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12 rural municipalities have declared a state of agricultural disaster in Manitoba after a hot and dry summer has left beef producers struggling to find enough feed to feed their herds.
Arnthor Jonasson, the reeve of the RM of West Interlake and Mike Brown, a councillor for the RM of Alonsa both say that the time for the government to come in and help producers is now, adding that by the time the election is done, it may be too late.
The affected RMs are Alonsa, Armstrong, Bifrost-Riverton, Coldwell, Ethelbert, Fisher, Grahamdale, Lakeshore, McCreary, Ste. Rose, West Interlake, and Woodlands.
Hay yields in the province have been far below average this summer, adding on to the impact producers are feeling after a streak of dry years.
Early in the summer, the provincial government announced it would allow livestock producers to cut hay and let their herds graze on Crown lands.Jonasson and Brown said that producers are trying to get the attention of both the federal and provincial governments to provide financial assistance through the AgriRecovery Program.
The program framework would allow for immediate feed and freight assistance and some compensation for the drilling of wells for the hauling of water to livestock.
Due to the shortage of feed, many producers are faced with the choice of whether or not to liquidate portions of their herds, if not their entire herds.
Both Keystone Agriculture Producers and Manitoba Beef Producers have urged farmers across the province to list any available hay, straw, and alternative feeds for use to help the producers struggling to feed their herds.
The looming provincial and federal elections have some producers worried that government intervention could be delayed, but Jonasson and Brown are hoping action will be taken in the next few days.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Dustin Racette has been arrested after two weeks of searching.
Around 11:40 in the evening on August 14th, Dustin Racette was being treated at the Dauphin hospital before assaulting and running from corrections officers.
Racette is charged with escaping lawful custody, assault with a weapon, and assault a police officer with a weapon.
Unconfirmed reports say he was arrested at Bacon Ridge, which is just south of Ebb and Flow.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
The Moon Lake Trail in Riding Mountain National Park is closed until further notice because of a bear encounter.
The Moon Lake Campground will stay open.
Due to the importance of visitor safety to Parks Canada, they are asking visitors to be vigilant, walk in groups, make plenty of noise, and carry bear spray when out on the trails.
They add campers should continue to practice safe camping practices, obey all camping regulations and keep food and garbage secure at all times.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
Last night, at around 6:45, Brandon police responded to a suspected stabbing.
At the scene, police located an unresponsive 15-year-old male.
Officers performed CPR on the male until the Fire Department arrived, and transported the male to hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Police arrested another 15-year-old in relation to the stabbing.
The two males knew each other, and police believe the motivation for the stabbing was personal.
The suspect was lodged at Brandon Correctional Centre and will appear in court this afternoon on a charge of 1st-degree murder.
A post mortem on the victim will be conducted today as well.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Yesterday morning residents of a home turned on their furnace for the first time to take the chill off their home when smoke started erupting from the furnace.
The Dauphin Fire Department responded and made sure there wasn’t a fire.
Fire Chief Cam Abrey says they contacted the owners to have everything serviced.
He says with winter approaching, now is a good time to make sure your furnace works, adding that it’s best to get a qualified service technician to check over your furnace instead of doing it yourself.
Abrey says it's fine to change the filter yourself and test carbon monoxide alarms.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
The Grandview Healthcare Solutions Group held a provincial election forum last night at the Grandview Kinsmen Community Centre.
The three Dauphin MLA candidates were once again the centre of attention as they answered questions from the public.
Healthcare and rural economic development were the main focuses of the night.
While the candidates took a somewhat calm approach to the forum in Dauphin on Monday, this forum took a bit of an aggressive turn with candidates firing shots back and forth.
NDP candidate Darcy Scheller, PC candidate Brad Michaleski, and Liberal candidate Cathy Scofield-Singh all thought the night went well and enjoyed the opportunity to address more rural concerns
The Manitoba provincial election is on September 10th.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Advance voting for the Manitoba provincial election starts today.
There are 18 candidates for the 5 ridings in the area. The ridings include Agassiz, Dauphin, Interlake-Gimli, Riding Mountain, and Swan River. The candidates are as follows:
Dauphin:
Brad Michaleski for the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba
Darcy Scheller for the Manitoba NDP
Cathy Scofield- Singh for the Manitoba Liberal Party
Swan River:
David Teffaine for the Manitoba Liberal Party
Shelley Wiggins for the Manitoba NDP
Rick Wowchuk for the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba
Agassiz:
Hector Swanson for the Manitoba Liberal Party
Kelly Lagaspi for the Manitoba NDP
Eileen Clarke for the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba
Liz Clayton for the Green Party of Manitoba
Riding Mountain
Jordan Fleury for the Manitoba Liberal Party
Wayne Chacun for the Manitoba NDP
Greg Nesbitt for the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba
Mary Lowe for the Manitoba Green Party
Interlake-Gimli
Mary Lou Bourgeois for the Manitoba Liberal Party
Sarah Pinsent for the Manitoba NDP
Derek Johnson for the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba
Dwight Harfield for the Manitoba Green Party
Advance voting runs from August 29th to September 5th 8 am to 8 pm Monday through Saturday and Sunday noon to 6 pm.
Some advance voting stations, like the Dauphin Returning Office, will open tomorrow and stay open for the entire advance voting period. While others will only be open on certain days at certain times.
Voting is also available at the Dauphin Marketplace Mall.
For a full list of where and when advance voting stations are open, go to the Elections Manitoba website.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Two arrests from separate incidents were made on the Birdtail Sioux First Nation in the past week.
The first incident was on Wednesday, August 21st just before 7 in the morning.
Manitoba First Nations Police were called to a residence due to a disturbance. When they arrived, police saw several people outside the residence with two females involved in a fight. The fight was stopped and the crowd dispersed because of the officers.
Police learned from the homeowner that a suspect had entered the residence and produced a sawed-off .22 calibre rifle and a knife. The homeowner managed to disarm the suspect and it was at this time the suspect fled the scene.
Police attended the residence and seized the weapons. Police then located the suspect at his residence where he was arrested. 36-year-old Ashley Murray Bunn faces several firearms and weapons charges.
The second incident was on Sunday, August 25th, just after 6 pm.
MFNPS members were called to a residence on the Birdtail Sioux First Nation in response to a domestic disturbance.
Police knocked on the door multiple times before the female homeowner and victim unlocked the door. Police entered the residence and found her suffering from serious facial injuries.
The victim indicated to Police that she was assaulted and held there against her will throughout the day by her boyfriend who was inside a bedroom in the residence.
Police located the 31-year-old man from Regina, Saskatchewan and arrested him. He was charged with assault with a weapon, overcome resistance, and uttering threats to kill.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
A Brandon man is facing numerous drug and weapons-related charges after Brandon police raided a home on Monday.
According to police, the raid was part of an investigation into suspected drug trafficking.
Officers found over five grams of methamphetamine, as well as packaging material. They also seized weapons including a stun gun, multiple knives, machetes, and pellet and BB guns.
The 36-year-old man had a court order to not possess any weapons.
He was arrested and will face charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking meth, possession of the proceeds of crime, possessing prohibited weapons, possessing dangerous weapons and breach of recognizance.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Tonight in Grandview there’s another forum for the Dauphin MLA candidates.
It’ll be at the Kinsmen Hall starting at 7 pm.
The forum will be a debate-style discussion.
They ask that all questions be submitted in writing before the event.
The questions will be reviewed by the moderators, who will then decide what order the chosen questions will be asked in.
If you have a question you’d like to see answered send the question to Sue Stirling at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
All three candidates will be in attendance.
The provincial election is on September 10th.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
The Dauphin Co-op and its employees, represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 832, agreed to a new collective agreement.
The employees voted in favour of the offer on Sunday night, stopping a possible strike. The new four-year agreement replaces the previous agreement that expired in June of 2018. The new agreement provides a number of improvements, including annual wage increases that will be paid retroactively for current employees.
Co-op General Manager Lorne Eifert says he is pleased to come to an agreement with UFCW that is fair to employees and allows the Co-op to continue to provide service and value to its members and communities in the long term.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
