Listowel Bridge Closed For Repairs

The RM of Dauphin announced the Listowel Bridge has been closed.

It will be closed until the end of March for repairs and maintenance.

The bridge is located on Road 106W between Road 149N and 150N.

Details: Contributed by Isaac Wihak; Published: Feb 6, 2019 - 2:28 pm

Municipalities across the Parkland will have to decide by March 31st whether they want to be a part of the future Inter-Mountain Watershed District.

A meeting took place yesterday afternoon between the province and conservation representatives to discuss the proposal to amalgamate the Turtle River and Intermountain conservation districts. Many city and RM officials were in attendance as well.

Should a member municipality choose not to sign off on the proposal; they will lose more than their matched funding from the province. "We would actually lose access to a number of other programs that are proposal-based, that you have to be a conservation district to apply for". Noted Jeff Thiele, Manager of the Intermountain Conservation District.

One concern that was brought up at the meeting is the fact that the Intermountain Watershed District will be one of the largest districts in the province, but no additional funding has been offered by the province yet to cover any extra costs.

".. the two conservation districts and the municipalities are spending quite a bit of time and money on formulating this draft proposal and going to some extra meetings that we wouldn't actually have, so it's actually costing us quite a bit more than we had budgeted for this year. Hopefully at some point the province is going to look at some extra funding for this".

Overall, the meeting went smoothly, and the representatives from the provincial government were able to knowledgably answer questions and concerns. The province has set a target date of January 1st, 2020, to make the amalgamation official.

Details: Contributed by Alec Woolston; Published: Feb 6, 2019 - 9:46 am

A crosswalk could be built on 2^nd Ave. NW and 2^nd St. NW.

They want the crosswalk at that intersection because there are lots of daycares and families in the area that use the splash park in the summer as well as Vermillion Park is used at all times of the year.

The city has to go through Manitoba Infrastructure to get the crosswalk done.

MI would set up a traffic study at a time of the city's choosing to determine if a crosswalk makes sense.

The city will likely choose a time in July when that street will be busy to start the traffic study.

MI will send someone out to watch the intersection and count how many cars drive by and people cross the street.

If MI decides they won’t build the crosswalk for the city, Dauphin has the option of paying for it themselves.

That would have to wait until 2020 because of the budget being used for this year.

Details: Contributed by Isaac Wihak; Published: Feb 6, 2019 - 9:20 am

The Keystone Ag Producers annual general meeting has come to a close.

Five resolutions were brought up today.

Some of them included:

That KAP lobby the Government of Canada to do further research on a point of delivery check-off system, in place of trailing or end point royalties,

and

That KAP lobby the Government of Canada and the Government of Manitoba to provide more resources to help innovate farms and value-added enterprises to get established in Manitoba.

The highlight of the morning was TSN’s Michael Lansberg speaking about depression. His presentation went on for an extra 20 minutes with so many questions from the crowd.

The Manitoba Young Farmers Conference continues for a bit in the afternoon. Today was their first day of a two-day conference.

Benjamin Schwab will be heading to Brandon tomorrow for the Manitoba Beef Producers AGM at the Victoria Inn.

Details: Contributed by Josh Sigurdson; Published: Feb 6, 2019 - 8:51 am

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.