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The provincial government has some different faces in important portfolios.
Yesterday Premier Brian Pallister shuffled his cabinet in the midpoint between elections.
Local MLA Brad Michaleski spoke with us this morning and says overall the changes will benefit the Parkland.
“Our government is very, very focused on our key goals of fixing our finances and repairing our services and ultimately repairing our economy. That’s huge. We remain focused on that and that’s what’s going to be good for the Parkland."
Michaleski says he doesn’t read too much into the changes.
“I like the opportunity, that we’re getting a lot of positive feedback on the changes that we’re making already and that’s boosting confidence and that bodes well for the Parkland. So, it’s not a direct impact on the Parkland but definitely in the broader scheme of things, absolutely we’re doing the right thing towards getting growth in the Parkland."
Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen moves to Education and Finance Minister Cameron Friesen moves to Health. With this shuffle, there will be no change in the government’s plan to bring a MRI machine to Dauphin.
“I know Minister Goertzen, he put a really big shift in for the time that he’s been minister. He’s done an excellent job of that file. Minister Friesen, I expect the exact same thing, but really no, in terms of the MRI there will be no changes that I know of.”
With two years into their mandate, Michaleski says it’s good to get a new set of eyes on important issues.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
A standing hearing will take place next month to determine who can participate in the upcoming inquest into the death of a man in Dauphin’s Correctional Centre.
In July 2016 Freeman Zong was in custody at the DCC where he died by suicide.
The next session will allow the crown to update the judge on how many witnesses they will call and figure out how many days will be needed for the inquest.
It’s scheduled for September 26th and a date for the inquest to begin has not yet been set.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
18th annual Dauphin Street Fair and Dance is taking place today.
The fair is the kick off to Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival!
Stephen Chychota, the Executive Director for the Dauphin and District Chamber of Commerce says you shouldn’t miss it.
“People should check out EVERYTHING! Come check out downtown Dauphin, because we’ve got vendors, we’ve got food vendors, we’ve got a kids section, we’ve got ag heritage set up, a bunch of relics. We’ve got live entertainment, local people on stage all day. So we got them started at 10 in the morning and they are going to be up there until midnight tonight.”
Getting around Dauphin is a little tricky. The city has put up no parking signs all around the affected streets. Chychota gives some tips for those heading to the fair needing to find a parking spot.
“A little bit crazy with parking just because we are taking up such a big area of downtown. But, there are some locations around the area, there are some parking lots that people could take advantage of. Also be mindful of, kind of your time limits when you’re parking out on the street and where you are.” He continues, “Ya, there are some parking spots that are available kind of in the area. One of the best ones would be the City of Dauphin parking lot by the chiropractic centre.”
The street fair is taking place from 8 in the morning till 12 tonight with the beer gardens opening at 5.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Kinsmen Aquatic Centre in Dauphin, once again, is closed.
They have shut down for the remainder today’s public swim.
They expect to be open again this evening for the 5:00 pm Aqua Fit Classes.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Some of you may have received a higher than usual Manitoba Hydro bill last month.
If you did, that likely means you haven't been a Manitoba Hydro customer for long.
"If you don't have a long billing history, our system was giving more weight to the weather data," said Scott Powell, Manitoba Hydro Director of Communications. "Seeing as we've had the hottest summer in the past 30 years, those customers who had a very short or non-existent billing history, the system absolutely weighted heavily towards weather. So, that resulted in the much higher estimated bills then you would normally see."
If you received a bill that's more than $400, Manitoba Hydro is working to correct that.
"We've begun manually reviewing any estimated residential bill that's over that amount," said Powell. "And, if it's found to be seriously out of the ordinary, we're adjusting them manually before sending to customers."
Also if you received a higher than usual bill, now is the time to speak up so you can get it adjusted.
"Read your meter right away if your bill is higher than you think it should be, and call us at 204-480-5900, or 1-888-MB-Hydro," he added. "We will then take a look at their estimated bill and their meter reading and adjust it accordingly. We understand the frustration that customers would have if they received a higher bill."
To submit your meter reading online, head to Manitoba Hydro Meter Reading.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
Bill Campbell is the new president of the Keystone Ag producers.
He was appointed by the board of directors.
He is replacing Dan Mazier who stepped down early in July to pursue a federal party nomination.
Campbell served as KAP vice-president for the last year and a half, and before that he was involved with KAP at the district level and on the board of directors.
“I accept the presidency with great enthusiasm, and look forward to engaging with our grassroots farmer membership, as well as with industry stakeholders and government, “ Campbell said.
Campbell is a fourth-generation farmer near Minto, with 2,640 acres – 1,700 of them seeded to annual crops. He also runs a purebred Limousin cattle operation.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Parrish & Heimbecker is building a new crop input centre and grain terminal.
The new facility, which will be named Grand Plains and located close to Gilbert Plains, will house 25,000-30,000 tonnes of grain storage with a receiving capacity of 550 tonnes per hour and a load-out capacity of 1,500 tonnes per hour.
The site will also have a bulk fertilizer shed located on CN Railway to provide greater access to fertilizer markets across North America and around the globe.
The fertilizer shed will have a 6,000 tonne capacity and blending capability of 250 tonnes per hour. A chemical storage shed, seed treating facilities and new grain drying system will also be located on site.
They made the announcement this morning as part of their FIT trials taking place today.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
A house fire in the southeast section of Dauphin last night is being treated as suspicious.
The Dauphin Fire Department responded to the fire at approximately 10:30 last night, where a small fire was found in front of the home, and on the siding of the home which the DFD was able to extinguish.
All of the occupants of the home were able to evacuate with no injuries.
If anyone has any information regarding the fire, you're asked to call the RCMP at 622-5020.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
The provincial government is planning to amalgamate conservation districts.
Intermountain Conservation district is expected to join with Tuttle River based around the Dauphin Lake water basin.
Jeff Thiele, I-M-C-D Manager says the size might be an issue.
“The two boards of Turtle River and Intermountain, we’re worried about the size of it and maybe some loss of local input of it. It would be a very large district, probably about 13 or 14 municipalities. It would go all the way from McCreary, Kelwood area all the way up to Cowan and all the way over past Grandview and Bield area. So it’s quite a large area, currently, it would be the largest watershed district in Manitoba.”
Thiele continues saying there has been no formal announcement yet.
“the province hasn’t told us this 100 percent for sure, but everything is indicating that it’s going to go this way and then I guess it would be likely up to the new board of directors to decide what will happen as far as where the offices are and staff and all that.”
Thiele expects a formal announcement to be made at an already planned meeting in Dauphin this upcoming October.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Starting tonight parking on streets where the Dauphin & District Chamber of Commerce‘s Annual Street Fair is taking place won’t be allowed.
“No Parking” barricades will be put up on affected streets this evening to prevent vehicles from parking in the area.
The barricades will be on Main Street N from 4th Ave to 2nd Ave that’s from Canada Post to CIBC and on 3rd Ave NE from 1st Street NW to the first back lane of 3rd Ave NE meaning the United Church to Nutters.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
The Provincial wide gun amnesty program in June collected almost 700 firearms and more than 22 thousand rounds of ammunition.
The program took place the entire month of June and allowed for people to turn in unwanted firearms and ammunition.
Some notable items collected included explosives shell and a cannonball.
“We take the safety of our families and our communities very seriously,” said Justice Minister Heather Stefanson. “By encouraging Manitobans to turn in these unwanted firearms and ammunition we did our part in ensuring that illegal or stolen guns never make it into the wrong hands.”
So far, the Dauphin detachment has collected 256 rounds of ammunition, 3 rifles, and 1 shotgun.
The majority of the firearms and ammunition surrendered during the amnesty will be destroyed. A very small number will be kept for historical, educational, or training purposes.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
