Steve Sobering Running for City Council

Steve Sobering is aiming for a seat on Dauphin City Council as he runs in the municipal election.

Sobering is originally from Beausejour and moved to Dauphin with his wife in 2007.

He says that people should vote for him because he's hardworking, has a lot of great ideas and knows how to conceive and execute projects.

"I'm good at bringing people together... and I have the best interests of the community at heart... I think that this community is full of potential and we're at a good point in time to take advantage of that," he adds.

Sobering is running for city council because he loves the City of Dauphin, the community and the people.

"I've always been involved in a multitude of ways and I see it as my way of giving back... I think I have a lot of skills that would benefit having me on council," he adds.

Steve Sobering says that the first thing he would do if he were to be elected would be to establish a goal and work with council to determine how it can be achieved.

"And then take a look at all the plans that are already laid out and deliver on some of the projects and get things moving," he adds.

As for the crime situation in Dauphin, Sobering says that like any other problem, it needs to be tackled in the right way.

"I know crime is a big concern. As a business owner and owner of properties, I've had windows broken... I understand how frustrating it can be... If we can't get the police resources in the short term, we should work [in] different ways... to reduce or lower crime, like add surveillance... funding crime reduction programming... supporting... programs like Citizens on Patrol," he adds.

Sobering went on to say that his main priorities would be to grow Dauphin's tourism sector, grow the City as a hub for commerce and education, and work on making the City environmentally sustainable.

A complete list of candidates running for office in the City and R.M. of Dauphin can be found here.

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Oct 6, 2022 - 6:00 am

Hoof N Holler days is back in Ste. Rose this weekend, with a full event for the first time in several years. There was a scaled-back event held last year, and Chair Ashley Vandepoele says the community is happy to have it back in full force.

"We have had wonderful reception when it comes to Hoof N Holler Days. We've had tons of messages, people asking questions, and engaged, so I think people are excited to have it back in full force. Even before COVID hit we had some tough years with some ice storms and snow storms, so we're excited to have a full schedule planned."

Vandepoele says they have added some new events this year for people to look forward to.

"We have never had a partnership before with Manitoba Theatre for Young People, so we have some acting classes that are being offered for free for our youth, both ages five to eight, and nine to twelve on Friday evening, so that is something that is brand new. And if there is anything else that we would highlight as being brand new, it would be that we had a partnership with healthy together now, and we decided to do a pumpkin and sunflower judging contest for people growing the biggest pumpkin and tallest sunflowers."

CKDM's Al Gains will be broadcasting live from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. tomorrow at Sunrise Credit Union, while Jackson Cornelson and the CKDM Cruiser will be in the Parade on Saturday at 10 a.m.

Details: Contributed by Sam Brownell; Published: Oct 6, 2022 - 5:50 am

The RCMP's West District Crime Reduction Enforcement Support Team (CREST) recovered two stolen vehicles and a stolen trailer on Crane River First Nation, as part of an ongoing investigation, on September 28^th.

On October 4^th, officers arrested 29-year-old Devin Mckay of Crane River First Nation and charged him with three counts of possession of property obtained by crime.

He was remanded into custody.

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Oct 5, 2022 - 3:31 pm

To mark World Teachers' Day, the Manitoba government announced today that nominations are now being accepted for the 2022/23 Excellence in Education Awards.

Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Wayne Ewasko says that educators help young Manitobans to learn, grow and reach their full potential every day.

"On World Teachers’ Day, the day we celebrate educators around the world, our government is calling on students, parents, guardians, colleagues and administrators to nominate outstanding educators who they feel are making a special difference in the lives of students and deserve to be recognized,” Minister Ewasko adds.

The province says that they have been formally recognizing the outstanding contributions of Manitoba educators through the Excellence in Education Awards since 2006.

To be nominated, educators must hold a valid, permanent Manitoba teaching certificate and work directly with kindergarten to Grade 12 students in a school setting on a daily basis.

They will be presenting awards in the following categories:

teaching excellence award;
outstanding new teacher award;
outstanding team collaboration award;
outstanding school leader award; and
premier’s award for excellence in education.

According to the provincial government, award recipients will receive a certificate of recognition and a monetary gift of $500, and will be honoured at an award reception held at the Legislative Building during Education Week in April 2023.

The submission deadline for nominations is December 2^nd.

More information and nomination criteria can be found here

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Oct 5, 2022 - 3:08 pm

Matthew Flamand from Camperville was back in Dauphin court yesterday, and plead guilty to Mischief, Property Under $5000. Flamand was sentenced to time served, a one-day court appearance, and 12 months of supervised probation.

Flamand was arrested in May after he was identified as a suspect in the second of two fires in the Camperville area.

Details: Contributed by Sam Brownell; Published: Oct 5, 2022 - 10:40 am

The Langruth Harvest Festival took place at the Sports Grounds on Saturday, October 1^st and it was very well attended.

Event Organizer Michelle Teichroeb says there were about three hundred people in attendance.

"The day was a little bit cooler, but kids don't seem to mind the cooler weather. They were on the run from activity to activity and just made the most of their day," she adds.

Teichroeb says that the hay bale climbing structure and bouncy castles were quite busy.

"New this year, we tried a tug-of-war with a firetruck. We had our local firetruck on site and we did a challenge to see how many people it took to pull the firetruck... It was a unique and fun thing to do," she adds.

Michelle Teichroeb went on to say that the canteen was busy all day long.

"I don't know if it was because it was cooler out, but it was a busy place. We had pulled pork sandwiches, poutine, french fries, hotdogs," she adds.

Teichroeb feels good that the festival was so well received.

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Oct 5, 2022 - 6:15 am

Smile Cookie Week was held at Tim Horton's from September 19th to the 25th and once again it received massive support from Dauphin and area.

After all the chips were counted, the Dauphin Tim Horton's sold over 46,000 cookies which resulted in a lot of dough for Maamawi Park and the 4 Seasons Tobaggon Run. They will receive just over $46,000 in proceeds.

The total amount of smile cookies sold at the Dauphin Tim's was the highest in Manitoba and the second highest in all of Canada. This is something that made franchise owner Greg Crisanti ecstatic.

"Yeah it was pretty amazing when we found out the news. A lot of hard work and volunteer hours went into it, we are extremely pleased and happy with a number so strong coming out of smile cookie week", commented Crisanti.

Crisanti says he, his staff, and lots of volunteers had blue and pink hands by the end of the week as a result of placing the eyes and the smile on each of the over 46,000 smile cookies sold.

Selling nearly 50,000 smile cookies is no easy task and one that can not be done alone. Crisanti is thankful for the remarkable support from local businesses who matched cookie sales, the hard work from volunteers, and one individual in particular.

"Stacey Penner [is a] huge supporter of smile cookie week ... without her pounding the pavement for us and tracking down some great community sponsors, we really wouldn't be able to bring in the numbers that we did", said Crisanti.

Smile Cookie Week 2023 will take place in May. The charity will be chosen in the near future.

Details: Contributed by Alec Woolston; Published: Oct 5, 2022 - 6:11 am

The Parkland Chamber of Commerce hosted the RM of Dauphin Municipal Election Forum and Debate Tuesday night at the Aspen Lodge.

Eight of the ten council candidates were in attendance and had the opportunity to answer a number of questions and give their pitch to the public on why they deserve a vote. The main topics that were focused on during this portion were rural water, the growth of industry and population in the RM, and insuring there are recreational facilities available.

The two Reeve candidates, Tom Gibbs and Ernie Sirski, then took the stage for the debate portion of the evening. The reeve candidates touched on many of the same issues as the council candidates, also focusing on the importance of agriculture, and infrastructure to support the industry which is so important to the RM.

Reeve Candidates Forum

After the debate concluded, I had the chance to speak to both of the Reeve candidates about what they wanted to focus on during their campaign.

Sirski spoke about his background in agriculture and its importance in the community.

"For me it's agriculture, and again I don't care if it's conventional, organic, whether it's animal or plant-based, I think agriculture is going to continue to be the driving force of this municipality. We can talk all we want about recreation, we can talk about opportunities, but the reality is, agriculture is gonna continue to drive this municipality."

Gibbs talked about building relationships with the City of Dauphin and all the surrounding municipalities.

"When I first got on Council I went to an AMM convention and visited with other councilors and they said, how do you expect to draw business to your area when you can't get along with your closest neighbor? That really hit me hard, we had to improve our relations between the city and us, and we have."

The event was live streamed to the Parkland Chamber of Commerce Facebook page and can be viewed here. A full list of candidates for the City and RM of Dauphin in this years municipal election can be found here.

Details: Contributed by Sam Brownell; Published: Oct 4, 2022 - 9:13 pm

UPDATE: First Ave. NE has reopened. City of Dauphin crews had been on the scene since this morning, working to repair a water main break.

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Original Article: Crews are working to repair a water main break on First Ave. NE beside No Frills. The road is completely blocked in both directions up to First St. NE, and traffic is being detoured around the area.

There currently isn't a timeline for when the road will reopen.

Details: Contributed by Sam Brownell; Published: Oct 4, 2022 - 2:45 pm

UPDATE (Oct. 5^th, 9:48 p.m.): The special air quality statements have ended.

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Environment Canada has issued multiple special air quality statements for Dauphin and surrounding areas.

They are currently in effect for many communities in the following areas:

Environment Canada says that elevated pollution levels are expected or occurring and that forest fire smoke is gradually accumulating in a stagnant air mass over western Manitoba.

They say that conditions will improve through the day on Wednesday as a cold front pushes southwards and brings a brisk northerly wind to the area.

They also say that individuals may experience symptoms such as increased coughing, throat irritation, headaches or shortness of breath and that children, seniors, and those with cardiovascular or lung disease, such as asthma, are especially at risk.

Anyone with health questions or concerns can contact their health care provider or call Health Links-Info Santé at 1-888-315-9257.

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Oct 4, 2022 - 1:21 pm

The Manitoba Métis Federation released a statement with regards to the National Day of Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Gender diverse people.

The statement follows:

October 4th marks the National Day of Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Gender diverse people. Today, we honour those who lost their lives and the families and communities who grieve for their lost loved ones.

In March 2021, the Manitoba Métis Federation announced the Pey Key Way Ta Hin (Bring Me Home) program, providing $10,000 in rewards for information leading to locating missing individuals. It’s heartbreaking, but in so many cases the families know they aren’t going to find their loved ones alive,” said David Chartrand, President of the MMF. “The name of this program gives these lost loved ones their voices back and reminds us that they are still missing and want to come home.”

The RCMP asks anyone with information to contact their nearest RCMP detachment or their local police of jurisdiction. Information can also be provided anonymously through Manitoba Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or by secure tip online at manitobacrimestoppers.com.