only imagine how high the real number of falls is…The Northern Strands Bin Safe System is a truly unique system in that there is nothing else available that has been engineered and pull tested in order to protect farmers, farm workers, and family members from a potentially life-threatening fall off of a grain bin.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Dauphin will be given over $450,000 every year for the next 5 years because of the transfer of federal Gas Tax Funds.
The 10-year agreement was signed in March 2014 between the province and Canada.
By the end of the agreement in 2023, municipalities in Manitoba will have been given over 1.1 billion dollars.
This year and next year Dauphin will get $450,391, then $470,864 for the following two years, and in the final year Dauphin will receive $491,336 for a total of $2,333,846.
Manitoba as a whole will receive 375.7 million dollars in the next 5 years.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
The RCMP is launching the Eagle Feather Initiative.
It will see eagle feathers distributed to all detachments throughout the province and will provide victims, witnesses, suspects and police officers the option to swear legal oaths on an eagle feather.
The eagle feather will be used in the same way as the Bible or affirmation is used. When someone provides a sworn statement to the RCMP, they will be given three options: to swear on a Bible, affirm, or affirm with an eagle feather. This means that a sworn statement given by any of these three methods is evidence that can be used in a court of law. Also, a police officer will be able to use the eagle feather to swear information before the court.
Additionally, the eagle feather may also be offered as a comfort for anyone who wishes when they are at the detachment.
The head of the R-C-M-P in Manitoba says providing an eagle feather to people swearing oaths is a positive step toward reconciliation with Indigenous people.
“For some, the eagle feather provides comfort and strength. By holding the eagle feather, they find the strength to talk, and are empowered to speak their truth,” said Assistant Commissioner Scott Kolody, Commanding Officer of Manitoba RCMP. “This is what inspired us to bring the eagle feather into our day-to-day policing operations.”
Kevin Hart, regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations, says the move will help Indigenous people deal with the justice system and the R-C-M-P.
Anyone who requests to use the eagle feather will be able to do so as every detachment in Manitoba will be receiving an eagle feather soon.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Manitoba and Dauphin have finalized the snow removal agreement.
In the agreement, the city will be paid 650 dollars per centimetre based off of the amount of snow that falls at the Dauphin Airport.
Payments will be made December 31st and March 31st.
Dauphin is being paid to clear Main Street from Whitmore Avenue to River Avenue, River Avenue from Main Street to Bond Street, 1st Avenue NE from Main Street to Mountain Road, 2nd Avenue NW from Main Street to 2nd Street NW, and the Mall Service Road.
Dauphin has to have an approved snow disposal site.
Since the services are being purchased by the Government of Manitoba, they are not subject to the federal Goods and Services Tax.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
The Manitoba government has established a new commission to undertake a comprehensive review of the kindergarten to Grade 12 education system.
The process will include consultations across the province and consider a wide range of topics like student learning, teaching, accountability for student learning, governance and funding.
Education and Training Minister Kelvin Goertzen made the announcement today.
“This is a long-overdue opportunity to build on strengths and identify challenges to create a better education system with high standards for educators, high expectations for student achievement, relevant curriculum, governance excellence and a sustainable fiscal framework,” said Goertzen.
The eight other commissioners are:
• Dr. Janice MacKinnon (co-chair);
• Clayton Manness (co-chair);
• Terry Brown;
• Mark Frison;
• John Daniel (JD) Lees;
• Jill Quilty;
• Laurel Repski; and
• Denis Robert.
Manitoba’s Commission on Kindergarten to Grade 12 Education will also include Ian Wishart, legislative assistant to the minister of education and training, who will lead public consultation and stakeholder engagement.
Soon the commission will begin public consultation and seek input from students, parents, educators, school boards, academics, Indigenous organizations, la francophonie, municipal councils, professional organizations, the business community and all Manitobans.
The commission is expected to submit a report with key findings and recommendations by February 2020.
Information about the kindergarten to Grade 12 review will be posted throughout the year at www.edu.gov.mb.ca/educationreview/.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
The capacity of the Vermillion Reservoir is significantly greater than originally thought.
Dauphin and Manitoba Infrastructure have been meeting with each other to investigate issues around continued use of the Vermillion Reservoir, located on the north boundary of RMNP.
The bathymetric survey they conducted showed a greater capacity of 4100 DAM3.
There has also been a considerable amount of siltation in the reservoir that will continue.
In October 2018, the city hired divers to take a look at the two intakes for the reservoir pump house. The divers found the lower intake buried under 0.6 metres of silt. The divers also found out the upper intake was buried in sediment and debris.
At the time of that dive, the reservoir was considered full and the divers noted 5 metres of water above the intake, because of the silt there were only 4.25 metres of water above the bottom of the reservoir.
While Bill Brenner was researching the reservoir, he found a letter from the province indicating the dam constructed to create the reservoir was created in a way that could increase the reservoir overflow level. Brenner wants to look into increasing the dam’s containment volume, which would help guide them in the proper remediation options.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
Winnipegosis Elementary is one of the schools receiving funding for capital projects from the provincial government.
Yesterday the province announced 129.5 million in funding for school divisions across Manitoba.
Winnipegosis Elementary is receiving funding for an exterior wall renewal.
“We continue to make significant investments on new schools as well as major additions and renovations to existing schools,” said Goertzen. “Manitoba has more than 600 schools and this funding will help them remain safe and functional. Growing communities will also benefit from new school facilities to meet their needs.”
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Monday's fire at Smitty’s was an accident.
The Dauphin Fire Department says the fire started in the laundry area in the building's basement.
Earlier in the day, staff had removed some cloths and aprons from the dryer and placed them on top of the unit.
The DFD warns that when flammable liquids like cooking oil, deep fryer oil or cleaning fluids are soaked up by a rag, heat develops.
If the heat doesn’t dissipate by spreading the rags out, there is the potential for spontaneous ignition. That was the cause of this particular fire.
The department reminds everyone that any combustible materials should be kept clear of clothes dryers as they do produce significant heat.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Yesterday, Health Canada released the new food guide.
Robert Sopuck, Member of Parliament for Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa, is unhappy with the new guidelines.
“I’m deeply, deeply, concerned in the Food Guide.”
The food guide no longer has meat and alternatives and milk and alternatives as their own groups. They combined into a proteins group
Sopuck thinks it’s completely misguided and a politically correct attempt by the liberals at virtue signalling.
He says it’s criminal that Canada’s highly nutritious meat products, like beef, chicken and pork, as well as dairy is being downgraded.
Sopuck adds one last comment.
“The food guide, quite frankly, with its politically correct virtue signalling, will do our rural communities nothing but harm.”
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
Weedless Wednesday marks the middle of National Non-Smoking Week.
Weedless Wednesday is just a day for those thinking of quitting smoking to give up smoking just for a day.
Jo-Anne Douglas says if you’ve tried to quit before, try again because it gets easier every time and you could be ready this time.
Even quitting for one day is helpful for the body because that would mean a break from the 7000 chemicals in tobacco.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
UPDATE:
21-year-old Kawalpreet Singh who resides in Thompson has been arrested and charged with Arson - Disregard for Human Life as well as Arson - Damage to Property. Singh has been remanded into custody.
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The Thompson Inn received extensive damage after a fire broke in the restaurant part of the building.
Around 9:58 last night, Thompson Fire and Emergency were quick to respond to the fire.
They were able to contain the fire in the restaurant.
There were no injuries to firefighters or the public, and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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- Contributed by With Files From Darnell Duff
