New Provincial Park in Lake Winnipegosis

Pemmican Island, located in the north basin of Lake Winnipegosis, has been designated as Manitoba's 93rd provincial park.

The island is 27 hectares in size and boasts limestone outcrops and cliffs, and trees like Manitoba maple, trembling aspen, and American elm. There are also several species of birds protected by legislation. Some of those birds include the double-crested cormorant (pictured above), Caspian tern, and common merganser.

The province's minister of Natural Resources and Northern Development, Greg Nesbitt, made the announcement yesterday. Nesbitt said the island will be protected and will stay undeveloped, to ensure people are able to enjoy the natural sites. The island will also have continues access for Indigenous Peoples to hunt, trap, fish, and carry out cultural pursuits.

Since 1990, Manitoba has seen its protected and conserved land grow from 350,000 hectares to a little over 7,200,000. This represents around 11.1% of the entire province.

Details: Contributed by Alec Woolston; Published: Jul 26, 2023 - 6:44 am

The fog advisory that was issued this morning (July 26) has since been lifted.

ORIGINAL STORY BELOW:

Environment says a dense fog has developed over a large area of southwestern Manitoba. It shouldn't be around for too long as it is expected to taper off through the morning hours. Visibility may be significantly reduced at some spots.

See all active weather alerts in the province by clicking here.

Details: Contributed by Alec Woolston; Published: Jul 26, 2023 - 6:27 am

If you're looking to get a bottle of wine, some beer, or any alcoholic beverage in Dauphin and Swan River later this week, you have to slightly change your plans.

All unionized staff at Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries will strike on Wednesday and Thursday. That means the Liquor Mart in Dauphin and Swan River and many others across the province will be closed for the two days. MLL and MGEU continue to work at the bargaining table; however, MGEU is not happy with the current offer.

At this point, a two per cent wage increase each year was sent to MGEU, but it was declined. Kyle Ross, president of Manitoba General Employees Union, says they are looking for a 3.3 per cent wage increase, the same that Heather Stefanson and her cabinet are set to receive.

It is expected that the Liquor Mart in Dauphin and Swan River will be back open on Friday.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Jul 25, 2023 - 5:30 am

Glen McKenzie started his political service with the Town of Swan River in 1988 as a councillor.

Seven years later, Glen was elected mayor and he held that position for 22 years. During this time, Glen was a driving force in signing the first Treaty Land Entitlement (TLE) agreement with Sapotaweyak Cree Nation in 2012.

"We were the first municipality in Manitoba to have two TLE agreements in a municipality, so that was a big achievement," said McKenzie. "It set a precedent for many other municipalities and the documents that we used were used as templates for other municipalities to negotiate."

Glen was also presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Award in 2012. Then just more than 10 years later and very recently, Glen was presented with a lifetime membership to the Association of Manitoba (AMM) municipalities, which was announced by AMM president Cam Blight.

"To be recognized by your peers is very special," said McKenzie. "I did what I did for the good of the community and to be recognized, it's a real honour for me."

As he looks back at his time as mayor of the Town of Swan River, Glen said it was an incredible 22 years.

"It was a real honour for me to represent Swan River," offered McKenzie. "I was also very fortunate, I worked with great people. From our councillors to administrative staff to the city workers and everything in between, there are a lot of very skilled passionate people in Swan River."

McKenzie also says Swan River is an extremely special community to be a part of.

"The people are here are incredible, they are friendly and they work hard," ended McKenzie. "They are also community minded people, everyone rallies together to help out and get things done."

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Jul 25, 2023 - 5:00 am

As of November 30th, Canadians in crisis can dial 9-8-8 to speak or text with a trained responder in English or French at a new suicide-prevention hotline.

Mental Health Minister Carolyn Bennett says the government will spend $156-million dollars over three years to help the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health launch and operate the hotline.

It has been almost three years since Conservative M-P Todd Doherty put forward a motion to establish a national suicide prevention hotline, which Parliament passed unanimously.

We have reached out to Prairie Mountain Health for comment on this important news. If you are struggling with your mental health, there are several resources for you.

Resources:

Manitoba Suicide Line: 1-877-435-7170
Sexual Assault Crisis Line: 1-888-292-7565
Klinic Crisis Line: 1-888-322-3019
Manitoba Farm & Rural Support Services: 1-866-367-3276
Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Jul 24, 2023 - 4:37 pm

Pine Creek First Nation is set to break ground this week in a month-long search of an area where it is believed there may be graves of children forced to attend the Pine Creek Residential School.

The school was run by the Roman Catholic Church and was in operation from 1890 to 1969. The large section of land it was on also had a church. Beneath that church is where 14 anomolies were detected last year.

Spiritual advisers will lead a pipe ceremony while a sacred fire is lit, which will burn for the entirety of the excavation.

Chief Derek Nepinak says he believes his community is one of the first in Canada to begin excavating after detecting potential unmarked graves at former residential school sites.

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation has records of 21 deaths of children at the school. Survivors have also spoken about the abuses suffered there.

Details: Contributed by 730 CKDM; Published: Jul 24, 2023 - 6:55 am

Drumming, dancing, food, and festivities will be filling the Skownan First Nation this weekend as they host their 10th annual Traditional Powwow.

This celebration of cultural heritage kicks off today at 1 pm with the grand entry, and a busy day is in store.

Friday features lots of music and dancing, a massive community feast at 5 pm, and later in the night at 11 pm, a massive firework display will be going off.

Posted by Joseph Maud on Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Powwow Coordinator Joseph Maud has been working hard for the past 12 months to get everything ready, and he's excited to see all of the performers.

"We get a lot of dancers from neighboring communities and drums as well. sometimes we get drums from northern Manitoba and drums from Saskatchewan. I know one year we had 19 to 20 drums, that's a lot, and one year we had over 200 dancers"

Sunday will also feature an auction, starting promptly at 11 am.

Overall, it will be an amazing time for all that attend, as this Powwow is sure to be the biggest party of the year on the Skownan First Nation.

Details: Contributed by Michael Brossart; Published: Jul 22, 2023 - 9:57 am

The community of Neepawa is all coming together for the Riverbend Market which opens on Friday.

The market will from from 5 to 8 on Friday and then from 10 to 4 on Saturday and the $5 admission fee for everyone over the age of 13 will be donated to Neepawa's local multicultural centre, Arts Forward. Those aged 12 and under get in for free.

There will be various vendors, artisans, entrepreneurs and more, alongside face painting and a kid's craft booth on Saturday. There will also be music played at Riverbend Park.

Jeff Desender is an organizer of the event and he says this event is always extremely special.

"Seeing everyone from the community and so many familiar faces having a great time is always so nice to see," said Desender. "Everyone forgets about the negative things going on in the world and they just have a ton of fun."

The two-day event is open to everyone, regardless of if you are from Neepawa or not.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Jul 21, 2023 - 1:00 pm

An afternoon of kickflips and other impressive tricks will take place in Dauphin this Saturday.

The D-town Plaza Skate Park will be playing host to a skateboarding competition between the hours of 11 am and 5 pm.

The Event is being hosted in a joint effort between local clothing brand Young Visionary and Recovery Skateshop and will feature two age groups for the competition.

Skyler Sanderson, founder of Young Visionary is excited to bring a competition like this to his hometown.

"I think it's amazing. it's been a while since an event like this has taken place in Dauphin. I think it's good for the youth and good for everyone to be able to get out and enjoy some beautiful weather and see some skateboarding. I think it'll be a lot of fun."

The event kicks off with the under-18 category, and once that wraps up, the 18+ group will get rolling.

The event will also have merch vendors, food vendors, and a whole lot of excellent prizes for contestants that end in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.

A live rap/hip-hop performance will top off the excitement in the afternoon.

Sanderson also mentioned that this event is just the beginning.

In the future, he's hoping to host this event annually. He's looking to see this competition grow and flourish so it can bring in more vendors, pop-ups, and more talent from across the province and beyond.

Details: Contributed by Michael Brossart; Published: Jul 21, 2023 - 12:30 pm

The province's Consumer Protection and Government Services branch announced yesterday that the 2024 rent guideline will be at three per cent in 2024.

The increase will be effective on January 1st, 2024, and does not apply to:

Rental units going for $1,615 or more a month.
Various social housing units.
Rental units owned and operated by, or for, municipal, provincial or federal governments.
Rental units in buildings first occupied after March 2005.
Not-for-profit life lease units.
Co-operative units.
Approved rehabilitated rental units.

This will be the first time since 2021 that the rent guideline will increase after it was set at zero per cent for 2022 and 2023.

Rent prices can only be increased once per year and tenants must get written notice of a rent increase at least three months prior to the increase taking effect.

Landlords and tenants who want to learn more about rent increases can phone the Residential Tenancies Branch at 204-945-2476 or toll free at 1-800-782-8403.

Details: Contributed by Alec Woolston; Published: Jul 21, 2023 - 9:31 am

Manitoba's Provincial government has recently announced new funding totalling $28.3 million that will assist disabled students across the province.

In an announcement at the Ecole Macniell school, Protection and Government Services Minister James Teitsma and Dauphin MLA Brad Michaleski revealed the sum of funding, and the fact that $12 million of this will go towards schools in Dauphin-area school districts.

Michaleski spoke on the benefits that schools like Ecole Macniell will see, which coincidentally, is where he went to school.

"The issue of accessibility is important. We want to make sure that there's no barriers. We want to eliminate as many barriers for people and families. Minister Teitsma mentioned it too, there's other people that attend these schools, and they're going to make use of these accessibility features as well. Again, a great investment for all of Manitoba and all Manitoba communities"

In total, 35 schools will be receiving funding in order to allow as many students and families as possible to more easily access schools and resources.

The funding is designed to build new infrastructure in schools that will empower students that are affected by mental and physical disabilities, and Minister Teitsma thinks many students will benefit from this.

"I would definetly say it's in the thousands if not tens of thousands as we have 28 school. I think the idea of making spaces more welcome and inclusive is also an example for all the students who attend that school to understand how to integrate a person with disabilities in their lives and in their class rooms."

The construction projects range from accessible hygiene rooms, accessibility entry ramps, elevators to access all floors of the school, and several other forms of lifts for stairs, libraries, and gymnasiums.

The school divisions that will be seeing this funding are as follows: