Dean Cooley Reaches Milestone

Dean Cooley joined the Murray Chevrolet dealership in Brandon in 1986 as a sales associate and just two years later, he was named sales manager at the dealership.

Seven years later in 1995, a great opportunity presented itself for Cooley and it was one that he certainly couldn't pass up. On May 1 of 1995, Dean officially took over the Chevrolet dealership in Dauphin and since, it has been Dean Cooley GM. Dean says moving to Dauphin was a tremendous decision and that things have gone very well over the past 27 years.

So it's been Dean Cooley GM for 27 years but just recently, Dean received his 25-year Milestone Award from General Motors for being a dealer for 25 years. Cooley says getting this award is very special to him and he wants to thank all of his hardworking staff for everything they do.

"We've seen tremendous support from the area, people continue to buy vehicles," said Cooley. "We have such a great group here and that's what makes this dealership successful."

During his time in Dauphin, Dean Cooley GM has been the top-selling Chevrolet/GMC pickup dealership in the province on multiple occasions and they have also been awarded the President's Award (Triple Crown) several times. The award is only given to a very small percentage of dealerships across the country. Another highlight was the completion of their new facility which is located on Main Street South and most recently, Dean's daughter and son have moved to Dauphin and have started working in the family business.

So if you're in the market for purchasing a new or pre-owned vehicle, Cooley says his staff is always ready to help.

"We are a locally owned and locally staffed group," said Cooley. "We love our customers and we try to do our best every day. We always want to make sure we're doing the right thing."

Dean also took over Dauphin Ford on May 1, 2021.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Jul 4, 2022 - 5:00 am

Health Canada says certain specialized baby formula is expected to be in short supply throughout the summer.

The affected formulas are intended for infants with food allergies and some medical conditions.

Issues at a Michigan plant that produces baby formula for Abbott Nutrition are part of the issue. The company makes the popular Similac and Alimentum formula brands.

Health Canada says there is no shortage of regular formula in Canada.

Details: Contributed by Alec Woolston; Published: Jul 2, 2022 - 6:12 am

The Municipality of McCreary has issued a boil water advisory. Public Works were forced to shut off water to homes due to a water main break, but it has since been restored. The advisory is being issued to protect the health of residents, since distribution depressurization can compromise the safety of the water.

Until further notice, all water used for consumption should be brought to a rolling boil for at least one minute before it is used for:
• Drinking and ice-making
• Beverage preparation, such as infant formula
• Preparing food; including washing fruits and vegetables
• Brushing teeth
• Feeding pets

It is not necessary to boil tap water used for other household purposes, such as laundry or washing dishes. Adults and older children that are able to avoid swallowing the water can wash, bathe, or shower. Young children should be sponge bathed.

For more information, call the Municipality of McCreary at 204-835-2309.

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Jul 1, 2022 - 7:32 am

One lucky person or group is going to win $5,000 on Canada Day.

The Dauphin Fire Department's 50/50 has once again sold out which means the winner will get $5,000.

Fire Chief Cam Abrey wants to thank everyone for their support.

"It's amazing the support we get from the community and beyond," said Abrey. "We're very excited and we can't wait to draw that name."

The draw will be Friday night at 7:00 p.m. and the DFD will be recording it and then putting it up on their Facebook page. If you are the lucky winner, they will contact you.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Jul 1, 2022 - 6:00 am

Dauphin's Countryfest is back and Dauphin Ag Society's Fair is back which means it's going to be a great weekend in and around Dauphin.

Elsewhere around the Parkland, the Roblin Metis Local is all set to host its Michif Music and Dance Festival at St. Vlad's College grounds and the event begins Friday and runs until Sunday night.

The event features music, dancing, cultural activities and so much more. Scott Paul invites everyone to come down to check it out.

"We're going to have some amazing entertainment," said Paul. "We have lots of local entertainers so that makes it that much more exciting. There will be lots of laughs and cheers, it's going to be a great weekend."

The list of performers includes the Asham Stompers who have been very busy as of late performing. Also, the Norman Chief Memorial Dancers will perform as will Erin Fleury. There will also be food vendors on site and children's activities.

A weekend pass is just $60 while you can get a day pass for $25 and you can pick them up at the gate. Free unserviced campsites will also be available for anyone looking to take advantage of that. If you want a campsite, you must message Lindsay Andres-Langan on Facebook.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Jul 1, 2022 - 6:00 am

There's a new invasive species swimming in Clear Lake at Riding Mountain National Park. Smallmouth bass — which are not native to Manitoba or Western Canada — have been found in Clear Lake. According to Michele Nicholson, aquatic ecologist for Parks Canada at Riding Mountain National Park, they're a really aggressive top-predator fish that can harm native species through predation and competition for resources, which could lead to a reduction in the native species that call the lake home. The local Anishinaabe community is very concerned about this because they hold fishing rights for Clear Lake. It's a concern for anglers and tourists as well.

Even though it's unknown how the bass were introduced into the lake, they are focusing on managing the problem. Parks Canada, in partnership with the Coalition of First Nations with Interests in Riding Mountain National Park, will be doing that by running a spearfishing course for Parks Canada employees at the park, as well as local Indigenous partners. It's being done as part of a special controlled research and management plan and will not be open to the public.

"Spearfishing has been used successfully for controlling fish in the ocean, but it hasn't really been studied in freshwater systems, so this is cutting-edge research that we're doing," Nicholson said.

Michele Nicholson feels that spearfishing is the way to go when it comes to ridding the park of this invasive species.

"One of the big benefits of spearfishing is that we can choose which fish we're targeting, so we can know that we're only taking out smallmouth bass and not any native species," she said.

Nicholson also said that since the water at Clear Lake is especially clear, it's really easy to target the bass by spearfishing.

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Jul 1, 2022 - 6:00 am

The City of Dauphin has closed the first block of 10th Ave. S.E. right off Main St. due to roadwork.

They're replacing the water main and are expected to be working on it for most of July.

For more information, call the City of Dauphin at 204-622-3200.

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Jun 30, 2022 - 9:55 am

It's still very pricey but at least we're getting a little bit of a break at the pumps.

After sitting at 2.07 for a while, gas prices in Dauphin are now at 1.99.

This comes as somewhat of a surprise as earlier this month, Patrick DeHaan with GasBuddy predicted prices would only go higher for now.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Jun 30, 2022 - 7:07 am

This Friday is Canada Day! As usual, certain businesses will be closed or will be operating with reduced hours this long weekend.

Here's a list of some of them to keep in mind:

Dauphin Market Place Mall (Modified Hours)

Thursday, June 30^th — 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Friday, July 1^st (Canada Day) — 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Some stores will be CLOSED)
Saturday, July 2^nd — 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sunday, July 3^rd— 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Manitoba Liquor Mart (Modified Hours)

Thursday, June 30^th — 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Friday, July 1^st (Canada Day) — 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, July 2^nd — 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sunday, July 3^rd— 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Fusion Credit Union (Modified Hours)

Thursday, June 30^th — 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Friday, July 1^st (Canada Day) — CLOSED
Saturday, July 2^nd — CLOSED
Sunday, July 3^rd — CLOSED

Walmart (Regular Hours)

Thursday, June 30^th — 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Friday, July 1^st (Canada Day) — 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Saturday, July 2^nd — 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sunday, July 3^rd— 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Safeway (Modified Hours)

Thursday, June 30^th — 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Friday, July 1^st (Canada Day) — 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, July 2^nd — 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sunday, July 3^rd— 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

No Frills (Modified Hours)

Thursday, June 30^th — 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Friday, July 1^st (Canada Day) — 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, July 2^nd — 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Sunday, July 3^rd— 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Co-op Food Store (Modified Hours)

Thursday, June 30^th — 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Friday, July 1^st (Canada Day) — CLOSED
Saturday, July 2^nd — 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday, July 3^rd — 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Co-op Gas Bar on Main St. S. (Regular Hours)

Thursday, June 30^th — 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Friday, July 1^st (Canada Day) — 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 2^nd — 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Sunday, July 3^rd — 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Co-op Gas Bar on Mountain Rd. (Regular Hours)

Thursday, June 30^th — 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Friday, July 1^st (Canada Day) — 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 2^nd — 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Sunday, July 3^rd — 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Dauphin City Hall (Modified Hours)

Thursday, June 30^th — 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Friday, July 1^st (Canada Day) — CLOSED
Saturday, July 2^nd — CLOSED
Sunday, July 3^rd — CLOSED

Dauphin Recreation Services (Modified Hours)

Thursday, June 30^th — 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Friday, July 1^st (Canada Day) — Facilities OPEN during Dauphin Fair, Pool OPEN from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with public swim starting at 1:30 p.m., Admin offices will be CLOSED
Saturday, July 2^nd — CLOSED
Sunday, July 3^rd — CLOSED

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Jun 30, 2022 - 6:00 am

The Dauphin and District 4-H Beef and Sheep Show and Sale get underway today at the Rotary Arena. The Market lamb classes are at 1 p.m., and the Market Steer classes will be at 2:30 p.m., with the sale getting underway at 6 p.m. according to President Ben Fox.

"We've got a great group of kids here at the show and they're excited to get in and compete and of course coming back after the two years off, there's a lot of excitement here in the barns and everybody's really excited to welcome visitors and spectators alike to show off their animals."

They have a number of sales going on throughout the weekend and you can go to Dauphin and District 4-H Beef and Sheep Show and Sale on Facebook to keep up with the events.

Details: Contributed by Sam Brownell; Published: Jun 30, 2022 - 5:43 am

UPDATE: The severe thunderstorm watch has ended.

The fourth update follows:

As of 10:39 p.m., the severe thunderstorm warning for R.M. of Lakeshore incl. Rorketon and Toutes Aides has ended.

The third update follows:

At 10:24 p.m., the tornado watch was replaced by a severe thunderstorm watch.

It is currently in effect for the same communities as the previous tornado watch.

As of 10:11 p.m., the severe thunderstorm warning has ended for the following communities:

Mossey River Mun. incl. Winnipegosis and Fork River
Mun. of Ethelbert incl. Garland

There is a severe thunderstorm warning that is currently in effect for R.M. of Lakeshore incl. Rorketon and Toutes Aides.

More information can be found on the Environment Canada website.

The second update follows:

At 9:10 p.m., Environment Canada issued a tornado warning for the following communities:

Mossey River Mun. incl. Winnipegosis and Fork River
Mun. of Ethelbert incl. Garland

At 8:29 p.m., Environment Canada issued a severe thunderstorm warning for R.M. of Lakeshore incl. Rorketon and Toutes Aides

More information can be found on the Environment Canada website.

The first update follows:

At 6:06 p.m., the severe thunderstorm watch was replaced by a tornado watch.

It is currently in effect for the same communities as the previous severe thunderstorm watch.

According to Environment Canada, conditions are favourable for the development of severe thunderstorms, which may produce tornadoes, and strong winds, large hail and heavy rain are also possible.

They also said that a low-pressure system crossing Saskatchewan has triggered at least two tornadoes this afternoon, and more are possible into the early evening hours and that the tornado risk will end late this evening.

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 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 severe thunderstorms that may be capable of producing strong wind gusts, large hail and heavy rain.

They also say that these thunderstorms are developing ahead of a low-pressure system moving across the central Prairies this afternoon and that intense lightning is likely with any thunderstorm that develops.

More information can be found on the Environment Canada website.