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Rockin the Fields of Minnedosa is once again placed on pause because of COVID-19.
The festival’s president, Al Logan says restrictions and suggested summer guidelines for Manitoba events are making planning the festival difficult, if not impossible.
“The safety and comfort level of our patrons, volunteers, artists and staff are some of the driving factors behind the postponement.”
Organizers are excited to announce that Our Lady Peace have reconfirmed that they will perform at next year’s festival, scheduled for July 29th – 31st 2022. More lineup details will be released in the coming months.
All tickets purchased for 2020/21 will be valid for 2022. Current ticket purchasers will be emailed with ticket roll-over information, exclusive incentives and refund options in the coming weeks.
More information will also be released at rockinthefields.ca.
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- Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson
"It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,'' the palace said. "His Royal Highness passed away peacefully on Friday morning at Windsor Castle.''
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a brief statement outside 10 Downing Street, saying Philip "earned the affection of generations here in Britain, across the Commonwealth and around the world.''
Opposition Labour party leader Keir Starmer issued a statement saying Philip "will be remembered most of all for his extraordinary commitment and devotion to The Queen.''
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival (CNUF) will be hosted virtually for the second consecutive year.
The festival’s board of directors says the decision to hold off on the usual in-person event is necessary due to the uncertainty around public health rules on large group gatherings this summer.
The 2021 festival — which will run from July 30th to August 1st — will once again aim to provide the best possible virtual entrainment to showcase Ukrainian culture and the spirit of the festival.
A press release from CNUF’s board states they are confident “if we continue to follow guidelines and safety protocols now in place, we will be able to celebrate at our in-person festival on August long weekend, 2022.”
All current ticket holders who carried over their tickets will be contacted in the coming weeks, with options and details.
More information will be available soon on social media and their website CNUF.ca
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
The province is updating the personal care home visitor guidelines.
This will allow up to two general visitors to visit a resident at the same time, provided the visit occurs outdoors, and one general visitor in a COVisitation shelter or designated indoor visitation room.
Visitors will be required to wear a medical-grade mask, which will be provided by the facility.
In-room visitation continues to be limited to designated family caregivers and end-of-life circumstances.
As the weather gets warmer, public health officials continue to recommend that visits take place outdoors as much as possible, as the risk of COVID-19 transmission is significantly less than in an indoor setting.
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- Contributed by 730 CKDM
Health officials announced 139 new cases of COVID-19 and three deaths Thursday.
A man and two women all over the age of 70 and from the Winnipeg Health region died from the virus.
18 cases were added in the Prairie Mountain Health region today — and the Swan River health district still has four active cases of COVID-19.
The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 4.8 per cent provincially and 4.6 per cent in Winnipeg. The total number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba is 34,793.
Officials have detected another 37 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant of concern — 32 are in Winnipeg and two in the Prairie Mountain Health region.
There are 1,066 active cases and 32,781 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19.
There are 58 people in hospital with active COVID-19 as well as 83 people in hospital with COVID-19 who are no longer infectious but continue to require care, for a total of 141 hospitalizations.
There are 13 people in intensive care units with active COVID-19 as well as 20 people with COVID-19 who are no longer infectious but continue to require critical care, for a total of 33 ICU patients.
Today’s new COVID-19 cases are in the following health regions:
• zero cases in the Interlake–Eastern health region
• 55 cases in the Northern health region
• 18 cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region
• six cases in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region
• 60 cases in the Winnipeg health region
According to the province’s data, there are active cases of COVID-19 in the following Parkland health districts: Swan River (4), Dauphin (0), Riding Mountain (1), Duck Mountain (3), Agassiz Mountain (0), Porcupine Mountain (30), Asessippi (6). Brandon has seven active cases.
In the Interlake, the Eriksdale/Ashern health district has no active cases of COVID-19. The Fisher/Peguis health district has two active cases.
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- Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson
As the weather is getting warmer, the province has issued a reminder to be careful with any spring burning activities, and to make sure you have the required burn permits.
Southern and central Manitoba are especially dry this spring because of low moisture levels in the fall.
As a precaution, travel and burning restrictions have been implemented in some areas; meaning permits could be limited to essential burning operations, or cancelled entirely.
Before burning, permit holders are reminded to check the weather, have adequate suppression equipment, and make sure proper fuel breaks are in place. They should also never leave a fire unattended.
The public can contact their municipalities or their local Conservation and Climate officers for updates. They can also visit Manitoba.ca/wildfire for the latest information on burning restrictions.
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- Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson
The Manitoba Maple Syrup Festival in McCreary is happening this Friday and Saturday.
Last year’s festival was cancelled due to COVID-19, but the 9th annual festival happening this Friday and Saturday is able to proceed with some in-person events.
President of the Manitoba Maple Syrup Festival, Pam Little, says a lot of the regular activities are still scheduled this year, but the usual “Sugarbush Visit” will need to be virtual this year.
“We take people out in horse and wagon and we have a fire where they do bannock on a stick and it’s a great outing, and hopefully on the 10th year [next year] we will be back to that.”
The festival highlights include:
Friday: Drive-in movie – The Croods 2 - $10/vehicle
Saturday: Farmers Market at the McCreary Community Centre, Family Scavenger hunt, geocaching, maple pancakes at Linda’s Diner
Virtual Manitoba Maple Syrup Festival online: Horse & wagons trip and tour at the sugar bush, learn about tapping and producing Manitoba maple syrup, listen to entertainers Ian Porteous, Rose Desjarlais and the Campbell’s.
Pam Little says people can learn a lot from the festival.
“That’s what’s great about our festival, it’s very authentic. You can come to the festival and you will be tapping trees in your backyard soon after.”
The full schedule of events can be seen and tickets can be purchased at www.mbmaplesyrupfest.ca.
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- Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson
Fire departments from Sifton and Dauphin put out a blaze on Wednesday afternoon southeast of Sifton.
The Sifton Fire Department was dispatched to a report of a grass fire at 3:10 p.m. The fire was under a valid burn permit and the property owner was present.
Just over an hour later, reports came in that the wind had caused flames to jump the road onto an adjacent property to the west.
The fire was under control by 8 p.m., and Dauphin Fire Chief Cam Abrey issued a reminder to never leave a fire unattended, and says although crop residue burning is allowed in our area at this time, residents are reminded to check weather forecasts and closely monitor prescribed burns.
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- Contributed by 730 CKDM
Manitoba’s budget presented on Wednesday focuses on rent freezes, changes to taxes, and has a strong emphasis on supporting the province’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Finance Minister Scott Fielding released Budget 2021, saying “we will grow our way out of deficit and back into balance by investing in more jobs, tax relief and economic growth.”
The province projects a deficit of $1.597 billion for 2021-22, an improvement from the third quarter projection for 2020-21 of $2.08 billion.
The first priority laid out in Budget 2021 is to protect Manitobans through the ongoing pandemic.
It includes $1.18 billion in 2021-22 for COVID-19 costs including personal protective equipment (PPE), vaccine deployment, education supports and future needs.
Health-care funding increases by $156 million to the highest level in Manitoba history, $6.98 billion
The province says it will continue to address poverty in Manitoba by ensuring safe and affordable housing and strengthening social services, supported by a nearly $34-million increase to the Department of Families.
Click here to see more details on Budget 2021.
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- Contributed by 730 CKDM
Ste. Rose RCMP are searching for a man facing multiple charges.
36-year-old Manuel Patrick Houle has a warrant out for his arrest, and is facing charges including assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm, forcible entry, unauthorized possession of a firearm, and failure to comply with a release order.
Houle’s location is unknown at this time but police say he may be in Ebb and Flow First Nation, Sandy Bay First Nation, or Lake Manitoba First Nation.
RCMP ask that if you’ve seen him or have any information to call the Ste. Rose detachment at 204-447-3082, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or secure a tip online.
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- Contributed by Tess Kovach
The Manitoba government has lowered the vaccine eligibility criteria for the general public to 62 years or older, and 42 and older for First Nations people.
Limited appointments at pop-up clinics are available at this time due to a recent delay in shipments of the Moderna vaccine. There has yet to be any follow-up announcement on when the postponed pop-up clinics will be rescheduled.
Appointments to receive the Pfizer vaccine at supersites in Brandon, Winnipeg, Thompson, Selkirk and Morden remain available.
Appointments for super sites or pop-ups can be made by calling (toll-free) 1-844-626-8222 (1-844-MAN-VACC).
Next week there will be two telephone town halls focused on the province’s COVID-19 immunization campaign held by Manitoba health officials.
A session for rural and northern Manitoba will take place on Tuesday, April 13 at 6:30 p.m.
Registration is open until noon on the day of the events. To participate, people can register at EngageMB.ca
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
