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2^nd St. NE between 3^rd Ave. NE and 4^th Ave. NE will be closed at 7 this morning.

The road will be closed to all traffic as crews repair a water main break.

The City says to be prepared to detour.

Details

Contributed by Isaac Wihak

Published: Feb 17, 2021 - 5:46 am

Although the Fusion Credit Union (FCU) board election isn’t until the end of March, the recruitment process for nominees is open.

FCU Chief Innovation Officer Michelle Mazurkewich says this election is significant because their election is done through a democratic voting process by the credit union members.

“Each of our members have the ability to use their voice to elect the candidate that they feel would be best suited for that position. We start the process by proactively recruiting potential candidates and really, for us, that increases our opportunity to bring new skill sets to the existing board of directors.”

Fusion’s focus right now is the impact of COVID-19 on the industry and members, both personal and business, and how to support them through the pandemic related challenges. Another focal point is technology and security, which includes some initiatives that will be released throughout the year.

Candidate nominations are open until midnight on February 28^th. Following that, all potential candidates will be reviewed and interviewed.

The election is from March 22^nd to April 2^nd and will be done online and in-branch.

Mazurkewich says the election results will be announced at their AGM at the end of April.

“For this year, we four seats available, three three-year terms and one two-year term up and that is one seat within each of our four districts. So, no matter which branch or community you deal with, you have an opportunity to put your name forward.”

Fusion will announce more details on the election as the date gets nearer. Nomination forms are available at any Fusion branch or by calling (204)571-3923.

Details

Contributed by Isaac Wihak

Published: Feb 17, 2021 - 5:39 am

An Edmonton man is facing forgery charges after attempting to fill a prescription for a type of cough medication in Portage la Prairie.

On Friday, Feb. 12, RCMP were called to a pharmacy on Saskatchewan Avenue in Portage la Prairie.

Officers were told that a 30-year-old man had dropped off a prescription to be filled for cough medication containing codeine, and that the prescription had been forged.

RCMP were informed the man had tried to fill the prescription at another local pharmacy, and left the store in an SUV.

Officers located the vehicle and arrested Badal Kaahin Kaafi from Edmonton, Alberta.

A search of the vehicle found two bottles of the same medication dispensed at a pharmacy in Winnipeg.

RCMP seized two bottles of cough medication containing codeine, a highly addictive opioid.

Kaafi is facing charges including possession of an opioid for the purpose of trafficking and possession of a forged document.

He will appear in court at a later date.

Details

Contributed by Tess Kovach

Published: Feb 16, 2021 - 4:11 pm

An extreme cold warning has been lifted in many parts of southern Manitoba today, after being in place for about 10 days.

That period of time saw extreme overnight temperatures around -50 in many parts of the province, with frigid daytime temperatures.

A much more favourable forecast for the Parkland shows the temperatures progressively warming up throughout the week.

A high of plus 4 is forecasted in Dauphin to start next week.

Details

Contributed by Matt Hamel

Published: Feb 16, 2021 - 3:10 pm

Health officials are reporting four deaths and 167 new cases of COVID-19 over a two-day period.

Today’s numbers have been combined with yesterday’s as there was no COVID-19 bulletin due to the Louis Riel holiday.

 71 cases were identified on Monday, and 96 were identified today.

The four deaths announced are all from Winnipeg.

Today’s new COVID-19 cases are in the following health region:
• 13 cases in Interlake–Eastern health region
• 93 cases in the Northern health region 
• two cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region
• eight cases in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region
• 51 cases in the Winnipeg health region

The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 5.9 percent provincially and 4.5 percent in Winnipeg.

There have been a total of 30,932 cases reported province-wide. The total number of deaths is 875.

There are 1,625 active cases in the province and 28,432 people have recovered from COVID-19.

There are 86 people in hospital with active COVID-19 and 144 people in hospital who are no longer infectious but continue to require care, for a total of 230 hospitalizations.

There are 13 people in intensive care units with active COVID-19 and 13 people who are no longer infectious but continue to require critical care, for a total of 26 ICU patients.

According to the province’s data, there are active cases in the following Parkland health districts:

Dauphin (1), Riding Mountain (0), Swan River (0), Porcupine Mountain (5), Duck Mountain (0), Asessippi (14), Little Saskatchewan (0), Whitemud (0), and Agassiz Mountain (1). Brandon has 11 active cases. 

In the Interlake, the Eriksdale/Ashern health district has 13 active cases, while Fisher/Peguis has 28.

Details

Contributed by Tess Kovach

Published: Feb 16, 2021 - 12:56 pm

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has tabled new gun legislation that would allow municipalities to ban handguns through bylaws.

He says the bylaws can restrict the possession, storage, and transportation of handguns and the measures will be backed up with serious penalties including jail time for those violating municipal rules.

Gun-control advocates have been pressing for a national ban on handguns, saying that leaving it up to municipalities will create an ineffective patchwork of regulations.

This long-promised bill also proposes a buyback of recently banned firearms considered by the government, “assault-style weapons”.

In addition, the bill includes an increase in criminal penalties for gun smuggling and trafficking and enhances the capacity of police and border officers to keep illegal firearms out of Canada.

New offences for altering the cartridge magazine of a firearm and tighter restrictions on importing ammunition would also be created.

Details

Contributed by Isaac Wihak

Published: Feb 16, 2021 - 10:20 am

Yesterday afternoon around 1:40, firefighters in Brandon responded to a fire at Inland Kenworth.

It’s reported that fuel tanks were rupturing and exploding.

Fire crews worked until 12:30 a.m. this morning to get the fire under control and the Brandon Fire Emergency Services is still on scene.

During the fire, the Trans Canada Highway was closed and traffic was rerouted until approximately 10 p.m. last night.

No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Details

Contributed by Isaac Wihak

Published: Feb 16, 2021 - 5:51 am

Manitoba RCMP have confirmed a 59-year-old man died in a structure fire in Dauphin. 

Emergency crews arriving at the scene Friday night on 2nd Avenue NE were advised that it was believed someone was still inside.

Police say once the fire was extinguished, firefighters entered the structure and removed the man, who was pronounced dead.

There were no other injuries reported and the cause of the fire is believed to be accidental.

RCMP say the investigation is ongoing.

Details

Contributed by 730 CKDM

Published: Feb 15, 2021 - 3:45 pm

There’s no update on COVID-19 numbers in Manitoba from health officials today, due to the Louis Riel Day holiday.

We’ll have to wait until tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. for the next COVID bulletin and in-person press conference with public health officials.

There were 100 new cases of COVID-19 identified on Saturday, and 80 on Sunday.

A total of six deaths over the weekend brings the province’s total to 871 deaths due to COVID-19.

Last week Manitoba recorded its first known case of the virus variant first noticed in the U.K. and federal health officials are saying the more contagious variants have now been identified in all ten provinces.

Canada is expecting the flow of vaccines to pick back up soon, after a weeks-long delay in vaccine shipments due to Pfizer-BioNTech took a pause to scale up operations at their manufacturing facility in Europe.

Manitoba reached a testing milestone this weekend and has completed 500,000 tests for COVID-19 at provincial sites.

Dr. Brent Roussin used that as an opportunity to remind Manitobans they must immediately self-isolate and get tested for COVID-19 as soon as they have symptoms, no matter how mild they seem.

The number of active cases in the Dauphin health district is four, according to the latest update from the province on Sunday.

Details

Contributed by Matt Hamel

Published: Feb 15, 2021 - 11:49 am

Louis Riel Day in Manitoba is viewed as an opportunity to celebrate the Métis culture, and that celebration will look quite different this year.

Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) President David Chartrand says even though COVID has put many of the usual events on hold — Monday’s celebration will still be all about family. 

“From the Metis side, it’s about family. It’s about coming together as a community, as a family. Looking at people as equals. So it’s clearly looking at Manitobans as equals and Manitobans should be proud of who we are.”

President Chartrand tells CKDM he thinks the most important aspect of Louis Riel Day is to truly give respect to the first Premier; the founder of Manitoba. 

“It’s recognition for his contribution to creating the province of Manitoba and also bringing western Canada to Confederation. We can never forget that.”

To listen to President Chartrand's interview with CKDM News Director Matt Hamel, click here.

Special Online Celebration

The Northwest Metis Council in Dauphin is hosting a “Virtual Celebration” of Louis Riel Day in Conjunction with National Indigenous People’s Day

The event will feature jigging and square dancing, a snow sculpture contest, cultural presentation videos music and more.

The events gets underway at 9 a.m. and can be viewed here.

“Even though COVID is trying to steal it from us, we’re still going to make sure we have some way of getting our pride out," says President Chartrand, "and the pride we have for the father of Manitoba on display for all of society, not just for the Metis people.”

More Events To Celebrate Louis Riel Day.

Founder and owner of the Asham Stompers, Arnold Asham, says the High Flyin, High Steppin Asham Stompers will host a Virtual Performance on Louis Riel Day.

Asham says the special performance Monday night will feature some things not seen in a regular show,  with a lot more individual performances.

"My people will sleep for one hundred years, but when they awake, it will be the artists who give them their spirit back" - Louis Riel

Referencing the famous Louis Riel quote, Asham says "that’s exactly what’s happening. Indigenous people are flourishing with their music, powwows and dance. I don’t know how Louis Riel figured that out 150 years ago, but he did."

The virtual show starts at 7 p.m., and is free to view and will be available online by clicking here.

Details

Contributed by Matt Hamel

Published: Feb 15, 2021 - 8:00 am