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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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
After being closed fully for two months, the Dauphin Regional Health Centre's Emergency Department was reopened in early September. Now services have been expanded again, with the opening of a Mobile CT Scanner.
In their news release, Prairie Mountain Health says elective patients are now being seen, and CT services for any Emergency Department patients will be available in the coming weeks. For now, CT appointments require a referral, and need to be booked in advance.
Though it became operational on September 29th, the machine arrived earlier in the month, on September 11th. Treena Slate, Prairie Mountain Health CEO, said it was a welcome surprise to receive the machine ahead of schedule.
"Very nice to have it in September when the weather is still nice to work in outside, and ensure that the portable scanner is supported by the building and hooked up appropriately," said Slate.
According to Slate, Dauphin Regional Health Centre staff have adapted very well to all of the change they've seen over the past few months, especially with this new CT scanner. Though it took some time to train up on the new machine, they're doing well.
"The staff are adjusting well to the transition, and it really, it's been very little transition, given that it's our existing space...[there was] some time required to train staff on the portable CT scanner, because it's produced by a different vendor than our usual CT scanner," said Slate.
Prairie Mountain Health will continue to provide updates as more services are returned to the Dauphin Regional Health Centre.
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- Contributed by Ian Gillingham
If you're driving around the City of Dauphin the rest of this week, pay extra attention to the increased number of Public Works teams on the roads. They're doing some much-needed road repairs - sealing cracks and patching potholes.
Those repairs are two sides of the same coin. Sealing cracks helps to keep water out of the pavement and prevent any future damages, and patching potholes addresses any damage that has already happened.
The City of Dauphin warns drivers might see slow-moving equipment and workers on the road while work is underway, and asks drivers to slow down and drive carefully around road crews.
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- Contributed by Ian Gillingham
RM of Dauphin residents have their work cut out of them this October when they go to the polls - there's no polling required, as the Reeve position and 5 Councillors have been acclaimed already. But, there's a small problem - one of the 6 council seats is vacant, as there are no candidates. What happens?
Not to worry, there's a clear procedure for what happens in this case, as outlined in Section 102(1) of the Municipal Act, which reads: "If a councillor position is not filled at a general election, the members who are elected may fill the vacancy by appointing as councillor a person who was eligible to be nominated for the position at the election, and any person so appointed is deemed to have been elected at a by-election."
All that to say: after the election on October 28th, Reeve Ernie Sirski and the other 5 members of council will meet, and if they can find someone who will accept the position, they'll appoint a 6th member of council.
"We will wait until after the election on October 28th, and after that, the council of 5 plus myself, so it'll be 6 of us, will meet, and we will await instructions from the Province as how to deal with it going forward...my understanding is they will instruct us to appoint somebody, if we can find someone willing to take the appointment," said Sirski.
As per Section 106(1) of the Municipal Act, an appointed councillor's term of office is the same as an elected councillor, ending the day after the next general election.
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- Contributed by Ian Gillingham
