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The price of Easter chocolate this year is going to be much higher than previous, after a poor harvest on the other side of the planet.

Bad weather and disease in West Africa have damaged crop yields, hurting supply for the product that goes into Easter, Halloween, and Valentine’s Day candy.

Unlike some crops, cocoa production is highly concentrated, meaning huge portions of the world’s supply are grown in a handful of areas. This makes the crop and its supply chain more vulnerable to disruptions.

According to Statistics Canada inflation data, the price of confectionary items rose more than nine per cent between January 2023 and 2024, compared with overall inflation for food purchased from stores of 3.4 per cent.

A February report by agriculture-focused co-operative bank CoBank said cocoa prices were nearly 65 per cent higher than a year ago, and New York futures prices were at a 46-year high.

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The Royal Manitoba Winter Fair Returns to the Key Stone Center In Brandon for its 54th year.

Event director Mark Humphries says the event has been around a lot longer under a different name.

"1906 was the first Manitoba Winter Fair, obviously after the royal status, that changed its title so it's been going for a heck of a long time. you know, our history dates back to the late 1800s when the Dominion Fair came to town, and that's where its origins as an agricultural fair began"

This Annual Fair features tons of horse shows, agricultural sales and displays,  Ag education, and entertainment.

The Theme for the years is "Take The Leap", and Humphries describes it.

"It's a leap year of course, and full of leaping horses every day. so come and take the leap, come down to see us. The doors and the welcome are as open as ever."

And Humphries is always happy to have some extra hands to help out.

"Yeah, we never close the doors to volunteers. We're always open to new faces and new ideas. You can go to the website which is provincialexhibition.com and there is a page there for volunteers to sign up to."

For the full list of scheduled events, and to buy you tickets, be sure to head to provincialexhibition.com and leap on over to The Royal Manitoba Winter Fair!

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The Watson Art Center is going to be getting a bit of a makeover this June, and a new dance floor is on the to-do list.

The Dauphin & District Allied Arts Council Chair Cam Bennet notes that the fresh flooring is funded by the Arts, Culture and Sport in Community Fund.

"Unfortunately, that only covers the top hardwood floor, so we're looking at additional funding from elsewhere for the subfloor underneath so the hardwood lasts longer."

This historic flooring is going to be salvaged and made into numerous creative projects, some of which could be sold to fund a heat-exchange AC unit to keep the Watson the coolest place to be.

When we took up the floor at the high school I worked at for a number of years we saved a good number of items off that and we made a table, I got a bookshelf made out of gym floor, that sort of thing. Same type of idea. Obviously, this one doesn't have the paint and the markings on it, but it almost means you're more able to do stuff with it, right?"

Bennet also noted that the heat exchange is a much more long-term project at this point, but it would offer better temperature control throughout the year while costing less than traditional ductwork AC for a building this size

As an added benefit, the lack of ductwork would help retain the historic feel of the building.

If you want to weigh in with creative uses for this salvaged flooring, a literal piece of history, Contact the Watson at 638 6231, or email them at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Supporters of Maamawi Park are hoping to have phase one of the project open and operational by later this year.

Project co-chair Stacy Penner says topsoil is being brought over from the Main Street project to the project site on the DMCC Fairgrounds, which will be used to form the Co-op Community Spaces hill. 

"Right now what we are doing is we are bringing the top soil over, and over the next couple months, once we see more melting in the area, and the water levels drop a little bit, we are going to see the actual physical construction of the large hill, which is exciting.  Eventually this summer we will be seeding and top soiling certain areas of it."

Penner adds the plan is for the hill to be an all-seasons use, as a toboggan hill during winter months, and a summer slide in the summer. 

 "Maamawi is Ojibway for together.  And essentially that was a big part of our funding applications.  We wanted a space that was centrally located where people could come together and use that space.  And making it into a four seasons park somehow.  And we wanted to have people gather there, no matter what the weather was like."

The plan is for phase one, which also includes a retention pond and a small track for cycling enthusiasts, to be completed and open by this fall.

Future phases of Maamawi Park include a skating oval, lighted trails, a playground, and indigenous art and signage. 

Maamawi Park will be located on the former Brewers Ball Diamond on the DMCC Fairgrounds. 

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Dauphin Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation has announced that its Community Breakfast program will be wrapping up as of April 1st.

In a news release, the DNRC says they are proud to have been able to offer over 14,200 meals over the past fiscal year through their Community Breakfast and Hot Meal programs, with Executive Director Amanda Novak saying it has been heartwarming to see the impact of their efforts on the community.

The DNRC Community Centre will continue to host a hot meal every Monday night from 5 to 6:30 pm in partnership with Parkside Gospel Church. 

They add moving forward, they are committed to working with food security partners to offer financial support through a DNRC Small Grant, as well as sharing volunteer resources. 

Groups interested in getting more information on DNRC food security partnerships and the potential for financial support through the Small Grant program are asked to contact Novak at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

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The Creator of a brand-new publishing company is coming home to display her work today at the Dauphin Public Library.

Chenise Puchailo is Co-founder and Co-Owner Of Spud Publishing Inc., a company described as a group of friends who are following their passions, and making the books they want to see on the shelves.

Puchailo comes home to Dauphin to showcase Spud Publishing's first book, titled "Debut" which features a collection of five stories and ten accompanying illustrations from skilled writers from across the country.

Posted by Spud Publishing Inc. on Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Her goal is to not only get support from the hometown community but also to inspire the creative writers of Dauphin.

"Ideally what I'd love to do is to, you know, start some hype in Dauphin that a hometown girl is doing some publishing and just getting some locals involved. I think it'd be really cool to give Dauphin, or people in Dauphin a chance to have a voice in the publishing game."

You'll be able to meet up with Chenise at the library starting at 1:30 pm this afternoon (Saturday, March 23rd) and you'll get a chance to hear an excerpt from "Debut" as well as purchase a copy for yourself and get it signed.

If you're looking to learn more about Spud Publishing Inc., check out their website spudpub.com!

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The final lineup for this year's Rockin the Fields of Minnedosa festival has been unveiled.

Producer Rob Waloschuk goes over the list of main stage performers. 

"On Friday, we have Prism, Molly Hatchett, Junkhouse, and Kim Mitchell.  On Saturday it is Econoline Crush, J.J. Wilde, and Theory of a Deadman.  And then Sunday it will be Toque, the Trews, Colin James, and Amanda Marshall."

Waloschuk adds they also have some great acts lined up for the Heritage Co-op Hill Top stage. 

"Saturday night up on the hill will be Who Made Who, probably the best AC/DC tribute band out there in the country.  Hip 2B Square is a Huey Lewis tribute, which will perform on Sunday.  And Men Without Shame are celebrating their 30th anniversary this year, and are going to be coming back to Minnedosa.  So look for them on Friday." 

This is the 20th anniversary of the festival.

Tickets for the August 2nd to 4th festival in Minnedosa are available online at rockinthefields.ca, or by calling 1-888-330-8333. 

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Two incidents that occurred on the same day in January in Swan River were back in court this week. 

29-year-old Dean Bell and 40-year-old Tyrone Guiboche will return to Swan River court on April 3rd.

Both are charged with manslaughter in the stabbing death of a 33-year-old man along Main Street on January 13th. 

And 22-year-old Alex Ames was in Swan River court this past Wednesday in relation to a home invasion, theft, and assault in that community on that same day.

He remains in custody and is due in Dauphin court on Tuesday. 

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The Manitoba Government has assessed its fiscal standing, noting that the deficit has been going up.

The 2023-24 third-quarter report shows an increase in the forecasted deficit from the second quarter released in December 2023 and a significant increase in the deficit as reported in the first quarter by the previous government.

Finance Minister Adrien Sala noted the increase is largely attributable to significant unbudgeted overspending in the healthcare sector, as well as losses at Manitoba Hydro and tax cuts.

This would mark a substantial increase from the 363-million figure originally predicted in last year's budget.

To find the full fiscal update, visit the Province Of Manitoba's Website.

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The Provincial and federal governments announced funding for 101 sustainable Agriculture projects.

Federal Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lawrence MacAulay and Manitoba Agriculture Minister and Dauphin MLA  Ron Kostyshyn announced this 16 point 3 million dollars in grant funding under the Sustainable Canadian Agriculture Partnership.

The funding will go towards research and capacity building to accelerate innovation in agriculture in Manitoba, supporting companies that are leading innovative research and putting Manitoba at the forefront of sustainable agriculture research.

this funding adds to a previous 8.4 million dollars that was issued in April of 2023, nearly doubling the amount of funding and projects that will go towards creating a more sustainable agricultural landscape. 

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In just under five months, the best amateur athletes in the province will converge on Dauphin for the 2024 Manitoba Summer Games. 

The event, which will take place from August 11th to 17th, will feature a total of 12 sports. 

Host committee Sport chair Phil Fafard says we will see a lot of competitors converging on our area for those games.

Overall I think there are about 19 hundred athletes and coaches coming, more or less 900+ per phase.  So it is quite an event to accommodate them, feed them, and make sure that they get to the right events.  So it will be a busy, full week with the number of athletes that we have to look after." 

A total of twelve sports will make up this year's games, and Fafard says the event will be broken up into two phases.

"It is spread out over one week, but we have phase one on the Sunday to Wednesday.  And then Wednesday it is turn over day where more athletes come in for the second phase from Wednesday  to Saturday."

Phase one sports include baseball, basketball, golf, rugby, soccer, swimming, and volleyball.

Soccer, rugby, and basketball will also be contested during phase two of the games, along with Athletics, cycling, sailing, softball, and triathlon. 

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