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Sunrise Credit Union has named the winner of its 2025 "Our Manitoba" Photo Contest.

"Prairie Storm," a photo submitted by Dylan Bertholet of Lauder, was the top vote-getter among 30 finalists during a week-long public vote last month.

Initial submissions of 217 were whittled down to the 30 finalists by a panel of Sunrise C.U. staff.

Bertholet's winning entry was captured during a stormy evening last September.

He receives a $500 One-Year Term Deposit from Sunrise Credit Union for his winning entry, which will also be profiled in Sunrise Credit Union's 2026 calendar.

Kindergarten to Grade 8 students in the Mountain View School Division have had the chance this year to learn several types of indigenous dancing, such as square dancing, pow-wow, and jigging.

This Friday, they will have the chance to show off what they have learned through the first-ever Nagamon and Niimiidiwin Music Festival.

MVSD Indigenous Education Co-Ordinator Carole Shankaruk says it is important to celebrate an event like this.

"Indigenous people, and really the culture.  We know that when we talk about reconciliation, it is all of us - indigenous and non-indigenous - doing this work together.  And you know what, the students - no matter which school I visited about their learning - the students loved it."

Over 1,000 students are slated to take part in the festival, which will be held at Credit Union Place.

The event is closed to the public.

Dauphin Mayor Dave Bosiak will take to the mic on Tuesday for his annual State of the City address.

The mayor will recap what has taken place in the city over the past year, as well as look ahead to some future initiatives in Dauphin.

The event, presented by the Parkland Chamber of Commerce, is set for Tuesday morning, starting at 11:45 at the Parkland Rec Complex.

Tickets are available through the Chamber's website or by calling 204-622-3140.

CKDM News Now will be in attendance.

Murray Newton has been a member of the Rotary Club of Neepawa for 29 years.

This week is always pencilled on his calendar. It's Book Fair time. The Rotary Club of Neepawa's Book Fair starts Monday afternoon at 2 and runs until Friday evening. The hours each day are 2 to 8 at the Neepawa Rifle Range.

"It's always nice to see it underway," said Newton. "It's a lot of work to get all the books sorted and assembled in one spot and set up."

Murray says there are fiction books, plus just about anything you could imagine.

"We have special interest, history, romance, western, non-fiction," he added. "Cook books, kids' books, religious books. You name it, we have it."

Books are also very reasonably priced. 

"$2.50 per book, Harlequin is two for $1, and kids' books are five for $1," ended Newton. "Other than that, you're looking at $2.50 per book."

If you need books picked up, you can call Murray at 476-2542.

Dallas Smith is coming to rock Dauphin's Countryfest.

Kamryn Winters with Countryfest joined the Justin Allin Morning Show on Monday to announce that Default will headline the 730CKDM Rockin' Thursday Night Kick-Off Party. 

Default takes over for Toque, who will no longer hit the stage.

"It's very exciting, Default hasn't been around a lot since the early 2000s and that's when Dallas Smith was doing just rock music," said Winters. "He blended back into country and is doing that thing. It's going to be so great to see him coming back to Countryfest on Thursday night with Default."

On top of Default, Thursday night is set to be one to remember with several local acts.

"We have the Revolving Doors doing the Rolling Stones covers, we have Legion 183 from Minnedosa who donates funds back to their local legion," said Winters. "We also have Kate's Outlaw that will be doing their Tragically hip covers."

Tickets for the CKDM Thursday Night Kick-Off Party are just $30. That means for $30, you can take in an action-packed night to kick-off the festival of the summer.

"We want locals to come out. Come and experience an epic night to get the weekend going," ended Winters. "You get to see a whole whack load of bands for just $30 and we also have Battle of the Bands that night."

You can get tickets for Dauphin's Countryfest, June 26-29, here. You can also call 204-622-3700. 

The Swan Valley School Division (SVSD) has lost $2.2 million in federal funding to support First Nations children. This because of the sweeping changes to Jordan's Principle. 

As a result, the school division is cutting 40 educational assistants. 18 of the 40 were permanent educational assistants. The remaining 22 were term hires. The layoffs take effect at the end of June. 

Rob Tomlinson is the superintendent at the Swan Valley School Division, and he says the layoffs are detrimental.

"That's a lot of programming support. We gave the affected staff ample notice, we talked to the permanent and term EAs last Friday," said Tomlinson. "They said it best: this will impact our student programming."

Earlier this year, the Hanover School Division laid off 93 educational assistants in connection with an unexpected drop in federal support. As one of the largest employers in the region, SVSD includes eight schools. Benito School, Bowsman School, École Swan River South School, Heyes School, Minitonas School, Northern Lights Institute of Trades and Technology, Swan Valley Regional Secondary School, and Taylor Elementary School.

When speaking with the educational assistants, Rob stressed the great work they have done and are doing.

"I don't think we can say that enough. This has nothing to do with the performance of our educational assistants and the great work they're doing day in and day out with our students," said Tomlinson. "Some of our students that need the most care and attention. We're going to have to make some changes to our programming because we won't have those great people in our building supporting students."

Tracy Schmidt, the province's education minister, is working closely with Swan Valley and other divisions to make sure students have access to the services they need.

While Tomlinson is disappointed about the current situation, he knows SVSD will remain strong and adapt to the changes.

"We're very proud of our division. We have great programming from kindergarten to grade 12," ended Tomlinson. "While this is a challenge, our staff is creative and innovative. We're already doing problem solving when it comes to what the programming will look like next year. We have great people, they're problem solvers. We're going to get through this."

The owner of Redline Dodge Chrysler in Swan River doesn't understand why a Dauphin man is mad after he charged his electric vehicle (EV) in Swan River.

Earlier this year, John from Dauphin was in Swan River for a medical appointment and decided to charge his EV at the dealership, owned by Greg Ashauer. The cost to charge is $5.99 per minute, and John charged his vehicle for one hour and 53 minutes. 

The final bill was $681.36. Two weeks after leaving Swan River, John called the dealership looking for some of the funds back. 

"Whether he's upset or not, I really couldn't care less at this point. He phoned twice, 10 days before he came and asked multiple times what the price per minute was, and we made it extremely clear," said Ashauer. "The price is clearly marked on the charger in a big, bright blue digital display. Plus, the only way to charge is to stay connected to the app, which shows the price."

CKDM News caught up with John K on Monday morning.

"My jaw hit the ground, I was shocked," said Kolishyk. "I thought there was a mistake, maybe they put the decimal in the wrong place. I thought it would be $68.10."

Greg was forced to purchase the charger, installed last July, for $86,000. From January 1 to March 31 of this year, Greg reported a net profit of $3.68 for the first quarter. He concedes he'll never recoup the $86,000 he initially invested. He also has to pay additional fees every time someone uses the charger.

"Every Chrysler dealer had to buy at least one; some had to buy six or eight, depending on the size of the store," ended Ashauer. "At this point, it's just brain damage to me. I'm just going to shut it off. I would have never purchased this, there are a million other things that I could have spent that money on."

The province is planning to regulate EV charging costs. There are about 10,000 electric vehicles in Manitoba, and the normal fee for a full charge at a commercial charging station is about $20 per hour. 

"I talked to three people in the shop and not one of them mentioned that the price per minute was extremely high," ended John K. "I would have never used it if I knew the price."

Dauphin City Council is expected to approve a tender for work on their lagoon at their next meeting.

Mayor Dave Bosiak expects work to begin shortly, adding it is a major project that will take much of the year to complete.

"Once it is completed, we are not adding any cells or doing anything in terms of making the lagoon larger.  We are completely updating the way that the sewage is processed, and that there will be a continual discharge capability once the lagoon is upgraded."

Currently, the city lagoon holds sewage and only releases it twice a year.

Bosiak says the continual drainage once the work is completed will increase capacity in the lagoon by two to three times its current levels.

The RCMP are looking for Patrick Simmons.

The 50-year-old was last seen on April 30, while in Dauphin. He told a family member he was planning to travel to Somerset, however, he never arrived. He's described at 5'11", 200 pounds, balding, with brown/blonde hair on the sides. He was wearing a black/grey hoodie.

He may be driving a red, 2017 Ford F150 with Manitoba license plate, GZY 597.

If you know where he could be, call the Ste. Rose RCMP at 447-3082.

Manitoba Hydro is asking agricultural producers to remember to be careful with farm machinery around power lines and other infrastructure. Already this spring, there have been several incidents where farm equipment contacting hydro equipment has resulted in significant damage. Fortunately, in the incidents, there were no injuries; the damaged tower in one incident has since been replaced, and service has been restored.

Manitoba Hydro reminds producers that farm equipment is bigger than ever and can more easily come into contact with and damage electrical infrastructure.

If producers do contact an overhead powerline, producers should not exit their equipment. Stay in the equipment or vehicle and call 911 immediately to report the contact. Emergency personnel will coordinate with Manitoba Hydro so that their crews can respond and make the area safe as quickly as possible.

The Dauphin Friendship Centre (DFC) is thrilled to announce the creation of the Jeremy Smith Memorial Bursary.

Jeremy passed away on October 20, 2023, and as Jarri Thompson of the DFC says, Smith was a person who left a lasting impression on everyone he met.

"Jeremy was a longtime member of the Friendship Centre here in Dauphin and has touched the lives of countless people," offered Thompson. "Creating the bursary is a way to honour his legacy."

There are two bursaries, one for $1000 and a second for $500. To be considered, you must be accepted into a post-secondary institution and demonstrate a commitment to community service, social work, or initiatives that exhibit kindness, compassion, and a desire to contribute to the well-being of others.

"We thought long and hard about how we were going to keep his name and memory alive throughout the community," continued Thompson. "What better way to create this bursary that will go on for years to come. Students in the community will get to know who he was and his contributions."

Your application must include an essay showing your volunteer involvement, both at school and within the community. It should also highlight both short-term and long-term goals. This bursary is open to graduating students throughout the Parkland, not just Dauphin.

Applications are due by May 23 at 4:30 p.m. They've been distributed to all high schools in the region, and you can also pick one up at the Friendship Centre in Dauphin. Completed applications should be emailed to executivedirector@dauphinfc.ca 

"I don't think you can put to words what Jeremy Smith meant to the community," ended Thompson. "He believed in the potential of everyone that crossed his path. If you met him, you weren't just another person, you were special."