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Brandon Police have released more information on the house explosion that happened last week in Brandon.

63-year-old Robert Hughes has been charged with second-degree murder in the incident. After the explosion, he left the house under his own power before being taken to the Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre.

Police determined that the victim, 63-year-old Betty Hughes, died from injuries sustained before the explosion.

Information on how the explosion occurred or the nature of the fatal injuries to Hughes are not being released, as the matter is still in the judicial process.

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The CP Holiday Train is a program to collect food and raise funds for food banks in North America.

Since it started in 1999, the Holiday Train has raised over 15.8 million dollars and collected 4.5 million pounds of food.

The train, featuring Scott Helman and Madeline Merlo as musical guests will be stopping in Neepawa and Minnedosa on Tuesday, December 3rd.

The concerts are free to attend but CN encourages attendees to donate to the local food banks that are in attendance at the stops.

Food Banks Canada has a list of healthy donation recommendations.

For grain products, whole grain bread, brown rice, whole wheat crackers, hot and cold cereal, granola bars, and muffins. For vegetables and fruit, canned fruit and vegetables, 100% fruit juice, tomato sauce, canned soup, tomato juice, and applesauce. For milk products, dry milk powder, milk puddings, cheese spreads, fresh milk, yoghurt, and cheese (if accepted). For meat and alternatives, canned meat and fish, peanut butter, canned baked beans, dried or canned beans and lentils. Reduced sodium canned and jarred goods are preferred.

The train will arrive in Neepawa at 2:35 pm with the show starting at 2:45 and ending at 3:15 before heading to Minnedosa for 4 pm with a 4:15 to 4:45 pm show.

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Last week, the provincial government announced that Lifeflight, Manitoba's air ambulance service, is now the responsibility of Shared Health; the organization responsible for coordinating health care in the province.

According to the province, Shared Health has been in charge of delivering medical services and patient transport since April, but only took full control as of Thursday last week. Health, Seniors, and Active Living Minister Cameron Friesen said that the move will result in an improved model of care for patients in need of the service.

Friesen added that staff were told of the transition on Thursday. Operational and medical leadership transitioned immediately to Shared Health, while staff remain employed by the government. Staff will be fully transitioned after a plan is developed by the government and the Manitoba Government and General Employees Union.

Until the transfer to Shared Health, the Manitoba government had run Lifeflight for over 30 years.

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On Friday morning, Virden RCMP responded to a single-vehicle rollover on Sioux Valley Dakota Nation.

The initial investigation found that a lone male was travelling on a gravel road in the community and lost control and hit the embankment.

The collision resulted in the vehicle rolling over several times.

The 26-year-old driver, from Sioux Valley, was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead on the scene.

Alcohol and speed are considered factors in the accident.

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A man who was inside a home in Brandon when it exploded is being charged with second-degree murder.

On Tuesday last week, police were called to the home at around 8 pm. They found the body of a 63-year-old woman and a 63-year-old man in critical condition.

The front of the home was torn open, with household items spewed across the front lawn.

After 36 hours at the scene, police have put a fence around the ruins.

On Friday, officers went to the Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre, where the 63-year-old man was being released from care, and arrested him.

A spokesperson for Brandon Police said that the circumstances of the explosion and the events leading up to it were being investigated.

According to reports, the home had been sold in July of this year.

Brandon Police say the suspect was brought back to Brandon where he will appear in front of a judge today.

Police are expected to release more information about the incident during a press conference on Monday.

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Dauphin got about 30 cm of snow from the storm over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Randy Daley says Dauphin did a tremendous job to get the streets cleared and get traffic moving.

“We have a really good prep plan, everybody keeps an eye on what’s coming down the road. There’s always a plan in place and a plan B in place.”

In case of an emergency, the city has a generator they can use to run full operations from city hall or the RM office. Daley adds there’s always an opportunity to run a full command centre.

The generator gets tested consistently most notably, the Street Fair where it runs pretty much all the power for the Street Fair.

The generator has never had to be used for an emergency.

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On October 21st, Manitoba First Nations Police learned that 2 males on the Waywayseecappo First Nation, were conspiring to obstruct police while officers investigated home invasions that happened the night before.

On October 20th, 3 males were assaulted during a home invasion. Officers learned that one of the suspects had made threats to police.

On Wednesday, Timothy Travis Cloud was arrested and charged for Conspiracy to Commit Obstruction.

The next day, MFNPS searched Cloud’s home where they found a rifle, ammo, and edged weapons.

Cloud has since been released on a Recognizance with court-imposed conditions.

Christopher George Cloud has also been charged with Conspiracy to Commit Obstruction and remains in custody.

All matters are still under investigation.

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Two weeks after an early winter storm walloped the province, Manitoba Hydro says power is back on for all the communities that lost it.

Hydro adds that not all of its work is done yet, noting that Little Saskatchewan First Nation, Lake St. Martin First Nation, and Dauphin River are being powered by generators.

According to the Crown Corporation, workers have replaced over 4,000 wood poles over 11 days and repaired 950 km of lines. Over the course of the storm, there were 266,000 outage reports.

Premier Pallister has expressed his gratitude for hydro workers, private contractors, and others who helped with the massive cleanup effort.

The out-of-town crews from Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Minnesota began to leave the province on Wednesday.

More work needs to be done including the cleanup of broken poles and other broken equipment that crews left behind to expedite the repair timeline.

People who come across the materials are asked not to touch it, so no one mistakes more recently damaged equipment for what was left behind.

Hydro is also urging people travelling off-road to keep an eye out for the materials, as they may become a hazard to people riding ATVs, dirt bikes or snowmobiles, cross country skiers and hikers.

Livestock producers are also asked to try and keep their animals away from the broken equipment.

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The government of Manitoba has announced the first dates for the first round of Crown land lease auctions.

The auctions are being held on:

-Nov. 27 at the Brandon Manitoba Agriculture Office

-Nov. 28 at the Minnedosa Ukrainian Hall

-Nov 29 at the Dauphin Provincial Building

-Dec. 3 at the Swan River War Veterans Community Hall

-Dec. 5 at the Ashern Manitoba Agriculture Office

-Dec. 6 at the Dugald Community Hall.

The auction system is part of the changes to the Crown Land Leasing Program that came into effect on October 1st of this year, much to the dismay of producers.

Newly appointed Agriculture Minister Blaine Pedersen says the new auction system is a fair and transparent approach that will create new opportunities for new or young farmers to have access to the public assets.

More information on the auctions can be found at the Manitoba Agriculture website.

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Take Action on Radon is a coalition of national health organizations and they’re working with the RM of Dauphin to give out 100 free radon test kits.

CAO of the RM of Dauphin, Nicole Chychota, says Radon is a naturally occurring gas.

“It comes from the ground and typically what happens is in the winter months, when your home is closed, radon can come into your basement and build up in levels that may be unsafe.”

Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. The Canadian Cancer Society also reports that 1 in 4 homes in Manitoba have higher levels of radon than Health Canada standards. The Prairie Mountain Region is of higher concern as up to 41% of homes have higher levels of the gas.

Radon-related lung cancer is responsible for more Canadian deaths than motor vehicle collisions, house fires, carbon monoxide poisoning and accidental drowning combined.

Chychota says kits are only available to RM ratepayers currently.

“We are requiring people to sign up for them in advance of our awareness event.”

If there are kits available a week before the November 5th event, they will open up applications to other municipal ratepayers.

A radon test kit has instructions on how to use it, but basically, residents pick a location for it, leave it for over 91 days, return the device and wait for the test results.

Homeowners should take action to reduce radon levels if they are high by consulting a certified radon reduction specialist.

If you live in the RM of Dauphin and would like a radon test kit, call 204-638-4531 or visit the Municipality for advanced registration.

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Manitoba Hydro is asking the public’s assistance in helping for possible future weather events.

The Crown Corp is asking anyone with photos of the Thanksgiving snowstorm to send them in.

Hydro is asking specifically for pictures of the snow and ice accumulation anywhere in Manitoba during the course of that weekend.

Hydro hopes that, by collecting data and documentation, they will be able to improve the system’s resilience against future storms.

If you have any photos you’d like to submit, you can send them to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Hydro asks that you indicate where and when the photo was taken.

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