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A traffic stop in Dauphin Friday morning led to the recovery of a stolen vehicle, a rifle, and other weapons.
Around 10 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 18, Dauphin RCMP conducted the traffic stop on a white pickup truck at Main Street and 1st Avenue North.
The vehicle had been reported stolen by Roblin RCMP on Tuesday, Dec. 15.
Police arrested the man driving the truck, and also recovered bear spray, two machetes, a firearm and ammunition inside the vehicle.
A rifle and several weapons were seized from the stolen truck | Photo supplied by RCMP
Further investigation revealed the firearm had been stolen in 2011 from a home in Dauphin.
The man remains in custody and will face a number of charges including weapons offences, possession of stolen property and failing to comply with court-ordered conditions.
Two RCMP units were on the scene Friday morning | Photo by CKDM
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
Manitoba health officials are reporting 350 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday.
Ten deaths are also being announced — including a man in his 80s from the Gilbert Plains Personal Care Home.
The full list of the most recent deaths in Manitoba can be found at the bottom of this article.
Manitoba’s acting deputy chief provincial public health officer, Dr. Jazz Atwal, says "54 of 63 First Nations communities have had a case of COVID-19.”
Dr. Atwal also reminded Manitoba’s to refrain from all non-essential travel — both within the province and outside of Manitoba — over the holidays.
The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 13.6% provincially and 13.1% in Winnipeg. The total number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba is 22,397. There are 5,602 active cases and 16,248 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19 in Manitoba.
There are 305 people in hospital with 43 people in intensive care due to COVID-19. The total number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 547.
Today’s COVID-19 data shows:
• 40 cases in the Interlake-Eastern health region
• 89 cases in the Northern health region
• 31 cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region
• 57 cases in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region
• 133 cases in the Winnipeg health region
According to the province’s data, there are active cases in the following Parkland health districts: Dauphin (5), Riding Mountain (9), Swan River (3), Porcupine Mountain (77), Duck Mountain (17), Asessippi (6), Little Saskatchewan (6), Whitemud (3), and Agassiz Mountain (4). Brandon has 164 active cases.
In the Interlake, the Eriksdale/Ashern health district has 30 active cases, while Fisher/Peguis has 30, according to the province’s latest update.
Public health officials advise 10 additional deaths in people with COVID-19 have been reported today including:
• a male in his 40s from the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region
• a male in his 50s from the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region, linked to the outbreak at the Morris General Hospital
• a female in her 60s from the Winnipeg health region
• a female in her 70s from the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region
• a female in her 80s from the Interlake–Eastern health region, linked to the outbreak at Kin Place
• a male in his 80s from the Prairie Mountain Health region, linked to the outbreak at the Gilbert Plains personal care home
• a male in his 80s from the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region, linked to the outbreak at the Salem Home
• a female in her 90s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the Convalescent Home of Winnipeg
• a female in her 90s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the Charleswood Care Centre
• a male in his 90s from the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
This morning Stephen Chychota announced a gift card program to help local businesses during the pandemic.
Chychota phoned into the Al Morning Show to make the big announcement this morning.
“Super excited about this, we have currently 25,000 dollars in monies to put toward a gift card program. So, trying to support businesses heavily impacted by COVID and get some money directly to them in this way.”
$10,000 is coming from the chamber, another $10,000 is from the City of Dauphin, and $5,000 has been contributed by the Dauphin Community Foundation.
Chychota says they’re branching out to everyone with the program, but the details are still evolving.
“This is also a program that’s not just chamber member specific. But I think the program will allow that we’ll spend maybe a little bit more when we go to a chamber member location. Because they are putting money into us with their memberships and any other programs that they participate, so we’ll probably end up putting a little more back into the chamber members than non-chamber members. But, this pandemic branches to everyone, so we’ve got to look after everybody as best as we can. So, all businesses are included.”
The gift card distribution model hasn’t been determined yet and Chychota says to watch out for anything.
Chychota says they're open to having any other businesses or organization, that's doing really well right now, help with the program.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
An additional 900 priority healthcare workers in Manitoba will be immunized against COVID-19 next week.
Premier Brian Pallister made the announcement on Friday, following confirmation of Manitoba’s second shipment of the Pfizer vaccine.
The first few hundred doses of the Pfizer vaccine were administered this week to 900 front line healthcare workers.
As the vaccination requires two doses, a second appointment is required in 19 to 23 days.
Manitoba’s only immunization clinic is currently operating at the University of Manitoba’s Rady Faculty of Health Sciences campus — but the Premier says additional vaccination clinics will be set up throughout the province.
The earliest doses of the COVID-19 vaccine arriving in Manitoba are only available for eligible health-care workers at this time:
• those who work in critical care units, born on or before Dec. 31, 1970
• work in acute care facilities, born on or before Dec. 31, 1960
• work in long term care facilities, born on or before Dec. 31, 1960
• be assigned to COVID-19 immunization clinics
Pallister says eligibility criteria will be expanded once additional shipments are confirmed by the federal government, “so we can work toward providing a vaccine to all Manitobans who wish to receive one.”
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A 29-year-old female is dead after being hit by a vehicle while walking on Provincial Road 513 Wednesday evening.
At 6:55 p.m. on December 16th, Gypsumville RCMP officers responded to a report of a vehicle-pedestrian collision 4km east of Gypsumville. The victim from Lake St Martin First Nation was pronounced deceased on scene.
According to the investigation, a 20-year-old man from Dauphin River was travelling east on PR 513 when the vehicle collided with the female, who was walking on the road.
The driver of the vehicle stopped at the scene and then immediately called 911.
RCMP believe that the very dark lighting conditions and also that the victim was wearing dark clothing were factors in the collision. Alcohol and speed are not involved.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
Public health officials are introducing a pilot project to test the effectiveness of rapid testing for asymptomatic personal care home staff.
The project is being launched in three personal care homes, two in Winnipeg and Country Meadows Personal Care Home in Neepawa, which is a part of the Prairie Mountain Health (PMH) region.
Health, Seniors and Active Living Minister Cameron Friesen made the announcement yesterday saying protecting the health of the most vulnerable Manitobans is a top priority.
“This pilot project will expand the asymptomatic testing that is already underway in personal care homes by testing staff who do not have any symptoms and is the first step in plans for an expansion of this work to other sites in the weeks ahead.”
This project implements broader asymptomatic surveillance, by testing where there are no symptoms and no known exposure. Staff will be asked to participate on a voluntary basis, with testing performed once a week.
The pilot project will use Abbott Panbio COVID-19 rapid antigen test, which provides a result in approximately 20 minutes. Staff at the participating sites will be trained to perform the test using the equipment. Results received as ‘positive’ will be reported to public health as probable cases and will be confirmed by a lab-based test.
Friesen noted the project will also allow officials to test the effectiveness of the new rapid testing equipment to better understand how it can be deployed and used in other settings.
Testing is expected to begin on Dec. 21 and will be conducted for four weeks at each site.
It’s expected the project will be expanded in the weeks following the initial results.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
Prairie Mountain Health (PMH) has followed up with more details about Grandview's hospital and emergency department services resuming next week.
Starting Monday, Dec. 21 at 8 a.m., the emergency department in Grandview will be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The temporary suspension of hospital services was announced by Prairie Mountain Health on Nov. 26th, while some staff were reassigned to support the Grandview personal care home dealing with a COVID outbreak.
PMH says the situation at the personal care home has sufficiently stabilized to allow the return of hospital services — and are also thanking the health care staff for their flexibility and support of the residents.
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
A man from Laurier is facing a list of charges after police say he assaulted officers after fleeing from a traffic stop.
On Tuesday, Dec. 15, Ste Rose du Lac RCMP noticed a vehicle going 147 km/h in a 100 km/h zone near Ste. Amelie.
Police say the vehicle refused to stop and fled, and officers later found the vehicle abandoned at a dead end on 134 N.
Ammunition and a driver's licence were found in the vehicle.
Footsteps in the snow led police to a farmhouse, where it was learned the suspect was picked up by someone in a truck.
Police later located the truck and initiated a traffic stop, and say the passenger — who was determined to be the same person on the driver's license — exited the vehicle and aggressively approached officers
Police say the man charged officers, and a taser was used to apprehend the suspect.
Upon arrest, police say the man continued to be combative and assaulted the officers, and damaged the police vehicle.
The driver of the truck was initially arrested but was later released with no charges. Officers searched the suspect's vehicle and located a loaded firearm.
Cody Zastre, 32, of Laurier, has been charged with:
- Flight from Police
- Possession of a Firearm while Prohibited
- Possession of Ammunition while Prohibited
- Possession of a Firearm knowing it's Possession is Unauthorized
- Assault on a Police Officer x2
- Resisting Arrest
- Possession of a Firearm in a Vehicle when Unauthorized
- Mischief
He has been remanded into custody.
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- Contributed by 730 CKDM
Manitoba posted its lowest case numbers in weeks with 221 new cases of COVID-19 announced on Thursday.
Fourteen deaths are also being reported — half of which are related to outbreaks at personal care homes.
The full list of the most recent deaths in Manitoba can be found at the bottom of this article.
The province has an updated online COVID-19 information dashboard — now offering more data related to outbreaks at correctional and health-care facilities and personal care homes. You can browse that data by clicking here.
The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 13% provincially and 13.2% in Winnipeg. The total number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba is now 22,047.
There are 5,829 active cases and 15,681 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19.
There are 314 people in hospital with 42 people in intensive care due to COVID-19. The total number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 537.
Today’s COVID-19 data shows:
• 21 cases in the Interlake-Eastern health region
• 51 cases in the Northern health region
• 11 cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region
• 27 cases in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region
• 111 cases in the Winnipeg health region
According to the province’s data, there are active cases in the following Parkland health districts: Dauphin (5), Riding Mountain (10), Swan River (1), Porcupine Mountain (73), Duck Mountain (17), Asessippi (7), Little Saskatchewan (6), Whitemud (1), and Agassiz Mountain (4). Brandon has 164 active cases.
In the Interlake, the Eriksdale/Ashern health district has 29 active cases, while Fisher/Peguis has 31, according to the province’s latest update.
Public health officials advise 14 additional deaths in people with COVID-19 have been reported today including:
• a female in her 30s from the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region
• a male in his 40s from the Winnipeg health region
• a female in her 50s from the Winnipeg health region
• a female in her 50s from the Interlake–Eastern health region
• a male in his 60s from the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region
• a male in his 70s from the Winnipeg health region
• a male in his 80s from the Winnipeg health region
• a male in his 80s from the Interlake–Eastern health region, linked to the outbreak at the Kin Place
• a female in her 80s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the Charleswood Care Centre
• a female in her 90s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the Charleswood Care Centre
• a female in her 90s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the Maples Long Term Care Home
• a female in her 90s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the Convalescent Home of Winnipeg
• a male in his 90s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the Charleswood Care Centre
• a female in her 100s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the Maples Long Term Care Home
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
A two-vehicle collision in Dauphin Thursday afternoon had Dauphin Fire, RCMP and EMS on the scene.
The collision happened around 1:15 p.m. at the intersection of Main Street and 1st Ave. North.
Traffic was redirected while crews worked to clear the intersection, and the area has now reopened to regular traffic.
One person was reportedly sent to hospital with minor injuries.
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
Weather events from across Canada, throughout the year, made Environment Canada’s Top 10 Weather Stories list.
Manitoba even made the list with the most powerful Tornado of the year.
Environment Canada chose the top 10 from a list of 100 significant weather happenings across the country.
10. August Long-Weekend Storms
Ontario was drenched with some areas seeing over 100mm of rain and 4 tornadoes touching down. Meanwhile, southern Alberta and Saskatchewan were rocked with hail storms and strong winds resulting in 4,000 insurance claims totalling $55 million in property losses.
9. Fall Gives Canada’s West And East Polar Opposites
Heading into November, the prairies experienced some warm weather before a major snowstorm blew through. Areas in Saskatchewan were hit hardest with Saskatoon, Prince Albert, and Kindersley getting 30-47 cm of snow. Long periods of freezing rain kept snow totals low in southeastern Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba but made driving conditions quite treacherous.
Out east, a cooler October and early November turned into a second summer around Remembrance Day where there was an 8 day stretch of record-breaking highs. Over those 8 days, 200 daily high-temperature records were set from Ontario to Newfoundland.
8. Spring Goes Missing
Instead of being late like it often is, spring went missing with minus temperatures sticking around into May. Negative highs and wind chills pushed -35 in Alberta in April. On May 11th, Winnipeg broke their record cold temperature beating 1996’s -6.2 degrees with a low of -10.3 degrees. Snow also continued to fall throughout May in Ontario and Quebec.
7. Most Powerful Tornado Of The Year Touches Down In Manitoba
On August 7th, an EF-3 Tornado touched down near Virden. Wind speeds reached 260 km/h and a man from Sioux Valley First Nation lived the ferocity of the twister when the winds uprooted a pine tree, throwing it onto the roof of his jeep. The tornado also tragically took the lives of two 18-year-olds from Melita. This tornado was the strongest tornado recorded in Canada this year.
6. Record Hurricane Season For Atlantic Canada
While Manitoba saw the most powerful tornado of the year, Atlantic Canada experienced 13 hurricanes. At the end of the hurricane season, the total was 30 named storms, 13 hurricanes, 6 of which became major hurricanes.
5. St. John’s Snowmageddon
On January 17th, St. John’s got hit with what meteorologists call a bomb cyclone, where conditions quickly intensified. Over 18 hours, a metre of snow was dropped in the city. 20,000 hydro customers were without power and insurer costs were over $17 million.
4. Never-Ending Summer In The East
After spring stayed cold, with snow into May in Ontario and Quebec, the weather quickly shifted to record-breaking highs. On May 27th, Montreal reached 36.6 degrees, its hottest temperature in May ever and second-highest temperature the city has ever seen. Records continued to be broken throughout June and July.
3. Fort McMurray Flood
Fort McMurray residents were forced out of their homes for the second time in four years, although this time it was because of water instead of fire. A 25 km stretch of the Athabasca River saw ice jamming, which caused water to back up on the adjacent Clearwater River, flooding downtown Fort McMurray. Water levels rose up to 6 metres, causing 13,000 people to leave their homes. The Insurance Bureau of Canada estimated the cost of the flooding from nearly 3,000 claims totalled above $562 million. One man drowned when he was caught by the rising waters.
2. All Smoke, No Fire In BC
BC had a second consecutive quiet fire season in 2020, however smoke plumes from the US travelled into the province. The smoke caused some of the worst air quality in recorded history. The long-term health effects for all residents are unknown.
1. Calgary’s Billion Dollar Hailer
Damage totals around 1.3 billion dollars resulted from a hail storm on June 13th in Calgary. More than 32,000 vehicles were extensively damaged with cracked and smashed windshields with vehicle write-offs totalling $386 million. Hail the size of tennis balls and golf-balls ricocheted out of the sky propelled by wind speeds up to 70 km/h.
Full details on each weather event can be found here.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
