Brandon University Looking to Offer Intro Courses in Dauphin
Dauphin is set to get more post-secondary education options.
Brandon University has been in talks with the city, with B-U acting vice-president, academic and provost Steven Robinson saying they're excited about the possibility of offering some arts and sciences courses here.
Robinson says it's unlikely a full degree could be offered in person here, but by offering a healthy range of first-year courses, then students can test out university and see if it's for them.
"Our view is that there are probably a lot of students in the Dauphin area who find it a barrier to have to go directly from high school to a campus farther away, either in Brandon or Winnipeg or elsewhere, who might think they're interested in university but they're not sure they want to make that jump."
Robinson says the hope is to have courses available as early as this September, but says it's more likely a fuller version will be offered in the fall of 2017.
"If we can get something started in the fall of 2016, even on a smaller scale, we would love it and we would jump at it."
Mayor Eric Irwin says details still need to be worked out, and once that's done there will be a formal announcement.
Irwin says Dauphin can be flexible, mentioning online courses, night courses in Brandon, and other ways to augment what could be offered here. He says by building a foundation and adding more later on, he sees Dauphin able to get most of a Bachelor of Arts or Science in town.
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Iowa Caucuses
It's very close between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in the Iowa Democratic presidential caucuses.
So close, Sanders is calling it a "virtual tie.''
But the Clinton campaign team is claiming victory, pointing to Clinton's capture of at least 22 delegates to the party's national convention to Sanders' 21, with one left to be decided.
On the Republican side, Ted Cruz was the winner in Iowa, with Donald Trump second and Marco Rubio a close third.
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Report says Canada Ill-Prepared for Peacekeeping
A new report from two independent think tanks suggests the Canadian military is far behind other nations in its readiness to support the United Nations and train for modern peacekeeping.
The Trudeau government has promised to get Canada back into the peacekeeping business.
But the study by the Rideau Institute and the Centre for Policy Alternatives notes for the last decade, our army has specialized in counter-insurgency warfare because of the combat mission in Kandahar.
Study author Professor Walter Dorn says peacekeeping-related skill sets have been put on the backburner, so new in-depth training is required.
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Groundhog Day Cancelled
An untimely death has cast a shadow over this year's Groundhog Day festivities in Winnipeg.
Winnipeg Willow, the Prairie Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre's resident prognosticator, died on Friday. As a result, today's planned Groundhog Day events have been cancelled.
Willow, who was five when she died, came to the centre in 2010 after her mother was killed by a dog.
The centre intended to release her back into the wild, but she broke her leg and after healing, had become too attached to the staff to survive on her own.
