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Manitoba Conservation has released its Officer Service Enforcement Summary for the second half of 2022, and it was a busy six months, including charging 24 individuals for night lighting.

Between July 1^st and December 16^th, 2022, officers:

• Conducted 131-night patrols designed and coordinated to stop illegal night hunting activities, 36 of which utilized aircraft.
  • As a result of these patrols, officers apprehended eleven separate night hunting parties, charged 24 individuals for night lighting, and seized eleven vehicles. 
• Charged 17 individuals with hunting within a moose conservation closure area.
• Charged 37 individuals with loading a firearm in a vehicle or discharging a firearm from a vehicle.
• Seized 64 firearms.
• Executed five search warrants.
• Conducted 11 fish and wildlife check stops.
• Conducted 45 decoy operations.
• Seized 36 illegally harvested big game animals including 24 deer, five moose, six elk, and a wolf.

The Manitoba Conservation Officer Service is committed to protecting and maintaining healthy wildlife populations, ensuring public safety, and enforcing applicable laws. Anyone with information on illegal activity is asked to call a local Natural Resources and Northern Development office or the Turn in Poachers line at 1-800-782-0076.

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Contributed by Sam Brownell

Published: Dec 30, 2022 - 11:06 am

Deputy Premier and MLA for Spruce Woods, Cliff Cullen, has announced that he won't be seeking re-election this fall.

Cullen is the sixth Progressive Conservative MLA to announce they won't be running again, joining a group that includes Agassiz MLA, Eileen Clarke. Cullen was first elected as the MLA for Turtle River in 2004 and has been the Spruce Woods MLA since 2011.

The Spruce Plains Constituency surrounds the city of Brandon and includes the municipalities of Cornwallis, Elton, Glenboro – South Cypress, Oakland – Wawanesa, Riverdale, Sifton, Souris – Glenwood, Victoria, Whitehead, and the portion of the City of Brandon located north of the Assiniboine River.

Since the PCs formed government in 2016, Cullen has held five cabinet posts, including growth, crown services, justice, education, and economic development. He's currently serving as the minister of Economic Development, Investment, and Trade.

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Contributed by Sam Brownell

Published: Dec 30, 2022 - 9:21 am

The Dauphin Hospital Foundation is getting a holiday boost thanks to a very generous donation.

Dauphin resident Jim Mulligan donated $150,000 to the foundation and says it was something he and his late wife Judy had talked about. Mulligan says he's happy to help an organization that provides needed assistance to many healthcare projects and initiatives.

“I am pleased to be able to assist the Dauphin Hospital Foundation with their work. I believe the hospital, and healthcare, needs all the help it can get! I look forward to seeing the donation put to good use to assist healthcare staff on the tremendous work they do each and every day!”

Mulligan says he's not sure what the money is going to, but he knows the foundation will have a plan for it. Foundation Chair Greg Thompson was very appreciative of the donation.

“Mr. Mulligan is very community-minded and wanted to ensure that organizations like the Foundation can continue making a difference with various projects which assist the hospital, personal care home, and community health services. We can’t thank him enough!”

Details

Contributed by Sam Brownell

Published: Dec 30, 2022 - 5:50 am

Police in Brandon had to be on their toes while responding to a disturbance earlier this week.

Brandon Police Service (BPS) got a report of a disturbance at a residence around 8 p.m. on Tuesday. The caller said an intoxicated man was destroying property and refusing to cooperate when others tried to de-escalate the situation.

When police arrived on the scene, the man became aggressive toward them and threw a full beer bottle at the officers, no one was injured. The media release from BPS states that officers then used a conducted energy weapon (Taser) to gain compliance.

The man was arrested and taken into custody until he was sober. He's been charged with Assault with a Weapon and Assaulting a Peace Officer, and will appear in court on February 23^rd.

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Contributed by Sam Brownell

Published: Dec 29, 2022 - 2:30 pm

The Parkland campus of Assiniboine Community College (ACC) will host an Applied Building Construction program starting on February 27th, 2023. This is offered through a partnership with Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology.

Enrollment in the six-month program will focus on Indigenous youth between the ages of 18 and 30 who are not currently in employment, education, or training. There are 15 spots open for the program and students who are accepted will have their tuition, textbooks, personal protective equipment, supplies, and tools, covered at no cost.

In a media release, Kevin Poirier, Dean of Trades at Assiniboine said, "the Applied Building Construction certificate program provides students in this region an opportunity to receive training in a field with in-demand career opportunities, supporting an industry need for skilled trades workers."

The program will be accredited with Apprenticeship Manitoba. If students meet certain goals including averaging 70% marks or better, they will receive credit for Level 1 in-school technical training and 900 hours in the Carpenter apprenticeship program.

ACC will host free information sessions about the Applied Building Construction program on Wednesday, January 11th, and Thursday, January 26th. There are also 2 more on Wednesday, February 1st, and Wednesday, February 8th. Register at https://assiniboine.net/programs/applied-building-construction

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Contributed by Alec Woolston

Published: Dec 30, 2022 - 5:00 am

The province is reminding employers to make sure their workers have proper fall protection while working high up off the ground.

This comes after Norwin Roofing Ltd. out of Winnipeg was fined $24,000 for not ensuring one of their employees was equipped with proper fall protection while working at heights in an area where a guardrail had been removed.

On March 30th, 2020, a worker employed by the company was clearing debris off a roof near the mentioned area where a guardrail was removed. The worker fell approximately 20 feet, hitting a smaller roof portion on the way down. This resulted in fractures to the ribs and spine as well as internal injuries.

Officials from Workplace Safety and Health did an investigation and laid charges under the Workplace Safety and Health act. Norwin Roofing Ltd. pleaded guilty on December 12th.

More information can be found in the Manitoba Government media release here.

Details

Contributed by Alec Woolston

Published: Dec 29, 2022 - 11:33 am

As the end of the Holiday season approaches, the Dauphin R.I.D.E. program is preparing for what has historically been its busiest night of the year. The program will run on New Year's Eve from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. but they're in need of more volunteers says Coordinator Sho-Sho Shuttleworth-Lafontaine.

"At this point, for New Year's Eve, we most likely don't have enough volunteers to provide rides for all the out-of-town callers that we get."

Shuttleworth-Lafontaine says a lot of volunteer hours get taken up by out-of-town rides, but the radius they can serve depends on the number of volunteers they have.

"Our volunteer numbers are down a bit this year than in the past years, so we're just reaching out, asking people, if you're available, give us a call and we'll tell you about volunteering with us. If anyone is interested in volunteering, they'll need a valid and current Manitoba Drivers license, and we can give them some paperwork to drop off with the RCMP to have a record check done."

Shuttleworth-Lafontaine says the RCMP has a really quick turnaround time for the program because they are associated. She also says that a personal vehicle isn't required, but if you are using one, fuel will be provided.

Anyone looking for more information or interested in volunteering for the program can call 204-638-1463, or message Dauphin R.I.D.E. on Facebook.

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Contributed by Sam Brownell

Published: Dec 29, 2022 - 6:00 am

Early Christmas Morning, Officers from the Neepawa, Spruce Plains, and Minnedosa RCMP detachments responded to the Hotel Fire in Gladstone.

When police arrived, fire departments were already on the scene fighting the fire, so officers, with the help of a local resident, began evacuating buildings connected to the hotel. Officers were then told one of the hotel residents had not been seen and was potentially still inside.

Once the fire was extinguished, remains were found inside. The identification of the deceased individual is pending an autopsy by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The Office of the Fire Commissioner is investigating the cause of the fire.

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Contributed by Sam Brownell

Published: Dec 28, 2022 - 4:04 pm

Travel conditions may be a little bit dicey today as there are a number of freezing rain warnings issued in Manitoba.

Environment Canada has issued freezing rain warnings for a large chunk of Southern Manitoba including Minnedosa - Riding Mountain National Park and Ste. Rose - McCreary - Alonsa - Gladstone.

At the moment, there are no warnings at all for Dauphin - Russell - Roblin - Winnipegosis.

[Image - public alerts map for Manitoba at 12:15 pm today]

All the red you see in the above photo are regions where freezing rain warnings have been issued. The outlying region in red is the Swan River - Duck Mountain - Porcupine Provincial Forest region where a snowfall warning remains in effect. The region right below it is Dauphin - Russell - Roblin - Winnipegosis where no warnings are currently in effect.

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Contributed by Alec Woolston

Published: Dec 28, 2022 - 12:19 pm

Chief Cornell McLean of Lake Manitoba First Nation hit it big on Monday and is returning from a trip to Minnesota with $1,376,617.44 US.

McLean and his wife Lisa were at Shooting Star Casino in Mahnomen, Minnesota, when he hit the jackpot in the Dancing Drums Explosion slot machine. We have reached out to McLean for further comment about what he plans to do with the winnings.

Details

Contributed by Sam Brownell

Published: Dec 28, 2022 - 9:47 am