NewsNow
The status of the Centennial Arena -- home to the Manitoba Junior Hockey League's Swan Valley Stampeders -- is in question moving forward.
The Town of Swan River is holding a public consultation tonight at 8 in the arena's lobby. The biggest question to be answered coming out of the consultation is whether they will renovate the current facility or build a brand new one.
The list of renovations needing to be made starts with the arena's ring slab as the 34" wide section of the concrete at the sides of the rink is shifting which is causing issues. The current dehumidification system is smaller than needed which will lead to early deterioration of the building and impact space comfort and energy usage.
When it comes to the structure of the building, wall cross bracing will need to be inspected and replaced where needed and the roof will also need to be fixed. The estimated cost for renovations will be around $5 to 6 million dollars.
The Centennial Arena's current size is 38,807 sq. ft. To replace the facility with one of a similar size, the price would be upwards of $ 20 million dollars or more.
Lance Jacobson is the Mayor of Swan River and he says these consultations are much needed.
"We haven't had a lot of feedback but we are getting a better understanding of what the community wants," he said. "This is a big job so we're going to make sure we do it right."
- Details
- Contributed by Darnell Duff
UPDATE: The remaining weather alerts have ended.
The previous update follows:
As of 3:31 p.m., the severe thunderstorm warning has ended for the R.M. of Alonsa incl. Ebb and Flow Res. and Sandy Bay Res. and the Mun. of WestLake-Gladstone incl. Plumas and Langruth.
As of 3:20 p.m., the severe thunderstorm watch has ended for the following communities:
- Gilbert Plains Mun. incl. Ashville
- Grandview Mun. incl. Valley River Res.
- Mossey River Mun. incl. Winnipegosis and Fork River
- Mun. of Ethelbert incl. Garland
- Mun. of Roblin incl. Makaroff Shortdale and Bield
- Mun. of Russell-Binscarth incl. Gambler Res.
- R.M. of Dauphin incl. Sifton and Valley River
- R.M. of Lakeshore incl. Ochre River and Makinak
- R.M. of Lakeshore incl. Rorketon and Toutes Aides
- R.M. of Riding Mountain West incl. Asessippi Prov. Park
As of 2:47 p.m., the severe thunderstorm warning has ended for the Mossey River Mun. incl. Winnipegosis and Fork River and the R.M. of Lakeshore incl. Rorketon and Toutes Aides.
The third update follows:
At 1:52 p.m., Environment Canada issued a serve thunderstorm warning for the Mossey River Mun. incl. Winnipegosis and Fork River and the R.M. of Lakeshore incl. Rorketon and Toutes Aides.
As of 1:37 p.m., the severe thunderstorm warning has ended for R.M. of Riding Mountain West incl. Asessippi Prov. Park.
More information on the severe thunderstorm warning mentioned above can be found here.
At 1:38 p.m., Environment Canada issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the R.M. of Alonsa incl. Ebb and Flow Res. and Sandy Bay Res.
As of 12:29 p.m., a severe thunderstorm watch is in effect for the following communities:
- Mun. of Glenella-Lansdowne incl. Arden and Tenby
- Mun. of McCreary incl. Norgate
- Mun. of Ste. Rose incl. Laurier
- Mun. of WestLake-Gladstone incl. Plumas and Langruth
- R.M. of Alonsa incl. Ebb and Flow Res. and Sandy Bay Res.
More information on the severe thunderstorm watch mentioned above can be found here.
The second update follows:
At 1:16 p.m., Environment Canada replaced the tornado warning for the R.M. of Riding Mountain West incl. Asessippi Prov. Park with a severe thunderstorm warning.
They are tracking a severe thunderstorm capable of producing strong wind gusts and nickel to ping pong ball size hail.
More information can be found on the Environment Canada website.
The first update follows:
At 12:49 p.m., Environment Canada issued a tornado warning for the R.M. of Riding Mountain West incl. Asessippi Prov. Park.
They are tracking a severe thunderstorm that is possibly producing a tornado. They also said that damaging winds, large hail and locally intense rainfall are also possible.
More information can be found on the Environment Canada website.
The original article follows:
Environment Canada has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for Dauphin and the surrounding areas.
It is currently in effect for the following communities:
- Gilbert Plains Mun. incl. Ashville
- Grandview Mun. incl. Valley River Res.
- Mossey River Mun. incl. Winnipegosis and Fork River
- Mun. of Ethelbert incl. Garland
- Mun. of Roblin incl. Makaroff Shortdale and Bield
- Mun. of Russell-Binscarth incl. Gambler Res.
- R.M. of Dauphin incl. Sifton and Valley River
- R.M. of Lakeshore incl. Ochre River and Makinak
- R.M. of Lakeshore incl. Rorketon and Toutes Aides
- R.M. of Riding Mountain West incl. Asessippi Prov. Park
According to Environment Canada, conditions are favourable for the development of dangerous thunderstorms that may be capable of producing strong wind gusts, damaging hail and heavy rain and thunderstorms are expected today in advance of a weak low-pressure system. They also said that some of these thunderstorms may be severe.
More information can be found on the Environment Canada website.
- Details
- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
After a two-year hiatus, Mossey River Days will return to the streets of Winnipegosis this weekend. The festival — running this Thursday through Sunday — will feature a two-man-best-ball golf tournament, a live Charlie Major concert, numerous family-friendly activities along the boulevard, a pride pancake breakfast, a steak dinner, and more. The complete event schedule can be found here.
Rebecca Sahulka, a member of the Mossey River Volunteer Events Committee, is excited to have Mossey River Days back. According to her, they're trying to get people out of their homes and into the community. She also said that the Charlie Major concert should bring people to the festival and that there will also be lots of different food trucks.
"It'll be great to see people mingling with each other and have everybody coming back to the community," Sahulka said.
She also added that businesses in Winnipegosis are excited for the return as well.
- Details
- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
It was a return that was two years in the making but a very successful return, nonetheless.
Dauphin's Countryfest returned this past weekend with an all-Canadian lineup beginning on Thursday with 730CKDM's Exclusive Kick-off Party while Gord Bamford was up top leading into the wee hours of Monday morning.
Aaron Goodvin was a late addition to the festival and he performed Friday night after the Washboard Union had to drop out.
"The festival was fantastic, it definitely exceeded our expectations as board of directors," said Ann Ransom. "The people that came out did so in full support and everyone was smiling and having such a great time. It was a tremendous return."
Crowd sizes at the festival were down; however, Ransom says that was expected and didn't take away from anything. Now in the past, the festival has hinted at who will perform the following year. This year; however, that isn't the case. Ransom says they are in the process of finding performers for next year's festival which takes place from June 30 to July 2.
"We do as board of directors have some work to see what direction we want to take the festival, smaller in size or gamble a bit and bring a big act in and see how it goes," said Ransom.
Ransom says lineup announcements will begin over the next couple of months leading up to the fall. When it comes to tickets, they will also go on sale in the fall after some performers have been announced so fans have a better idea of who will be at the hill. You can find more about ticket information and everything about Countryfest at Dauphin's Countryfest.
- Details
- Contributed by Darnell Duff
On Friday afternoon, the RCMP seized 176 grams of cocaine, illicit cannabis, illicit prescription drugs, cash, a loaded rifle, unstamped cigarettes, and multiple drug trafficking paraphernalia items.
Officers from the Manitoba RCMP West District Crime Reduction Enforcement Support Team (CREST) conducted a traffic stop on 1st Street SE in Dauphin, as part of an ongoing investigation. During the search, they found cocaine, illicit prescription drugs, and cash.
An investigation led officers to a residence on 4th Avenue SE in Dauphin where the rest of the items were found.
Katie Ann Schabler, 42, from Dauphin was arrested and charged with Possession for the purpose of trafficking x3, Possession of illicit cannabis, Possession of property obtained by crime over $5000, Unsafe storage of firearms, Possession of a firearm when knowing possession is unauthorized, Fail to comply, and charges under the Tax Administration and Miscellaneous Taxes Act.
Schabler was arrested in April of 2021 on other drug charges and has a court date scheduled for February 9th, 2023 in relation to those charges. She was remanded into custody and an investigation by the West District CREST is underway.
- Details
- Contributed by Sam Brownell
You can officially throw your hat in the ring and register to run for council in October's municipal election. Registration opened last Thursday, and the Senior Election Official for the City and RM of Dauphin, Kirk Dawson says there's already been some interest.
You can get more information about running for councilor on the RM of Dauphin website or the City of Dauphin website. You can also pick up a hard copy of the information at City Hall or the RM office.
"If they have questions on that, or if they're a first-time candidate and want to sit down, I'm available as the Senior Election Official for both the City and the RM." said Dawson, "They're welcome to call me and I can walk them through the process."
You can reach Dawson by calling 204-572-0914, or by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
- Details
- Contributed by Sam Brownell
Prairie Mountain Health (PMH) has decided to temporarily adjust emergency department and hospital admission hours at several locations due to summer staffing challenges at a number of healthcare facilities in the PMH region. These challenges come as the result of vacancies, staff leaves and vacations. According to PMH, the move is necessary to ensure reliable and consistent health services for residents and visitors to the region.
In the Parkland region, the emergency department at Grandview Hospital will be significantly impacted by PMH's newly-unveiled Summer Operations Plan. Starting on July 8th, emergency department services will remain in place from Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Overnight and weekend emergency department services will be temporarily suspended.
Healthcare facilities run by PMH in Treherne, Melita and Souris will be impacted by the Summer Operations Plan as well. More information on those can be found here.
PMH also wants to stress that people should still call 9-1-1 in the event of an emergency. Ambulance services will continue to provide emergency response to all areas of PMH. Everyone making 9-1-1 calls will be transported to the nearest open emergency department.
Those with non-emergency health questions can call Health Links-Info Santé at 1-888-315-9257 to speak with a nurse.
- Details
- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
The Gilbert Plains-Grandview Ag Society is ready for the return of their Annual Fair & Rodeo this weekend. They're returning in full force this year according to Ag Society President Kevin Boese.
"Everything is a little bit back to normal, how it was the last time we had a fair way back in 2019, we just encourage everyone to come in, have a good time, and be responsible," Said Boese, "There might even be more events than there was in the past, it's a jam-packed weekend."
The weekend is absolutely packed with events, including the Parade at 3 on Friday, the Rodeo at 7 on Saturday and 4 on Sunday. See the full schedule on the Ag Society website here.
Al Gains will be bringing the Al Morning Show to Gilbert Plains this Friday to get you ready for the weekend. He'll be at Integra Tire from 8 to 11.
- Details
- Contributed by Sam Brownell
Gypsumville RCMP responded to a fatal single-vehicle rollover in the RM of Grahamdale on Thursday evening.
A 19-year-old female from Lake St. Martin First Nation was pronounced deceased on the scene. The four other occupants, two females aged 18 and 24, and two males aged 24 and 27, all from Lake St. Martin First Nation, were taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
Gypsumville RCMP along with the Criminal Collision Investigation Team and a Forensic Traffic Collision Reconstructionist, continue to investigate.
- Details
- Contributed by Sam Brownell
After two years without events, people across the Parkland region were excited to partake in the many events that took place over the Canada Day long weekend.
The long-awaited return of Dauphin's Countryfest took over the hill. There was a party atmosphere that uplifted everyone who visited the site. The all-Canadian lineup featured many artists from right here in Manitoba, including Desiree Dorion, Kendra Kay, and Doc Walker. The vendors returned to the hill, selling everything from poutine to perogies.
The Dauphin Fair returned to the fairgrounds as well. There were rides and food galore, as well as a demolition derby. First place went to Branden Bilay from Dauphin and Ryan Gamache from Ste. Rose came in second. As part of the fair, there was also a parade that started on River Ave. W. — near the RCMP building — and went down Main St.
Li Festival di Mitchif happened in Roblin over the weekend as well. Métis culture was on full display at the event.
Source: Facebook/Northwest Métis Council Inc. - Manitoba Métis Federation
- Details
- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
Ground beef has officially been added to the exemption list for Health Canada's warning labels for high saturated fat, sodium, and sugar contents. When the label announcement was made, ground beef was one of the only whole food ingredients that weren't exempt from the labels.
Canadian Cattlemen's Association launched a website called dontlabelmybeef.ca where people could have their voice heard in support of Canadian Ground Beef. Manitoba Beef Producers General Manager Carson Callum said the website was a huge success.
"It's just really great news," Said Callum, "It's such a nutrient-dense protein, and this allows beef producers to continue to provide for Canadians."
Health Canada is introducing the labels to help Canadians make healthier choices, Callum said the labels would unfairly group ground beef with highly processed, pre-packaged foods, and it didn't take other health benefits of the product into account.
- Details
- Contributed by Sam Brownell
