Back-to-School Prep Going Well at DRCSS

With summer coming to a close, many people are wondering about back to school.

Taylor Schmidt, acting principal at the Dauphin Regional Comprehensive Secondary School (DRCSS), says that the back-to-school preparations have been going well.

"Our current air handling situation has posed some challenges, but our custodial crew and divisional crew are getting our building up and ready for the fall, he adds.

Schmidt believes that the health and safety of students and staff is a top priority, so the coronavirus is being factored into this year's preparations.

"We're always following direction from our division and public health recommendations... so we're going to be back in person but keeping in mind... some of the recommendations put out by public health... We want to... [keep] everyone safe the best we can," he adds.

Schmitt says that they've brought in air purifiers, will provide access to hand sanitizer, and will welcome mask-wearing while indoors, even though it won't be mandatory.

More information on how COVID-19 will affect the return to school at the DRCSS can be found on their website.

Grade 9 Orientation Day will take place on September 7^th and classes will begin on September 8^th.

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Aug 16, 2022 - 6:00 am

David Bosiak and Kerri Riehl are the two candidates running to become the Mayor of Dauphin as the Municipal Election takes place on October 26.

Now the list of candidates to join the council has been named and Jason Alf is on the list. Knowing Dauphin is where he wanted to live and work as a young man, Alf wants to continue giving back to the community. He believes now was the perfect time to try it out and he wants to help Dauphin grow into a place where everyone wants to live and stay.

"Anything I can do to help Dauphin try and remain a good place and a better place to live is what I'm interested in," said Alf. "I've always been a big supporter of things for the kids to do, things that will attract people to Dauphin to bring money into the community."

Alf believes Dauphin is a very safe place but he understands crime rates seemed to have been spiking as of late and that's also something he wants to tackle head-on. Jason has been extremely loyal to Dauphin for his entire life and he plans on continuing to be just that.

"I think people know me to be a pretty honest, hard-working individual," said Alf. "I'm pretty passionate about Dauphin, the only time I spent away was when I went to school and I had the intention of coming back. I believe people should vote for who they think would do the best job of representing their city and hopefully, that's me."

Stay tuned in the coming days as we will continue to highlight this year's candidates in Dauphin and the RM of Dauphin. You can still register to run for Mayor or council until September 20.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Aug 16, 2022 - 5:00 am

Torrential rain earlier this summer closed Vermillion Park for a period of time.

While it has since reopened, many people on Facebook have been commenting on the trails not being taken care of. That is because Dauphin Rec is currently waiting for relief funding due to the flood. As a result, they are not able to maintain the trails until the damage is fully assessed.

As soon as funding is received, Dauphin Rec will be back on the trails getting them up to everyone's standard.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Aug 15, 2022 - 2:29 pm

The City of Dauphin has started work on Second St. NE between Fifth Ave. and Seventh Ave. The street will be closed during the day, but the city says it should be open overnight while work is being done.

The City is relining water mains, and work is expected to be completed by Wednesday, but there's a chance crews will need until Thursday to finish the project.

Details: Contributed by Sam Brownell; Published: Aug 15, 2022 - 1:20 pm

On Wednesday, August 17^th beginning at 1:00 p.m., Skownan First Nation and Mossey River Municipality invite all community members and neighbours to join them as Skownan First Nation hosts a commemoration of the 150^th anniversary of the signing of Treaty 2 by representatives of the Anishinaabe people and the Crown at Manitoba House on August 2^nd, 1871.

The event will take place at the community hall in Skownan First Nation and will include musical and dance performances, cultural and heritage presentations, elder talks, and artisan presentations.

In addition, Skownan First Nation and Mossey River Municipality are proud to announce their participation in the First Nation-Municipal Community Economic Development Initiative (CEDI), a national program delivered jointly by Cando (the Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers) and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM).

Robert Lavallee, Skownan First Nation's economic development lead, says that the partnership is great for reconciliation.

"There's a resurgence as entrepreneurship as a way of living for Indigenous people, so this is something that's going to be able to help develop that initiative in our own First Nation's communities. Ultimately, we are hopeful to advance a joint community economic development initiative that benefits both of our communities in our region... We look forward to sharing our progress and engaging our communities in this partnership," he adds.

Skownan First Nation and Mossey River Municipality are one of eight partnerships in Canada to participate in this three-year capacity development program between 2022-2025. CEDI seeks to support First Nations and neighbouring municipalities to build respectful and equitable partnerships, and to develop capacity for long-term planning for joint community economic development.

More information on the commemoration celebration can be found on Facebook.

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Aug 15, 2022 - 6:00 am

The severe thunderstorms watches and warnings issued earlier this morning for Southwest Manitoba have ended. Original story and updates are below.

It looks like a stormy start to the week as Environment Canada meteorologists are tracking some severe thunderstorms lumbering into Manitoba from Saskatchewan.

As of 8:19, the Ste. Rose-McCreary-Alonsa-Gladstone and Minnedosa-Riding Mountain National Park areas have both come under a severe thunderstorm warning.

The severe thunderstorm warnings for the Municipality of Russell-Binscarth incl. Gambler Res. and R.M. of Riding Mountain West incl. Asessippi Prov. Park have ended. Severe thunderstorm watches are still active for the following places:

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

*Previous updates are below*

As of 6:20, meteorologists are keeping an eye on a line of severe thunderstorms crossing the border into Manitoba.

This has prompted a severe thunderstorm warning for Dauphin-Russell-Roblin-Winnipegosis as well as Minnedosa-Riding Mountain National Park and pretty much all of Southwest Manitoba. The storms could bring up to nickel size hail along with heavy rain and winds.

A report of hail as big as a toonie was reported around 3 am in Churchbridge, SK, which is not far from Russell on Highway 16.

Overall it looks like the Southwest Manitoba and the Parkland will see scattered thunderstorms this morning. For a link to the severe thunderstorm warning, click here.

Details: Contributed by Alec Woolston; Published: Aug 15, 2022 - 5:36 am

'Adventure from here on out' is Dauphin's new slogan and it fits perfectly. With a wide range of things to do and diverse cultures in the area, Dauphin truly is a great place to call home and Tourism Dauphin is looking to show off this great city.

They're looking to put together a promotional video that highlights the wide range of adventures and cultures in the area and that's where you come in. Filming will take place during the week of August 15 and activities may include disc golf, pickleball, walking in Vermillion Park, shopping downtown, exploring the Historical Walking Tour and local museums, biking, and enjoying ice cream treats, just to name a few.

While they prepare to start filming, Tourism Dauphin is looking for models of all ages and backgrounds. Economic Development Manager, Martijn Van Lujin, said he welcomes you to get in touch with the city.

"We're looking for anyone, anyone can sign up," said Van Lujin. "Seniors, indigenous families, immigrants, really anyone. You can give us a call and we will get back to you."

Van Lujin says with the weather continuing to be beautiful, people continue to visit Dauphin and area and he expects that to continue over the next couple of weeks.

"We're in the middle of tourism season, the first one really for a couple of years now," said Van Lujin. "We are seeing many new faces in town with all of the festivals and things to do. It has been a fantastic summer and we want to share all the beauty that is here."

So if you're interested in becoming a part of the video, call the city at 622-3200 and the process will begin. You can also email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Anyone who participates will receive a $10 gift card supporting the Countryfest Community Cinema.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Aug 15, 2022 - 5:00 am

Manitoba RCMP say that they have recently received reports of a scam email circulating in Manitoba.

The email features a fraudulent letter claiming to be from the RCMP.

In the example provided by the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, the letter says that the recipient is being charged with criminal offences against minors and claims that they will be arrested and punished with a fine and jail time if found guilty.

Even though the example is only available in French, letters like it could be circulating in English as well.

The RCMP want to remind people that law enforcement will never demand payment and will not threaten arrest by email.

They also say that anyone in doubt should contact the law enforcement agency directly.

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Aug 13, 2022 - 7:43 am

UPDATE: As of 10:10 a.m., the fog advisory has ended.

The original article follows:

Environment Canada has issued a fog advisory for Minnedosa and surrounding areas.

It is currently in effect for the following communities:

Hamiota Mun. incl. McConnell and Lavinia
Mun. of Clanwilliam-Erickson
Mun. of Harrison Park incl. Onanole Sandy Lake and Newdale
Prairie View Mun. incl. Bird Tail Creek Res.
R.M. of Minto-Odanah incl. Minnedosa and Moore Park
R.M. of Oakview incl. Oak River and Rapid City
R.M. of Rosedale incl. Eden and Kelwood
R.M. of Yellowhead incl. Shoal Lake and Elphinstone
R.M.of Ellice-Archie incl. St-Lazare McAuley and Manson
Riding Mountain National Park
Rossburn Mun. incl. Waywayseecappo Res.

Environment Canada says that near zero visibility in fog is expected or occurring.

They also say that an area of fog has developed over southwestern Manitoba early this morning, and is expected to last until mid-morning.

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Aug 13, 2022 - 5:20 am

Ernie Sirski did a tremendous job as one of the co-hosts on the grandstand stage at Ukrainian Festival. Now his focus has switched to the upcoming harvest season and he is feeling pretty good about things.

"I just came back from a tour in Saskatchewan and it looks like our crops look as good as any there," said Sirski. "I think the crops that are here look pretty good."

Sirski did say some of the crops they planted did drown out and he also noted some of the canola fields don't look as strong as hoped. Ernie is also hoping for an inch of rain as we haven't had any meaningful precipitation in quite some time now.

"That wouldn't hurt but things look pretty good for the most part," said Sirski. "We are; however, expecting an average or just below crop, it is what it is."

Ernie figures he is still a few weeks away from getting on the field and he's expecting a late harvest. As long as there is no frost in September, he remains confident that he will get all of the crops off and in the bin.

"We still have an opportunity to make some money with the historical prices right now, they're very good," said Sirski. "Even an average crop will bring us some dollars. How much, that depends because inputs are crazy right now but at least we have an opportunity."

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Aug 13, 2022 - 5:00 am

Western Days returned to Sandy Lake last weekend and it was very well attended.

Charlene Lewandoski, a member of the Western Days Committee, says that it was probably the biggest Western Days they've had in 26 years.

"[There were] definitely more [people] than in 2019. I would say that there [were] well over 2,000 people in attendance," she adds.

Lewandoski says that the pancake breakfasts and beer gardens were packed as well.

"They served over 700 people for breakfast... at lunchtime, they served over 750 people borscht and bread... [the beer gardens were full] and come supper time, we couldn't find a spot to sit," she adds.

She then went on to say that the fireworks show was a big hit with everyone.