UPDATE: Province Requests ICU Nurses

UPDATE:

The provincial government has asked the federal government to send between 15 and 30 ICU nurses for approximately six weeks to help expand ICU Capacity.

There are currently 102 patients in Manitoba ICUs, which is up 17% from last week.

In the past week alone, 22 patients have been admitted to Manitoba ICUs for the treatment of COVID-19.

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Ten doctors from Manitoba have sent a letter to the provincial government asking them to call in the military to help with strained intensive care units.

With ICUs in multiple hospitals across the province nearly full, Dr. Dan Roberts, who wrote the letter that was signed by nine other doctors, says ICU capacity can not be expanded.

Opposition leader, Wab Kinew, says the government should listen to the doctor's pleas.

Details: Contributed by Sam Brownell; Published: Dec 13, 2021 - 3:17 pm

Wednesday marks the 125^th anniversary of the end of construction season for the Lake Manitoba Railway and Canal Company back in Dec of 1896.

On the 15^th of Dec Sir Donald Mann ran a special train with dignitaries from Winnipeg to the end of the line here in Dauphin to show off the agricultural possibilities of the area.

To commemorate this anniversary the Dauphin Rail Museum has partnered with VIA Rail to re-live the final stretch of that journey in 1896 from Ochre River to Dauphin. On Tuesday dignitaries, city officials and museum members will be driven to Ochre River to meet VIA Rail train #693 on its way to Dauphin from Winnipeg.

Once the train arrives in Dauphin, the train and the onboard dignitaries will be greeted by community volunteers in late 1890’s era clothing and a banner commemorating the occasion.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Dec 13, 2021 - 6:14 am

Right now stargazers across Manitoba and elsewhere are being treated to the biggest and best meteor shower of the year. The Geminids Meteor shower is happening right now as it does every December and they are known as the most reliable one of the year.

Typically you may be able to see a meteor, or shooting star as they are often referred to as, any time of the year but only a few times every year including right now you have a much higher chance to see multiple at the same time.

Meteors are typically seen as spots of light that fly across the sky which are caused by dust or small rocks passing through the earth’s atmosphere and burning up as it does which creates the trail you will see.

This meteor shower produces double the amount of the Perseids which happens in August meaning you may be able to see up to two per minute right now. This year’s shower is already underway but the most active time to watch them will be tonight into tomorrow morning with the peak at approximately 3 am.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Dec 13, 2021 - 6:11 am

On Saturday the Dauphin Chapter of Habitat for Humanity accepted their most recent donation with a cheque for $11,500 being handed to Chairperson Rodney Juba by Dauphin Rotary Club President Mark Kohan at the site of the next Habitat build on 7^th Avenue Northeast.

CKDM’s Eric Fawx was on-site and spoke to Rodney Juba who thanked the Rotary Club of Dauphin for their generous donation and also mentioned that because of their donation, Habitat was able to start the process with other groups to get other donations and grants sorted for the build.

Stay tuned to 730 CKDM and 730ckdm.com for further updates as the donations come in and the build begins on the site.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Dec 13, 2021 - 6:08 am

Friday afternoon the Gilbert Plains Splash Park Initiative hosted a local family for a donation towards the cost of the project including the naming rights of the park.

Cory Gulenchin the vice-president of the Gilbert Plains Splash Park initiative spoke to CKDM about the newly named Oksana and Quinn Dutchyshen Memorial Splash Park and said that it was a massive announcement for the Splash Park.

The work on the splash park will continue in the spring in order to have it ready to open next year. They are still seeking more donations and you can head to their Facebook page to find out how to help fund this project.

The Dutchyshen family donated $100,000 to help the funding needed for the completion of the park, as well as to honour the two girls who died tragically in 2019.

When it opens the park will be a state-of-the-art splash park for families to enjoy for years to come.

Details: Contributed by Eric Fawx; Published: Dec 11, 2021 - 11:21 am

More than 100,000 Manitobans are newly eligible to get COVID-19 booster shots as the province tries to prevent a post-holiday spike in hospitalizations.

Older Manitobans and First Nations residents no longer have to wait six months before getting third doses.

The vaccine task force says anyone over 60, and adults who live in First Nations communities who are 18 or older, can get their booster shots right away if their second dose was on or before July 10th.

Dr. Joss Reimer of the task force says with holiday gatherings and the recent arrival of the Omicron variant, people older than 60 and those who live in First Nations communities are at higher risk of severe illness.

Details: Contributed by Eric Fawx; Published: Dec 11, 2021 - 6:14 am

Premier Heather Stefanson travelled to Neepawa today after her press conference in Dauphin to announce the building of a new hospital in the community.

There is no timeline as of right now, but the investment is for over $127 Million and will cut down on the need for patients to travel to Winnipeg and Brandon.

Features of the new facility, which will replace the existing Neepawa Health Centre, include:

· at least 60 acute care inpatient beds, up from 35 at the current Neepawa site;

· an expanded emergency department designed to best practice standards that include treatment and assessment rooms, a trauma room, stretcher bay and an ambulance bay; and

· enhanced space for a number of programs, such as surgery, diagnostics and palliative care as well as various outpatient services including dialysis and chemotherapy.

The new facility is expected to be at least twice the size of the current site. Construction is tentatively slated for completion in 2025.

Details: Contributed by Sam Brownell; Published: Dec 10, 2021 - 3:35 pm

The trial of a Brandon man for the second-degree murder of his wife has come to a close and the jury found Robert Hughes guilty.

In October of 2019, Hughes killed his wife, Betty, before tampering with the natural gas lines of their house causing an explosion. A sentencing date has not been set at this time, but the penalty for second-degree murder is life in prison, with parole eligibility ranging from ten to 25 years.

Details: Contributed by Sam Brownell; Published: Dec 10, 2021 - 3:21 pm

The provincial government says a second deer infected with chronic wasting disease has been detected in Manitoba. It says the case was discovered as part of routine surveillance just north of the U-S. border.

The first case found in the province was near Lake of the Prairies in October. They will start a cull on Monday of the deer population in the area to help reduce the spread. The Province says they have contacted landowners in the containment area to get permission to access their properties.

The province will report cull numbers once it is complete. They will try to save as much meat from healthy animals as possible and will distribute it on a priority basis to indigenous communities, beginning with those communities affected by hunting closures in the region.

Details: Contributed by Sam Brownell; Published: Dec 10, 2021 - 2:06 pm

Premier Stefanson was in Dauphin this morning at the Dauphin Regional Health Center for an announcement and our Eric Fawx was in attendance.

The Premier announced a five million dollar investment to renovate and expand services at the Dauphin Regional Medical Center.

The funding will be used to relocate all endoscopy procedures out of the operating rooms and into their own dedicated unit which will allow up to 300 additional endoscopies to be performed in the Parkland. This move will free up valuable space for more surgical procedures to be done in Dauphin in the future.

She announced the relocation of other units to new dedicated spaces including the chemotherapy department to a more modern space.

Construction is expected to begin next year and be completed in 2023.

Details: Contributed by Eric Fawx; Published: Dec 10, 2021 - 11:25 am

Former Progressive Conservative Party leadership candidate Shelly Glover is going to court today to try and convince a Manitoba judge that the party should throw out the results of October's leadership election.

Glovers lawyers are claiming there are irregularities surrounding the vote and question the security of some of the ballots cast.

Party officials say that only ballots counted on election day were approved and verified by trusted scrutineers appointed by each of the candidates.

While the judge does not have the authority to remove Premier Heather Stefanson from office, they will be determining if there were any breaches to the Party's constitution or rules and procedures established for the election.