NewsNow
A man who killed two women and was accused of killing another one from the Parkland is back in prison within a year of his release, after the Parole Board of Canada says he was suspected of drug trafficking and interacting with vulnerable populations.
Shawn Lamb pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the 2012 deaths of the Indigenous women, Carolyn Sinclair and Lorna Blacksmith, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
He was also accused of murdering Tanya Nepinak of Pine Creek, but those charges were stayed.
Tanya's remains have never been found, and her family has pressured the provincial government to search the Brady Landfill site near Winnipeg for them.
Last November, Lamb was granted statutory release, a provision under federal law that sees most inmates automatically freed after serving two-thirds of a sentence.
A recent parole board decision says Lamb breached a number of release conditions and that his risk to the community is no longer considered “manageable.”
- Details
- Contributed by Jeff Henson
City of Dauphin voters can now submit applications to be able to vote by sealed envelope in the upcoming Manitoba Municipal Election.
Deputy City Manager Lisa Gaudet went over some of the details about the process.
"[Voters] will be provided with voting instructions with the ballots, and their ballot envelope and a certificate envelope that they sign, and then also an outer return envelope," said Gaudet.
The official deadline to apply for voting by sealed envelope is October 25th at 8:00 PM, but since that falls on a Sunday, the City of Dauphin asks any residents wanting to apply to make sure their applications are in by 4:30 PM on Friday, October 23rd.
There are often concerns around voting by sealed envelope not being as secure or reliable as in person voting. Gaudet said the City makes sure the process is followed, and is very secure.
"It's impossible for someone to vote twice. Election officials maintain a record of every voter who received a sealed envelope ballot package, and the voters list is marked accordingly, so the person is not able to vote in the advance poll or on election day...it is a secure process, and we follow all of our guidelines here to make sure it is absolutely secure," said Gaudet.
The City will also be operating some mobile voting stations on the day of the election, to make it easier for seniors or healthcare patients to vote.
"We'll also have mobile voting stations for eligible patients and residents at designated healthcare and residential care facilities," said Gaudet.
For more information about the sealed envelope voting process, and a list of mobile voting station times, click here to visit the City of Dauphin's website.
- Details
- Contributed by Ian Gillingham
With a change in Legislature to the Employment Standards Code, Manitobans no longer need sick notes for everyday work absence.
After the change, notes are only needed if an employee is absent due to sickness for a period of one week, or if an employee takes more than 10 sick days in a year. Plus, in the event of an employee requiring a sick note, they must be reimbursed by their employer for the cost of the note.
The Province said the change was made to help reduce the burden on Manitoba's already strained healthcare system, and to support workers.
Doctors Manitoba Board of Directors Chair Dr. Nichelle Desilets noted that Manitoba has come a long way when it comes to sick notes. She said sick notes requests take a lot of time out of a physician's day, so the change to make them less necessary gives Manitoba's doctors more time to see more patients.
Uzoma Asagwara, Manitoba's Health, Seniors, and Long-Term Care Minister, said it helps promote workers prioritizing their health when they're sick, and helps doctors focus on providing care.
- Details
- Contributed by Ian Gillingham
Culture Days officially wraps up for another year this weekend, with two signature events.
Organizer Jean-Louis Guillas says Forest Fringe will take place at Meadowlark Park, after being held last year at Northgate.
"It's a mini theatre frnge festival. There are four short, humourous plays. They are all fantastic with lots of great actors working with us on that. There are two opportunities to see the plays, ,unlike last year when we did just one circuit of the plays. This year we have two, so you can join us at 1 o'clock and go out and see the plays, or 3 o'clock."
There will be live music and art activities about 45 minutes before each show.
On Sunday, Culture Days closes with the annual film festival at Countryfest Community Center.
- Details
- Contributed by Jeff Henson
Passing on the traditions of the Metis people to younger generations is one of the main focuses of the Annual Muktuk Annie festival in Kinosota.
- Details
- Contributed by Jeff Henson
Now that the nomination period is over and candidate lists are official for the upcoming Manitoba Municipal Election, the Association of Manitoba Municipalities put out some stats about this year's candidates.
Most, if not all, of the trends are very positive - an increase in the overall number of candidates, a sizeable increase in the number of female candidates, and a decrease in the number of acclamations. AMM President Kathy Valentino said the stats give some positivity in a time most people view as negative.
"We always as people go to a negative narrative when we're hearing about elections and campaigns, but this was some real positive numbers, and hopefully it's a good trend moving forward for elections...it shows that our residents are engaged in what's going on in their communities, and what the future of their communities is going to look like, and that they're willing to step up and serve," said Valentino.
For Valentino especially, the 17.6% increase in the number of female candidates from last election is a big one. She's had a hand in many women-focused government events over the years, and said though there's still more work to be done to give women fair representation in governments, it's promising to see the numbers the highest they've been in recent memory.
"There's work to be done because it's still a minority, but we are super pleased to see that some of the efforts AMM's been doing is reflecting in the highest number of women putting their names forward for municipal office in the past 4 election cycles...a diverse council table, really that brings a broader range of perspectives, different experiences and different ideas to the table, and by having a diverse council, it actually will strengthen the community or municipality that that council table is representing and serving," said Valentino.
Even though the number of acclamations is around 30%, down from 37% last election, they're still something to keep in mind. Plus, some municipalities (like the RM of Dauphin) have vacancies, that will need to be filled by appointment. Valentino said acclamations and vacancies don't always mean a municipality is struggling.
"Every municipality is different, so vacancies, they do happen. But they can happen for a number of reasons, and they don't necessarily reflect the health of a municipality or council...many elected officials, they balance council meetings, the committees, the community events, they have full time jobs, and kids, and life, so it's difficult to fully understand the time and responsibility involved until you get into this role," said Valentino.
Going forward, Valentino and the Association of Manitoba Municipalities plans to keep promoting education around what councillors do in their role. This year especially, they focused on election information sessions, with several Parkland municipalities hosting their own.
- Details
- Contributed by Ian Gillingham
Northgate Trails users now have another tool at their disposal to help plan their trip to the trails - there's now a new weather station at the trailhead, monitoring relevant conditions.
Brenon Durston, Northgate Board Member, said the design is pretty simple, as a way to give trail users a little bit more information before they make the trip.
"At the moment it will do temperature, relative humidity, and rainfall accumulation, and then this weather station will report to our website in just about real time...on the website you can view temperature, humidity, rain on the current day, rain over the last 24 hour period, and rain over the last 7 day period," said Durston.
Having accurate, up-to-date weather conditions, especially how much rain the area's received, means a world of difference for trail users. Going forward, Durston said they'll listen to user feedback, and as the winter gets closer, they might look at adding other seasonal metrics to the weather station for snow and ice.
"It's kind of a nice thing to know before you head out of the house, and you can arm yourself with a little bit more information, and dress accordingly...for now, we're just going to watch how this rollout works, and we're exploring watching other metrics as well," said Durston.
To view Northgate's current trail conditions, and recent trail reports, click here to visit their website. Durston also strongly encourages anyone interested in volunteering with Northgate to reach out.
- Details
- Contributed by Ian Gillingham
The deadline to apply for the Province's Disaster Financial Assistance Program for 2026 June Heavy Rains is October 8th.
Anyone with a primary residence, farm, business, or non-profit organization with impacts related to the heavy rains is able to apply to the program. Keep in mind insurable damages are not eligible for financial assistance, and secondary properties like cottages aren't eligible either.
This DFA Program was established on July 10th, after history rainfall and flood damage affected almost all of Western Manitoba. The October 8th deadline is the last day to open a request for the DFA program, with the deadline to submit invoices and event-related expenses is July 12th, 2027. Municipalities accepted into the program have until July 12th, 2027 to submit any disaster-related costs, and until July 10th, 2028 to submit any costs related to restoring uninsurable infrastructure, or related to relief and recovery support.
For more information about the Disaster Financial Assistance Program for 2026 June Heavy Rains, and how to apply, click here to visit the Government of Manitoba website.
- Details
- Contributed by Ian Gillingham
There's a newly imposed weight restriction on a bridge in Mossey River Municipality that's causing some headaches for area farmers and producers.
The bridge on R172N, between R111 and R112, now has a 5 tonne weight maximum. The recent restriction is especially troubling for farmers because it disrupts their harvest.
Lorna DeVos, Local Farmer, said the new weight restriction on the bridge was very sudden, as it came after most of the RM's flood-related road repairs, which saw several heavy gravel trucks use the bridge.
"The new road restriction came quite suddenly. After all the events of the summer there was flooding and then there was subsequent road repairs, and all the gravel trucks were using [the bridge], and we assumed that there was nothing to worry about," said DeVos.
There are a lot more problems caused by the restriction for farmers than you might think. There aren't any similar length detours in place for heavy equipment, meaning farmers have to spend a lot more time and fuel to get from point A to B.
"The heavy loads and the large equipment now has to be rerouted elsewhere, and that takes a lot of extra time in a season when we don't have extra time...and it's also burning extra fuel, when fuel has never been more expensive, so that's deeply inconveniencing. And also whenever you restrict farm traffic, it always makes everyone have to go on alternate routes where there's much more likely to be two large pieces of equipment meeting on the road, which is difficult," said DeVos.
DeVos and other area farmers are hoping for more details from the Municipality as to why this weight restriction has been imposed.
"We've been underneath [the bridge] and looked ourselves, and there's no visible damage to it, so we'd like to know that we can use the bridge safely, until it is proven to be unsafe to use," said DeVos.
Mossey River Municipality has not commented on the new weight restriction.
- Details
- Contributed by Ian Gillingham
The Neepawa RCMP are looking for a missing woman.
30-year-old Jaydia Ferland was last seen on September 25. She left a Neepawa hotel on foot and walked on Highway 16 towards Winnipeg. No one has seen or heard from her since.
It's believed she's in Dauphin or Winnipeg.
She's described as five feet five inches tall. She has long black hair.
If you have information, call the Neepawa RCMP at 204-476-7340.
- Details
- Contributed by Darnell Duff
Spruce Plains RCMP did not have to go far to nab their man, after two tractor radiators were stolen from a farm in he RM of Glenella-Lansdowne.
They received the report of the theft last Friday, and while on their way to the scene, they stopped a vehicle that was speeding.
The vehicle was stopped, with its licence plate matching the plate number provided in connection with the theft.
The stolen tractor radiators were located in the back of his car, which led to the arrest of 35-year-old Steven Braun from the Municipality of North Cypress-Langford.
He was charged with theft under $5,000, and received tickets for four offences under the Highway Traffic Act, but was released on conditions after appearing in court.
- Details
- Contributed by Jeff Henson
