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A group that hopes to focus on mental wellness rather than mental illness by gathering and sharing positive life stories is in the process of being formed.
Eleanor Snitka, the Community Peer Supporter in Dauphin with Peer Connections Manitoba, is launching the initiative, which would be called "Stories, Smiles and Snacks" and will meet the fourth Thursday of every month at the Dauphin Active Learning Center.
Snitka says the focus of this group, which would be for people of all ages, is getting together and sharing stories.
"I think a lot of it started during COVID, and we see people still living alone and still isolating themselves. Some people are full-time caregivers and do not ever have time to get out and go by themselves or do anything. Having the time to connect with other people, to share, to belong, to be a part of a community, is really important to our well-being."
Anyone can join this group, with the first meeting set for September 26th.
If you are interested in joining this group, you can call or text Snitka at 431-345-0353.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
The city of Brandon is set to get a brand new Minor Injury Clinic this month, run by Prairie Mountain Health.
This clinic will be located on the main level of 144 Sixth St. in Brandon.
Glenda Short is the Regional Lead for the community and continuing care programs in PMH, and she notes that this facility will be a big step forward in Brandon's Health care.
"Right now in the brandon area, Prairie Mountain Health doesn't operate a walk-in clinic. So this is opperated by Prairie Mountain Health, 7 days a week from 10 am to 10 pm, and right now we don't have a service like this in our region"
This facility will staff physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals to cover minor medical issues and ease up pressure on the ER.
"There are a lot of clients that don't necessarily have family physicians, and so they don't necessarily have access. Sometimes we have to access the emergency department for non-urgent matters. So this way gives them an opportunity not to have to go to the emergncy department to see somebody in the evenings or on weekends for any minor injury or illness that they have."
Brandon’s clinic is one of the first minor injury and illness clinics in the province, following one in Winnipeg, and more are expected.
Patients will be able to book appointments online with some appointments reserved for walk-in patients.
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- Contributed by Michael Brossart
A Portage la Prairie man arrested this past March in Ebb & Flow on a number of outstanding warrants has had a trial date set.
31-year-old Jesse St Paul, who was eventually taken into custody after initially not stopping for police, will stand trial in Dauphin in January of 2025.
And, a new court date has also been set for a Pine Creek man charged in connection with an April 2023 fatal single-vehicle rollover near DUck Bay that killed a five-year-old boy.
38-year-old Katlin Lamirande will appear again in Dauphin court on September 24th.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
It is shaping up to be a busy next few months at the Watson.
Cam Bennett with the Watson Art Centre says the next few weeks in particular are going to be very busy.
"We have a Dauphin art group paint workshop coming up this weekend. Greg Rekus and Kayla Luky have a show coming up on Thursday (September 12th), and then an Open Mic night on Friday. And we have the Desiree Dorion album release party on September 27th. Emma Peterson is going to be on stage with her as well so that is going to be a great event."
Other upcoming shows include local bands Year Zero and the Friday Night Rebels, as well as the Sean Taylor Band. And the highlight is the Northern Pikes performing on October 19th.
Schedule and ticket info can be found online at www.watsonartcentre.com or on their social media platforms.
Bennett adds they are also trying something new for some of their shows, called "Trust Us" tickets.
"We put out 'Trust Us' tickets for the Northern Pikes show. They were half-priced tickets and we had not announced the name of the band yet, all we said was 'you know, just trust us it is going to be great'. And we had 20 people that paid $20 and said they were going to trust us. So now we have set up a meet and greet with the Northern Pikes for them before the show, and we are reserving the front row of tables for those people as well, just to give them a little perk for saying 'you know what we trust you guys'."
The Watson is also looking for volunteers to help with the Centre and some of their upcoming events.
If you want to help out you can call the Watson at 638-6231 between non and 5 on weekdays, or you can email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
In the Northwest Region, which includes the Parkland, Swan River was the driest location on record last week as another Manitoba Crop Report was released by the Manitoba Government.
Swan River received 0.8mm of precipitation between September 2-8. The wettest location in the Northwest is Pipe Lake who received 15.8mm of precipitation over that same period. Pipe Lake is less than 60 minutes away from Dauphin.
The percentage of harvest completion by crop and region does vary as of September 9.
More from the Northwest:
A mix of weather still allowed for good harvest progress. Unsettled weather events did bring thunderstorms to parts of the region, including hail in the Swan Valley area. To note, there were varying degrees of damage to some crops while some areas along the western portion of the region received a light frost, but it wasn't a killing frost.
Swan Valley station was the lowest recorded overnight temperature at 0.5 °C. High day time temperatures helped crops to move along over the weekend with The Pas station the highest at 32.6 °C.
Of note, soybean crops are in the R6-R7 stage and looking good. The recent heat has helped advance the crops quickly.
To check out the complete Manitoba Crop Report for the week, head here.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
Stephen Roznowsky has organized the Terry Fox Run/Walk for 25 years.
Since returning to Dauphin in 1999, Stephen has been front and centre for the Dauphin event and this Sunday will mark another edition of the yearly fundraiser. This year's Terry Fox Run/Walk will take place on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. at Vermillion Park.
"I am very excited to once again be a part of this fundraiser," said Roznowsky. "The tagline this year is 'No Matter What'. It's going to be great and the weather looks like it will cooperate for us."
Registration on Sunday will begin at 10:30 and ahead of that, you can get yourself all signed up and donate to the cause. Stephen and his crew will be at the Dauphin Coop Food Store on Thursday and Friday collecting donations and registrations from 11-6.
Should you decide to donate, you will receive a tax receipt and there will also be draws for prizes at Coop.
While you can certainly run for the entirety of Sunday's event, Stephen says you don't have to.
"They can run, they can rollerblade, they can bike, they can walk, whatever they want," ended Roznowsky. "I had an elderly female call me the other day to ask me if she could bring her walker and I said absolutely, anything works."
You do not have to donate to take part; however, donations are encouraged. Since its inception in 1981, over $850 million has been raised for cancer research in Terry's name through the annual Terry Fox Run/Walk, which is held across Canada and around the world.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
RCMP in Russell had an interesting recent recovery effort.
A few weeks ago, Mounties received a report of a submerged vehicle in Lake of the Prairies within the RM of Riding Mountain - West.
They vehicle was spotted by a fish finder, with photos and a GPS location provided to police.
The RCMP Underwater Recovery team used sonar to get a license plate number for the vehicle, which helped them determine that the submerged vehicle was a 1970s pickup truck.
Police then found the owner, who told them he'd been returning home in the winter of 1990 and took a shortcut across the ice, but the truck went through.
The owner added everyone got out safely, and that he had returned multiple times over the years trying to locate the truck, but had never found it.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
The Manitoba Country Music Association has announced its nominees for their 2024 awards, which will be presented on November 10th at Club Regent in Winnipeg.
Winnipegosis area resident Nelson Little leads the charge with 7 nominations, including Male Artist, Top Roots artist, NCI Top Indigenous artist, and the Fans Choice award. He was also nominated for single, Video, and Songwriter Song of the Year - all for his song "Just Make It Happen".
Little is up against Roblin's Ryan Keown for both Male Artist and the Fans Choice awards, while Ryan's son Austin Ryder has been nominated for the emerging artist award.
Ethelbert's Jerry Sereda will also go up against Little for a pair of awards - including male artist and NCI Top Indigenous artist.
Emma Peterson of Winnipegosis is also up for two awards - including top Interactive artist and female artist of the year - where she will go up against Dauphin's Desiree Dorion and Elkhorn's Kendra Kay.
Kay received a total of four nominations.
And Dauphin's Kate's Outlaw also has a pair of nominations, for Group or Duo of the Year and Top Emerging artist.
Rounding out the list is Alonsa's Rylan Knaggs, who is nominated for all star - guitar award, and 730 CKDM - who will look to defend our crown as Radio Station of the Year.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
Sawyer Bauch loves to smile and she loves when other people are smiling.
Earlier this year at the Ashern Personal Care Home, it was all smiles not only for Sawyer but for every resident and staff member at the Care Home. While at Alf Cuthbert School in Moosehorn, Sawyer was asked by her teacher what one of her goals was.
With no hesitation and no surprise, Sawyer wanted to make people smile. So she decided to train her miniature donkey named Fireball to be a service animal that could visit residents at the Ashern Personal Care Home.
The visit brought great joy to all involved.
"I wanted to bring my donkey to the care home because it makes me happy to see other people be happy," said Bauch. "It went great, everyone loved him. They were all interested and Fireball was so happy, he loves pets."
Sawyer has had Fireball for four years and spends as much time as possible with him. Previous to Sawyer getting Fireball, he had never been handled by people. Now he's a Bauch and Sawyer wouldn't have it any other way.
While the visit at the Ashern Personal Care Home was outside, Sawyer is now training Fireball to be able to go inside.
"I love spending time with him, he makes me so happy," shared Bauch.
Sawyer plans on taking Fireball on more visits in the near future so if you're lucky enough to see him in person, give him a few extra pets and prepare to smile.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
Grand Chief Cathy Merrick will lie in state on Wednesday at the Manitoba Legislative Building.
The former Grand Chief, who suddenly passed away last Friday, will lie in state between noon and 5:00 p.m. During this time, members of the public are invited to pay their respoects, but photography will be prohibited in the ceremonial room where the lying in state will take place.
A book of condolences will be placed at the base of the Grand Staircase of the Manitoba Legislative Building.
If you attend the lying in state, you can sign a book, which will be gifted to the family after the week ends. Following Wednesday, you can sign the book for the remainder of the week between the hours of 8 and 8. The flags at the Legislative Building will be lowered to half-mast until the funeral in Cross Lake on Saturday.
Cathy spent more than a decade as a band councillor at Pimicikamak First Nation and became the community's chief in 2013, the second woman to do so. She was then elected grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs in October 2022 and was re-elected in July of this year. Merrick became the first woman to lead the advocacy group in its nearly 35-year history.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
If your daily commute takes you to or from the west end of the city, you will have to alter your travel plans for the day.
CN Rail is conducting repairs on the track at the rail crossing on PTH 5A and Buchanon Avenue, meaning that crossing will be closed from, 8 am to 4 pm today (Tuesday).
Traffic will have to use the Highway 5 by-pass to get to and from the west end of the city.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
