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A fire that broke out yesterday in Dauphin is still under investigation.

Dauphin Fire Chief Cam Abrey said the garage was up in flames when they arrived on scene.

“Dauphin Fire was dispatched for the report of a garage on fire alone Mountain Road at the corner of Bossons. Upon arrival the garage was discovered fully engulfed in flames.  There wasn’t much of the structure that was left.  There was some damage done to the overhead hydro wires, which then Manitoba Hydro had to replace.”

Abrey tells 730 CKDM the cause of the fire is undetermined still.

“The cause of the fire remains under investigation at this point and if anybody has any information regarding this fire, they are to contact the RCMP detachment here in Dauphin.”

The Manitoba Maple Syrup Festival in McCreary was well attended.

The 6th annual festival saw an attendance of around 400 people, that’s about the same amount as last year.

Organizer Pam Little says people she has talked to really enjoyed this year’s event.

“We have local groups that did fairly well with their fundraising that happens at the festival. And the festival has raised enough money to put on another festival next year, so we will have our 7th annual.”

Little says there are some changes in discussion for next year’s event taking place on the 12th and 13th of April next year.  

A shed fire occurred at the corner of Mountain Road and Merrell Avenue this morning.

The entire structure was taken down by the fire, only leaving a charred frame of the shed.

No one was injured in the blaze.

CKDM will update the story as updates come in.

The Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Studies in Winnipeg was renamed after Lieutenant-Colonel William Barker last week.

Three of Barker’s grandsons attended the ceremony last week to unveil the plaque honouring him at the school.

Lieutenant Will Snyder, Commandant for RCF Barker College, tells 730 CKDM the official new name for the school

“The actual full name of the school is the RCF Wing Commander William G. Barker Victoria Cross Aerospace College and we are calling it RCF Barker College for short. We’re at 17 Wing in Winnipeg, just off the corner of the airport here.”

Barker was chosen because of his accomplishments during World War 1 and remains the most decorated soldier in Canadian history.

The Countryfest Community Cinema is holding a one night only free show tomorrow.

The film, “Long Time Running”, is about Gord Downie and the Tragically Hip’s farewell tour and is being shown for National Canadian Film Day.

Ron Suchoplas, General Manager of the cinema, explains why the Tragically Hip is important to him and part of why they chose this documentary.

“Growing up back in the days when you’d do the bar hops in Dauphin; it’s one of those things walking into the bar and one of the first things you’d hear there or in your car on the radio. We didn’t have the privilege of everything online at the time; a lot of the music that had the most influence on me was what I heard on the radio or in the bar. Some of the key songs of theirs were a lot of the closing songs of the night.”

The show starts at 7:00 in the evening, is free, and is first come first serve with only 105 tickets available.

At the ACC Alumi Awards evening, Dave Mansell will be the second person to receive an award that evening.

He is being presented with the Distinguished Alumni Award.

Mansell appreciates he has been nominated.

“Well in all honesty, I’m very uncomfortable with accepting the award, although I do appreciate the fact that I’ve been nominated and that other people recognize my contributions; so I mean it’s humbling at the same time.”

The awards banquet is on Thursday, April 26 at the Lions’ Den.

There’s a process to determine the outcome for disciplinary action, when a serious incident happens at school involving a student’s behaviour.

When it comes to suspension the maximum days allowed by a principal, is five days, and anything more must go to the superintendent and board.

Mountain View School Division Superintendent CEO, Donna Davidson, wants students to learn from their mistakes.

“We always want discipline to be a learning experience. We always want, obviously, children make mistakes and we want them to learn from those mistakes and move forward so that we can ensure that not only that they are safe but the safety of staff and students is front and center.”

Staff and students safety is always paramount in all decisions made surrounding suspension and expulsion.

Local businesses will be feeling a bit of backlash following the announcement of the minimum wage increase.

Although the increase may seem minimal, Corrina’s owner, Corrina Abrey, says she has conflicting thoughts on the situation.

“I am kind of pro and con for it because I think it’s a good thing. It’s obviously going to boost our local economy. People that are going to make more money, are going to spend more money in our community. As a business owner, I wish that they would do something more like an age appropriate wage. I grew up and I raised my family on minimum wage back when it was like $5.20 an hour and I raised three kids. Now I’ve got 15 and 16 year olds making a good dollar, and that bites a little bit. I know that they’re worth it, they really are.”

A major thing in the food service industry is continuing to be profitable and meeting margins. When a wage increase like this hits, the consumers pocket is where it usually hits the worst.

Abrey explains that prices will rise for Corrina’s, but not for the reason that is on everyone’s mind.

“Prices were going to be going up before even this. December 1st this year will be 10 years in business. We’ve had a price increase twice. Some of our groceries have more than tripled in price since year four. I’m more here because I love what I do, I really don’t look at the bottom dollar, I’m one of those weird business owners that doesn’t pay attention to her bank account. As long as my bills are getting paid, and everybody’s getting paid, and we can make improvements, I don’t really care.”

The Manitoba government announced a 20 cent increase in minimum wage last week, taking effect on October 1st, 2018.

The existing minimum wage currently is sitting at $11.15 and will rise to $11.35 per hour.

The Municipality of Roblin wants to implement five special service levies to ensure that everyone paying the same basic rate instead of by assessment.

The five levies are for street lighting; essential services such as policing and fire; waste; recycling and recreation.

Roblin Mayor, Wade Schott, says that Roblin has paid special service levies before.

“We’ve had these special services levies in the former Town of Roblin, since 2013 we did it. The only addition we’re putting in here now is the recreation part.”

On Thursday, a public meeting is scheduled at the Roblin Community Centre starting at 7:00 in the evening to explain the levies.

A new informational campaign is being launched to inform farmers getting ready for seeding that market access restriction is a real concern.

There’s a growing number of countries creating their own maximum residue limits lists, moving away from the global standard codex.

Manager of Market Access and Trade Policy for Pulse Canada, Mac Ross, is part of the campaign organized by Pulse Canada, Cereals Canada, and the Canola Council of Canada.

Ross has some tips for managing their risk heading into the planting season.

“What farmers can do to mitigate this risk is not exceed the product’s labeled rate, time the application according to the label, and also to consult with your grain buyer or your exporter processor about which crop protection products are acceptable in international markets.”

 You can find more information about market access restrictions and how to reduce the risk of running into problems by heading to keepitclean.ca

Former Minnedosa pharmacist, Kristjan Thorkelson's company is facing a $34 million dollar fine in the U.S. 

Thorkelson is the CEO of CanadaDrugs.com, a Winnipeg online pharmacy that claims to be the largest in the country, has been charged with importing counterfeit cancer drugs and other unapproved drugs into the United States.

The business model is based on importing misbranded and unapproved drugs, which U.S. prosecutors are stating is illegal.

CanadaDrugs.com made over $78 million dollars importing these drugs illegally all over the world.

The case has been tied up for two years, because it was impossible to get the online pharmacy and Thorkelson to appear in U.S. court to face felony charges.

They finally struck a plea deal last year.

A Montana judge will decided if the please deal of $30 million in fines and five years probation is sufficient..

The pharmacy will stop all sales of questionable drugs and turn over all it’s domain names it was selling under.

Thorkelson’s deal is a $250,000 fine and six months house arrest. His pharmacy license was suspended by the College of Pharmacists of Manitoba in December.