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The government of Manitoba announced it will expand its screening program for newborns in the province.
The Manitoba Newborn Screening Program will now screen for severe combined immune deficiency (SCID), a group of rare genetic diseases that affect a child’s immune system.
Health, Seniors and Active Living Minister Cameron Friesen said the goal of the expansion of the program is to ensure children get the care they need as soon as possible.
SCID affects around one in 60,000 newborns worldwide. But the numbers in Manitoba are around one in 16,000. Half of all SCID cases in Manitoba occur in the northern Cree and Mennonite populations, often with additional mutations that are Manitoba-specific
The SCID genetic disease group can cause early and severe infections. SCID-positive kids are at a high risk of poor health outcomes if immunized using live vaccines like tuberculosis or measles/mumps/rubella. If these children aren’t treated with a bone marrow transplant, they’re not expected to live past two years of age.
The expanded screening program will provide more information to parents using a targeted gene-detection method developed in Manitoba. Early detection can alert families of a possible genetic issue and improve outcomes.
The screening program is set to start in early 2020. The program will cost around $440,000 in annual operating and staffing costs, along with a one-time startup cost of $55,000.
Minister Friesen said the costs are expected to offset by the savings from reduced costs for treatment.
In Manitoba, every newborn can be checked for uncommon or rare diseases through the Manitoba Newborn Screening Program. The universal hearing screening program was implemented in 2016, allowing early detection of congenital hearing loss in children the opportunity to develop strong cognitive, speech-processing and learning skills.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
On May 20th a 22-year-old man from Langruth was shot and taken to hospital.
Later that day, he succumbed to his injuries.
The investigation has determined the death is a homicide.
19-year-old Laurent Beaulieu is wanted for second-degree murder.
He may be in Portage La Prairie or the surrounding area.
He's considered armed and dangerous.
If you have any information, please call 911, your local police, call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477, or submit a secure tip online at www.manitobacrimestoppers.com.
The RCMP will continue to investigate.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
The Yorkton Film Festival has been around since 1947 and it's back all weekend long.
The festivities have already begun around the community and the films start up tonight.
"It's going to be an absolutely great weekend. We have filmmakers landing at the Regina Airport and we're bringing them back here," said Randy Goulden, Executive Director. "We have the high school student day already going on with 60 students from across the province getting instruction from professional filmmakers. It's a go."
The opening night screening takes place this evening at the Painted Hand Casino. Tonight's feature will be a Manitoban film done by Merit Motion Pictures and it's called "Almost, Almost Famous". It starts at 7:00 p.m. and it's free of charge and it includes a reception.
Starting tomorrow, more than 57 films will be featured at the Gallagher Centre which is the home of the Yorkton Terriers. Each and every film is free to the public. The festival welcomes filmmakers from all across Canada.
"All of the filmmakers will be in attendance so it's really a great opportunity for the audience to ask them questions about their film and stuff like that," said Goulden.
Being in its 72nd year, the Yorkton Film Festival is the longest running film festival in North America. For some comparison, the Yorkton Film Festival has been running 29 years longer than the world renowned Toronto International Film Festival.
"We're very proud to say that we're the longest running film festival in North America," added Goulden. "We have a board of directors from all across Canada so we can keep current with what's going on in the film industry. We really, really work hard on keeping current with today's changing industry."
For a full weekend lineup, head to Yorkton Film Festival.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
Networking was the topic at the breakfast series this morning.
Nancy Brommell, a business advisor with the Women’s Enterprise Centre of Manitoba, gave the presentation.
“We talked about networking, but not necessarily just the traditional networking where you meet up with people in a group in a place. But there’s that, which is a hugely important part in networking but, also thinking about that relative to social media and technology pieces that are also part of that process of networking and creating awareness of your business in building relationships.”
She says Dauphin has so many opportunities for networking, such as annual events, and if a business owner hasn’t been to many of them, they should because even if someone knows the name of your business they maybe don’t know anything about it, you, or the opportunities they might have with you.
Social media is another big part of networking and can play a role in getting new customers.
Bromell suggests instead of being on all platforms not particularly well, pick one or two and do them very well.
She adds that business owners should create a LinkedIn profile, and create awareness with people that you meet that you can be found on LinkedIn. LinkedIn will elevate your presence as a business owner and professional.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
Dry conditions have prompted the Municipality of Swan Valley West to again issue a burn ban.
The ban is effective as of last night and all permit holders are being contacted about the ban.
For more information call the RM office at 204-734-3344.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Premier Brian Pallister said that he will “for sure” call an election this year.
Pallister has stated that Manitobans don’t want an election during the province’s 150th birthday year. He also said that it wouldn’t make economic sense to mix a campaign into a year of celebration.
The Premier called the October 6, 2020 date a “drop dead” date, rather than a fixed date for a vote.
At one point, Pallister said that he would call an early election if the NDP voted against a proposed PST cut. Both parties reached a compromise and the Opposition pledged its support for the bill.
Pallister has said that he would provide advance notice if an early election is called to both the NDP and the Liberals, not to catch them off guard. He said that he would give a 90-day notice “if possible” without saying what would make giving the notice impossible.
Earlier this month he said his political rivals didn’t need to be tipped off about an early election because the media has already done that.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
There were fewer charges during road safety week this year compared to last year by a substantial amount.
734 total charges or suspensions were given out this year while 1011 charges or suspensions were handed out last year.
In addition to the fewer charges this year there wasn’t a single fatality on the road compared to two last year.
This year, 28 people were charged with impaired driving, 6 alcohol or drug-related administrative suspensions were handed out, 10 people were charged for failing to wear seatbelts, 479 speeding charges were handed out, 2 people were using a handheld electronic device and 209 other traffic-related charges were handed out.
The other traffic-related charges category was the only category to see an increase this year compared to last year.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
Students attending Brandon University this year will have to pay more for tuition.
The increase is due to the University receiving less funding from the provincial government.
Tuition is increasing by 3.75 percent to make up for the lack of funding. Returning undergraduate international students will now pay 2.5 times more than what a Canadian student would pay and new international students will pay 3.7 times that amount.
The University received $39,546,372 in funding this year which is $380,000 less than last year.
The funding consists of an operating grant of $37,773,372, a Campus Manitoba amount of $955,000, a renovation budget of $488,000 and a $330,000 allowance for smaller repairs and equipment replacement.
The school says that although the money available to them is a little bit more than in previous years, expenses have gone up.
Five positions at the school have been left open for a year to help reduce costs. The positions are supposed to be filled again next year so that programs at the school are not permanently affected.
The university has added a couple of positions this year, including a biosafety officer, who will help with scientific research as well as another research position.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
The RM of Lakeshore has implemented a burning ban effective immediately.
Fires of any kind including but not limited to burning grass, leaves, crop residue, bushes, pit fires and burning barrels and the lighting of fireworks aren't allowed.
All fire permits will be suspended within the RM of Lakeshore and new fire permits won't be issued until further notice.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
Today is the open house for the Net Zero energy home starting at 10 in the morning.
The address of the home is 135 Edgar Avenue.
At the open house, you can get a good look at the energy efficient home from the inside and out.
Steven Sobering, community energy manager for Dauphin, says the Net Zero House has a lot of exciting features.
“This home is designed so that over its lifetime, there are zero energy bills. So basically, what little energy the home uses will be generated by the solar PV that’s on the roof and that’s a huge feature. The home is very well designed, so every aspect of the build was scrutinized because we needed to achieve a high-performance build.
The ACC played a large role in the project with carpentry students building the house at the Dauphin Co-op Building Centre’s ready-to-move site.
Once moved to its final address, local contractors completed the work.
The cost to build the house is about 40 or 50 thousand dollars more than a normal house.
The house will go on the market tomorrow with a price of 350 thousand dollars.
Sobering says if you took the energy savings from the home and applied it to the mortgage you would save 38 thousand dollars in interest and pay off the home 4 years sooner.
The Dauphin Kids of Mud program will have a barbeque all day at the open house until 6 pm.
Tune in just after the noon ag show at 12:40 for the full interview Isaac Wihak did with Steven Sobering.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
Bryan Byers wins every time he sells a car, but that's not the only way he's a winner.
With help from Marketing Manager at Dean Cooley GM, Alyson Sametz, the duo won the rural Manitoba districts walk around contest on the redesigned GMC Sierra. Bryan and Alyson teamed up to beat every single GM dealership in our province.
The video called "An Intimate Moment with GMC Sierra Denali" features some of the neat features that the vehicle offers.
"I sort of stole my inspiration from those late night 90's call in commercials," said Byers. "It's a little bit different compared to other walk around videos. We didn't take it too seriously, but we did have a lot of fun."
"Well it was pretty exciting when we found out we won this," said Sametz. "There was a little bit of editing that went into it so it was nice that the hard work paid off. Bryan's an excellent team member to be the star of our videos. It worked out quite well."
Bryan wasn't even sure if he was going to enter a video in the contest when he was first asked to. He ended up doing so and the rest is history.
"I didn't know if we were going to win or not," added Byers. "With that being said, I did think we had a little bit of a better chance because I felt our idea was unique enough and it turns out it was."
You can check out the video at "An Intimate Moment with GMC Sierra Denali".
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
