Rockin' The Fields Of Minnedosa Headliners Announced!

Headliners for Rockin’ the Fields of Minnedosa have been announced.

On the FP Genetics Main stage, Friday, August 2^nd, Lee Aaron will perform, along with Canadian rock band Harlequin, multi-platinum group, Platinum Blonde and the final group playing that night is April Wine, a group that’s been rocking hard for 5 decades.

On Saturday, August 3^rd, on the FP Genetics Main Stage there are a couple groups playing. The Sam Roberts Band and Collective Soul are headlining.

Sunday, August 4^th will be a big night on the FP Genetics Main stage. Juno award winning Streetheart will be playing, as well as Canada’s Queen of Rock, Sass Jordan, 54-40, and 8x Juno Award-winning Tom Cochrane and Red Rider, will be performing.

Tickets and camping for Rockin’ the Fields of Minnedosa go on sale this Friday.

Tickets will be available at www.rockinthefields.ca or by calling 1 888 330-8333.

Details: Contributed by Isaac Wihak; Published: Feb 5, 2019 - 1:03 pm

Grandview’s Taron Topham was a finalist for the $100,000 LORAN Scholarship and now he can say he’s a LORAN Scholarship winner.

Taron was in Toronto this past weekend alongside 88 other finalists. Of which, 34 were chosen and Topham was one of the 34 that received the massive scholarship. One thing the weekend included was an extensive interviewing process.

“It’s definitely a great honour and makes me feel like all the hard work has paid off,” said Topham. “I’m really thankful for everyone that has helped me and I can’t wait to move forward now.”

Taron found out he was a finalist for the scholarship late last year after he was one of just four Manitoba residents that were chosen to head to Toronto. It’s been somewhat of a stressful couple months for him. Advancing to the national stage was already a huge deal, but he didn’t really know what to expect when he got there.

Obviously, the impression that Taron left was a lasting one that was enough to award him $100,000 towards his post-secondary studies.

“You know, filling out the initial application, I thought to myself what are the odds,” said Topham. “I’ve really enjoyed everything that’s gone into this.”

“It was a great time in Toronto. I met so many people that were past scholars and they shared their stories,” he added. “This just opens so many doors and that’s the really exciting part.”

The question is now when will Taron begin his post-secondary studies and where? Not only is he extremely smart and a super hard worker, but Topham is also well on his way to having a very good junior hockey career with the Dauphin Kings’. Pursuing the goal of making it to the next level out on the ice is just one of the many doors Taron has right in front of him.

“I want to go into the sciences and I’ll probably major/minor in phycology, but I’m not sure which one yet,” said Topham. “I also want some bio and chemistry in there and after my Bachelor in Sciences; I want to aim for the medical program. Where this will all happen is a very good question, I really don’t know.”

A big reason Taron has won the $100,000 scholarship is his commitment to getting out in the community and volunteering. That’s something that will always be a big part of his life.

“Oh yeah for sure, I wouldn’t want to stop doing what got me to where I am,” said Topham. “I still plan on doing it going forward and I’m looking forward to it.”

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Feb 5, 2019 - 9:48 am

Today there's a new parking ban.

The parking ban is in effect for zone 1 east of Jackson St. and zone 4.

Citizens are asked not to park on City streets in these areas until they have been cleared.

Once the street has been cleared, parking can resume as normal.

Any vehicles and equipment parked in these areas during the parking ban may be ticketed or towed.

The parking ban is in effect until 8 am on Wednesday, February 6th.

Details: Contributed by Isaac Wihak; Published: Feb 5, 2019 - 9:30 am

The Dauphin and District Community Foundation community grant program is accepting applications from local groups and organizations.

$79,487 is available from the Community Grant Program.

Last year with about 1000 dollars less, the grant helped 18 local organizations.

There are some changes to the Community Grant Program this year.

The first is the creation of a grants workshop for applicants, which is being held on February 13th.

The workshop is designed to provide applicants with important information related to the Grants Program.

Its recommended for all applicants, especially organizations applying for the first time.

There will also be a second intake period for the Community Grants Program.

They will be doing this to support community projects that come up unexpectedly or later on in the year.

An announcement on the timing of a second application intake will occur later this summer.

The deadline for spring 2019 grant applications is February 28th.

Additional information on the new grant program is available by calling Kit Daley at 638-4598.

For the link to the applications click here.

Details: Contributed by Isaac Wihak; Published: Feb 5, 2019 - 9:55 am

The Keystone Ag Producers will hold their Annual General Meeting today and tomorrow.

KAP President Bill Campbell shares why producers should come out to the meeting.

“It’s very informative. It ’s very engaging. Network and knowledge. We don’t have all the big machinery and that Ag Days has, but people go there to learn. I hope that we can send a message that at the KAP annual meeting you can learn something. Interact with other producers of like minds.”

During Day One, producers will hear from Minister of Agriculture Ralph Eichler. Presentations also include ‘The Role of Agriculture in Canada’s Economic Strategy,’ and ‘Economic Strategy Response Panel.’ In the afternoon ‘GHG Offset Market Opportunities – Lessons from the Alberta Experience’ will run at 2:15.

“I encourage people to come and participate,” said Campbell.

CKDM’s Benjamin Schwab is in Winnipeg to cover the meeting at the Delta Hotel. It starts at 9 am.

Details: Contributed by Josh Sigurdson; Published: Feb 5, 2019 - 5:00 am

The local Red Cross Personal Disaster Assistance team is looking for volunteers from the area.

“The program supports families or individuals that have been affected by house fires, mainly. So that team is able to [help], they are on call 24/7, they go out, they meet with people who have been impacted. And then they’re able to support with whatever those folks needs might have for up to 72 hours.”

Alison Everitt, the Provincial Manager of Emergency Management, says you don’t have to live in Dauphin to volunteer. The Dauphin team is looking for people from all over the Parkland.

“This program we have nine teams all around the province and what we constantly hear from all of our team members is that they are doing it to give back and to make a positive impact in their community. You meet a lot of really great people when you’re volunteering for the Red Cross. You make a lot of friends on your team. And you're able to build some different skill sets that you might not have already.”

You can go to redcross.ca to sign up.

Details: Contributed by Josh Sigurdson; Published: Feb 4, 2019 - 11:05 am

The parking ban has been implemented for residents of Jackson Street and West of Jackson Street in zone 1, as well as zones 2 and 3.

Citizens are asked not to park on city streets in these areas until they have been cleared.

Once the street has been cleared, parking can resume as normal.

Any vehicles and equipment parked in these areas during the parking ban may be ticketed or towed.

The parking ban is in effect until noon on Tuesday, February 5th.

Details: Contributed by Isaac Wihak; Published: Feb 4, 2019 - 9:53 am

Assiniboine Community College’s Alumni Association is accepting nominations for this year’s Parkland Region Alumni Awards.

Nominees can be graduates of any Assiniboine campus but have to live in the Parkland region.

There are four awards:

The 'Distinguished Alumni' presented to someone who has distinguished themselves in both their chosen profession and their community.

The ‘Community Service’ award that recognizes someone who has positively impacted the quality of people’s lives through the service of others.

The ‘One to Watch’ that honours a graduate who is 30 years of age or younger at the time of nomination and has made achievements and significant contributions to his or her profession and/or community.

And

The ‘Excellence in Teaching’ award honours a faculty member from the Parkland campus for extraordinary contributions to teaching and the student experience.

“The Parkland Region Alumni Celebration is an excellent opportunity to recognize the dedication of outstanding Assiniboine alumni in our community,” said Erin Sigvaldason, chair of the Parkland Region Alumni Committee and a 2001 graduate of the Business Administration program at the college’s Parkland campus in Dauphin."

The deadline for nominations is March 1st. Nomination forms can be found at assiniboine.net/alumni/alumni-awards-parkland.

The awards are presented on April 11th at the annual Alumni Awards Celebration Dinner at Aspen Lodge in the Dauphin Recreation Centre.

Details: Contributed by Josh Sigurdson; Published: Feb 4, 2019 - 5:00 am

The job of an officer can be very busy.

Sergeant Nolan Suss, commander for the Parkland Detachment area, says the first priority is to respond to calls for service based on the severity of the call.

They determine the severity of a call based on the danger level, if there’s an assault in progress or a weapon like a knife or gun involved, that takes precedent.

The second priority is to continue any ongoing investigations. They do that because there are lots of cases that need more evidence to begin a court process.

The third priority is to check up on chronic offenders. There is a system in place to check up on these people to make sure they are following the rules.

Their fourth priority is traffic enforcement. What often happens is this occurs when they are travelling in between one of the three other priorities.

Details: Contributed by Isaac Wihak; Published: Feb 4, 2019 - 6:53 am

Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his burrow for Groundhogs day.

He didn't see his shadow this morning which means an early spring this year.

Manitoba Merv agreed with Punxatawny Phil for an early spring.

Winnipeg Wyn predicted winter to continue, let's hope that only applies to Winnipeg.

Details: Contributed by Isaac Wihak; Published: Feb 2, 2019 - 7:07 am

You have until today to submit applications for Community Futures Parkland’s grants and awards.

“Local community groups know that they can apply each year, and due to our smaller intake, many of them have an opportunity to receive the funding. It is a really beneficial program for those community projects that have smaller budgets they may not be eligible for larger or provincial or federal programs.”

Paige Cruickshank says groups don’t have to match funding and they don’t have to pay the funds back.

She shares what CF Parkland is looking for when choosing grant recipients.

“They want applications that reflect the program objectives of each grant. Community projects would be tourism, events, education, and after-school programs. Entrepreneurship would be for the less established entrepreneurs.”

This is the 19th year CF Parkland has committed the region. Proximity $195,745 has been granted to 103 regional and community initiatives throughout the region.

Nomination forms can be found online for the community project grants, entrepreneurship grants, and the volunteer awards.