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A brand new retail store is coming to Dauphin.
Shoppers Drug Mart Ltd. has taken out a City of Dauphin building permit and they will be building a new store in Dauphin. The store is set to be built at the former Village Mall which is located at 1430 Main Street South.
"We like to see growth in our community, not growing or declining is a negative," said Martijn van Lujin. "Growth is always a good thing and this is what we do."
The building will be roughly 15,000 square feet and it will employ up to 30 people. The cost of the build is estimated at roughly 2.45 million dollars.
"We are very actively promoting Dauphin and we are putting great packages together," ended van Lujin. "We have some other businesses coming down the pipeline that haven't been announced as of yet, but they will. This really is an exciting time."
Construction is scheduled to begin later this year.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
A suspect wanted in connection with a shooting last week on the Pinaymootang First Nation is now in custody.
Gypsumville RCMP says they were called to a home on the reserve on the evening of February 12th, where they found an unresponsive 23-year-old man.
He was pronounced dead a short time later.
18-year-old Dredynn Kenneth Ducharme of Grand Rapids was charged a few days later with second-degree murder and was arrested without incident on Tuesday by the Manitoba Integrated Violent Offender Apprehension Unit.
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- Contributed by Michael Brossart
Impaired driving charges have been laid against a 21-year-old Dauphin man following a single-vehicle rollover last Thursday in Riding Mountain National Park.
Dauphin RCMP says the accident, which resulted in a grey-coloured Ford Fusion ending up on its roof in the ditch, occurred around 5:45 pm last Thursday on Highway 10.
EMS and Dauphin Fire crews joined police on scene and treated two female passengers for minor injuries.
The driver also sustained minor injuries, and was charged with impaired driving after breath samples taken at the Dauphin detachment indicated his blood-alcohol levels were 2.5 times above the legal limit.
He has been released from custody and is due to appear in Dauphin Provincial court on February 27th.
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- Contributed by Michael Brossart
A new plaque was unveiled at the Manitoba Legislature yesterday, recognizing Louis Riel as the first premier of our province.
Previously, the plaque - which hangs under a portrait of Riel - had recognized him as President.
Premier Wab Kinew's first legislation, introduced after the N-D-P government came to power last year, was to recognize Riel's role as the first premier.
Riel led a provisional government in what is now Manitoba and blazed the trail for the province to join the Confederation in 1870.
with files from the Canadian Press
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
Faculty association members at Brandon University have given their union a strong strike mandate if a new contract can not be ironed out with the school.
Almost 87 per cent of the 268 professors that cast ballots over the weekend were in favour of job action in efforts to finalize a new deal.
According to an article in the Brandon Sun, the association is proposing overall wage increases totaling between seven and eight per cent on a three-year deal, or twelve per cent over a four-year deal.
They are also seeking improvements to pension levels.
The association has been without a new contract since March 31st of last year.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
Severance payments to political staff following last year’s Manitoba election have reached about $1.7 million, government figures show — and that does not include an undisclosed payout to the former chief executive officer of Manitoba Hydro.
Large-scale staff turnover is a regular occurrence after elections that lead to a government changing hands. The Manitoba election on Oct. 3, which saw the NDP end seven years of Progressive Conservative rule, was no exception.
Unlike civil servants, political staff — ministerial chiefs of staff, policy advisers, cabinet press secretaries, and more — are expected to be politically aligned with the party in power. Their employment comes and goes with changes in government.
Many received less than $10,000, with a few receiving more than $50,000. One of the largest payments — $146,000 — went to a longtime Progressive Conservative who worked for caucus before the Tory election win in 2016 and rose to become chief of staff.
with files from the Canadian Press
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
Brandon's Westoba Place is getting an interior facelift.
The Keystone Centre has announced plans to replace the seating in the facility, moving from the current wooden seats to bigger, padded seats with cup holders.
They also plan to install two rows of premium seats near ice level, as well as rail seating and lounge suites will also be added around the top of the concourse.
The total cost for the project is pegged at five million dollars.
Westoba Place plays host to the WHL's Brandon Wheat Kings, events for the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair and Manitoba Ag Days, as well as several concerts.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
Three people face charges following a traffic stop south of Riding Mountain National Park that turned into a drug and weapons bust.
Just before 10 am last Friday, Mounties conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle on Highway 16 in the Municipality of Harrison Park, south of Onanole.
A zip-lock sandwich bag containing dried cannabis was seen in plain view within the vehicle, leading police to arrest the three people in the car.
As they did so, a 31-year-old male suspect fled the scene on foot, heading towards the community of Newdale.
Mounties from several nearby detachments eventually tracked him down on a rural property and arrested him without incident.
A search of the vehicle and suspects led to the seizure of approximately one kilogram of a drug suspected of being cocaine, over 500 grams of a substance believed to be a cutting agent, as well as several knives, cans of bear spray, and other drug-related paraphernalia.
The 31-year-old, identified as Andres Gonzales of Winnipeg, had several outstanding warrants for his arrest and is in custody facing numerous charges.
The 37-year-old male driver from Redwater, Alberta, and a 29-year-old female passenger from Edmonton were both released for future court dates.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
Residents will soon have the opportunity to purchase games gear for the 2024 Manitoba Summer Games.
An online store is in the final stages of being set up, and Games co-chair Carla Wolfenden says they will be announcing more details soon.
"The best way to get to it is through our social media platforms. There is actually two Facebook pages that you can follow. There is the Manitoba Games Facebook page, which is run by Sport Manitoba, and our local page is the Manitoba Games Host Society page, and it is more for local promotions so give both of those a follow and you will not miss anything."
Wolfenden says they are excited to be launching games gear sales.
"It is really nice, so I think a lot of people are going to want a piece of Games merchandise, so we will be releasing that."
The 2024 Manitoba Summer Games are set for August 11-17 in Dauphin.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
RCMP in Gypsumville has identified a suspect in a February 12th shooting on the Pinaymootang First Nation that left a 23-year-old man dead.
They say 18-year-old Dredynn Kenneth Ducharme of Grand Rapids is described as being six feet tall and around 140 pounds with longer black hair and brown eyes.
A warrant is out for his arrest as he faces a charge of second-degree murder in relation to this incident.
Police believe Ducharme is in the Winnipeg area and say he should be considered armed and dangerous.
Anyone who knows of his whereabouts is encouraged not to approach him, but instead call either Gypsumville Detachment at 204-659-2682, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
Today is Louis Riel Day in Manitoba, a day to celebrate the founder and honorary first premier of Manitoba.
Born to a Metis family that was set against the Hudson Bay Company, Riel spent much of his life fighting both with words and weapons for the rights and freedoms of his people.
Some of his earliest works include forming the Metis National Council, establishing a list of rights for the people of the northwest, and eventually bringing Manitoba into confederation after bringing the eastern dominion of Canada to the bargaining table.
Central to this agreement, the federal government agreed to reserve 1.4 million acres for the children of Métis residents and ensured that the area would be officially bilingual.
Unfortunately, Riel's activism ruffled a lot of feathers in the Dominion after his people found and captured a group of armed Dominion troops in Portage La Prairie in 1870 who were looking to rally support against the provisional government.
The militia was captured, court-martialed, and one of the members, Thomas Scott was executed by firing squad.
The provisional government’s delegates later obtained an agreement with the Canadian government.
The agreement was presented as the Manitoba Act, which received royal assent on 12 May 1870, when the Province of Manitoba entered Confederation.
After the assent of the Manitoba Act, and the execution of Thomas Scott, the federal government sent a sizable military force to the new province on "an errand of peace".
When it became obvious that the expedition was out to lynch Riel, he fled to the United States. On the third of May 1871, he returned quietly to his home in Saint-Vital, Red River, although he often stayed in hiding.
Due to his reputation, Riel was encouraged by his friends and his widespread popularity in French Manitoba to enter federal politics, and was elected in both 1873 and 1874 to represent the province in the House of Commons.
Before taking his seat, he was expelled from the parliament , and a motion was made to Banish him from Canada for 5 years.
The question of whether or not Riel had broken either British or Canadian law for his part in the Red River resistance was never determined in court
In 1884, Riel was called on again once more, this time by the Metis of Batoche, where he tried to create a provisional government for Saskatchewan and draft a 10-point Revolutionary Bill of Rights.
Batoche became a battle ground for the next several months after the Dominion of Canada rejected the previous terms, the bloodshed only ending after Riel himself surrendered.
Riel was tried for treason and hanged November 16th, 1885.
His efforts led to aspects of Canadian life that embody many contemporary issues in the country, including bilingualism, multiculturalism, tolerance for difference and a keen sense of social justice.
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- Contributed by Michael Brossart
