Accessibility Tools

A new court date has been set for a Swan River man that has admitted to an armed robbery outside of a business in that community last February. 

Two teens reported that a man wielding a hammer made off with an unknown amount of cash.

21-year-old Jefferson Cook will return to court in Dauphin on April 9th. 

Day passes for the 35th edition of Dauphin's Countryfest go on sale this Thursday.

Countryfest General Manager Kamryn Winters says day passes will be available as of 10 am that day.

"You can get them at Countryfest dot ca or by calling us at 1-800-361-7300.  Day passes are on sale for $119, and then they do go up in price after the early bird deadline on April 30th, along with everything else, so definitely get your day passes or weekend passes.  If you say you are going to Countryfest and you know that you are going and you do not have your tickets yet, just lock them in now."

"(After April 30th), Day passes will be going up to $139, plus taxes and fees.  Weekend passes are sitting at $249 right now, which is a great deal since there will be around 100 bands over the weekend.  And then they do go up to $299 plus fees and taxes starting on May 1."

This year's lineup includes the likes of Alabama, Clint Black, Jodee Messina and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. 

Countryfest is set for June 28th to 30th at the Selo Ukraina site. 

Manitobans eager to book camping spots in provincial parks for this summer will not have to wait much longer. 

The province says it will begin accepting online reservations as of April 8th at 7 am.

They add reservations will be staggered over five days to accommodate the expected high demand, with a virtual waiting room and the queuing system being used on opening day for online reservations.

Anyone looking to camp this summer at Rainbow Beach, Manipogo, Asessippi, or at Blue Lakes, Childs Lake, and Wellman Lake in the Duck Mountains can start booking spots as of 7 am on Thursday, April 11th. 

Reservations can be made online at www.manitobaparks.com or by calling the toll-free line at 1-888-482-2267. 

A Little Greenhouse That Could is going to lift up Agriculture in urban centers.

Trina Semenchuck operates "The Little Green House That Could", a business that designs and operates Vertical Farms and helps set up pilot projects in schools.

She'll be offering a special Presentation hosted by Lieutenant Governor Anita R. Neville.

"It's on April 9th. it'll be at the Lieutenant Governor's house and they do have a number you can call to book a seat. beyond that, I do have a website people can check out, littlegreenhousethatcould.ca."

The number to call for this event is 204-945-2753.

Semenchuck is thrilled to see the new heights of urban agriculture her work could inspire.

"When you think about verticle farming, you think about the role that agriculture plays in building a society, and how this could really help us build a sustainable innovation future in Manitoba."

Stay Tuned to Monday's Noon-hour Edition of Agri-view for the Full Conversation with Trine Semenchuck on Vertical farming.

After falling short of the cap last year, the Provincial Government is looking to meeting the Immigration numbers presented by the federal government.

Mayala Marcelino, the current NDP immigration minister is looking to meet the maximum immigration number this year, as she says it would mean a lot economically to our province.

Manitoba's previous PC government had successfully lobbied Ottawa to increase the province's allotment from 6,325 nominees in 2022 to 9,500 nominees in 2023 to address labour shortages, but the province failed to process about 2,000 applications in time.

Marcelino is also aiming to reduce the time between a skilled immigrant receiving their letter of invitation to apply and then receiving their nomination certificate, which now exceeds the recommended six months. She's planning for the province to return to the target timeline by the fall.

In 2023, Manitoba issued 7,348 of the 9,500 available nominations through the provincial nominee program. About 1,000 nominations were processed in December alone.

The Issue of Overwhelmed vet clinics and stray pets might have an answer through mobile spay and neuter clinics.

The Northern and Remote Veterinary Care initiative was announced by Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn and Indigenous Economic Development Minister Ian Bushie which supports the Humane Societies One Health Program, and "Feed The Furbabies Canada".

This initiative includes $100,000 in funding to the One Health Program to enhance mobile spay and neuter clinics in northern and remote communities.

This will include the creation of the provincial veterinarian for animal welfare, who will lead Manitoba’s animal welfare program. This position will complement the work of the existing chief veterinary officer who will now focus on the health of both commercial and companion animals.

Kostyshyn adds an additional $100,000 to the Winnipeg Humane Society will be used to support the efforts of Feed the Furbabies Canada in its work to support spay and neutering clinics and supply food and supplies for animals in need across Manitoba

working together, these organizations will focus on feeding sheltered animals and providing a higher standard of care for remote northern communities.

A boil Water Advisory has been issued for anyone in the Municipality of McCreary.

A drop in water pressure was measured in the public system and boiling water is recommended until further notice.

Water should be brought to a rolling boil for at least a minute if it's being used for drinking, preparing any food or drinks, and brushing your teeth.

If boiling water is not a readily available option, acquiring bottled water or other safe, drinkable water sources is recommended.

If you have questions or concerns about this advisory, you can contact the regional Drinking Water Officer at 204 621 7962, or the McCreary Municipal Office at 204-835-2649

Weather Canada has upgraded their snowfall forecast to a snowfall warning, as winter refuses to acknowledge that we're officially into spring.

A low-pressure system from Montana is sweeping through Saskatchewan and Manitoba, dumping up to 10 centimeters of snow across the area.

Rapidly accumulating snow will make travel difficult. Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways, and parking lots may become difficult to navigate due to accumulating snow.

Be prepared to adjust your driving to changing road conditions.

Plans to scrap some education-tax rebates in favor of a single $15,000 property tax credit for every home are expected to be in the next provincial budget.

The change proposed for next year would mean every Manitoba household subject to $1,500 of provincial property taxes or less in 2025 won't pay any provincial property taxes at all.

This move would eliminate both the 50-per-cent provincial property tax rebate and $350 education tax credit in 2025, and In their place, every property subject to provincial property taxes would receive up to $1,500 off those taxes.

Conversely, residential properties with higher valuations would pay more provincial property taxes next year.

The NDP government would not say how much additional revenue Manitoba would raise from provincial property taxes in 2025 as a result of shifting the tax burden to more valuable properties.

Notably, The change in property tax credits will not affect municipal property taxes, which are applied on the same bill.

Now that construction on the first phase of Maamawi Park is set to begin later this year, the focus of the committee behind the project is starting to shift its attention towards phase two. 

Project co-chair Stacy Penner discusses some of the ideas being considered for phase two. 

"Multi-use trails, as it is really important to us that we have good lighting in the area because we want it to be a safe place for youth visiting it, especially in the evenings.  So electrical and lighting will be a big part of phase two.  We have also discussed nature play areas and possibly maybe at some point a skating oval."

Some playground pieces are also being considered for phase two.

Way into the future, Penner says they hope to focus on the Indigenous learning aspect of the park, with the addition of art, signage, and other learning elements.

Costs for phase two range from between 2-3 million dollars.  And Penner says their fundraising for it will focus on support from the community. 

"A couple of weeks ago, Barker School made a $1,700 donation towards the project.  They had a family night that brought in some funds to the school.  And the teachers there are wanting to teach their students how to give back, which is pretty incredible.  And then we had CUPE call up and say they had a $2,500 donation that they wanted to go towards this awesome project." 

Besides accepting donations, the committee is also preparing sponsorship packages for businesses looking to sponsor certain segments of the park. 

The future of Manitoba's health cards is looking very sturdy, as The Province announced they'll be upgrading to plastic health cards instead of paper ones.

In an announcement Thursday, Wab Kinew Stated "Work is already underway and we will deliver the first cards by this time next year."

The Manitoba government is actively working to develop and launch a new, modernized card, including plastic and digital options, to replace the existing paper health card.

After a substantial backlog of health card delivery in late 2023, the Province has more than doubled their staff to reduce that time and develop this new card faster.

More information is expected on the design and material of these new cards is expected to come in the next few months.