MNU raise concerns about SVHC

The Manitoba Nurses Union is raising concerns about safety issues in the emergency room of the Swan Valley Health Centre.

Among the issues outlined in a release by the MNU are escalating violence in the ER, random people walking off the elevator and into random rooms or staff rooms to help themselves to items in the fridge.

Another specific concern is that most of the hospital's security cameras are not working, which is especially troublesome when nurses have to go into the parking lot to administer harm reduction kits. They say this leaves both themselves and patients vulnerable.

Other issues include a triage system that the MNU calls unsafe, and the overhead paging system in the building being down, making it difficult to alert people in the building about hospital codes.

MNU President Darlene Jackson says top priorities right now for the union include getting all on-site cameras working and having consistent security at the facility.

She adds they would also like to see an institutional safety officer in the emergency room.

Details: Contributed by Jeff Henson; Published: Nov 21, 2024 - 12:16 pm

Snow clearing crews will be putting the pedal to the metal tonight as snow clearing ramps up.

The city announced that crews will be running 2, 12-hour shifts, starting tonight, until all roads and sidewalks are cleared.

These efforts will start in the downtown/business area tonight at 8 pm, clearing Main Street and 1st Ave NE

It's recommended to keep vehicles off these roadways and keep an eye out for windrows as clearing continues.

Details: Contributed by Michael Brossart; Published: Nov 20, 2024 - 6:54 pm

Markets are always changing and growing, and Economist Michael Shuman from the US says there are some big trends.

"We are moving from an economy that's focused on good to one focused on services. when I was a kid growing in New York in the 1950s, my family spent 60-70% of its household income on various goods. today in our countries, goods expenditures are about 30%"

Michael H. Shuman is an economist, attorney, author, and entrepreneur, and a leading visionary on community economics.

Shuman's expertise is on Local Economic growth, and something he thinks can't be beaten is the services provided by local businesses.

"It's much more personalized, that shoppers get to know the shop owners, and that people are investing in businesses that they know and love. And businesses are at a scale where the employees know the managers"

Putting your money where your house is allows you to form lasting relationships with businesses, and create great return business!

You can learn more about Michael Shumans work at his website michaelhshuman.com

Details: Contributed by Michael Brossart; Published: Nov 20, 2024 - 6:51 pm

The Manitoba RCMP is rolling out regular body-mounted camera usage, to ensure accountability and transparency, between November 22nd and April of next year.

Four-Hundred-Ninety RCMP officers across 44 detachments will be equipped with these cameras.

This will be a phased release through the following communities:

Commanding Officer Scott McMurchy was proud to roll out this initiative, saying that communities have been asking for more accountability and transparency in policing.

Officers usually wear their body-worn cameras on their chests, and the public will know they’re recording when a red light is visible and flashing below the camera's lens.

Details: Contributed by Michael Brossart; Published: Nov 20, 2024 - 4:05 pm

A holiday time tradition returns to Dauphin this weekend, as the 5th annual "Pack the Pump/Cram the Cruiser" Food Bank challenge begins.

Between November 22nd and 28th, Dauphin residents can donate non-perishable food items or cash donations at either the Dauphin Fire Hall, or in the back seat of a special Christmas-lit police car at the Dauphin RCMP detachment.

RCMP Constable Marc Leroux says assisting the Food Bank is something near and dear to his heart.

"It is Christmas time, and there are a lot of people out there in Dauphin who are not as lucky as most of us. Really, the big goal would be to get a really nice Christmas table for a lot of these families that are not as fortunate as others."

Dauphin Fire Chief Cam Abrey describes what kind of items the Food Bank is looking for.

"Their recommendations include dry cereals, oatmeal, pasta and pasta sauce, any canned goods like beans, meat, vegetables, fruit and fish. Mac and cheese is always popular along with coffees, soup, and crackers. They are also able to take some monetary donations, which is used to purchase perishable items on the days of their giveaways."

Donations can be dropped off at either the Duphin Fire Hall, or in the back seat of the specially lit police cruiser at the Dauphin RCMP detachment.

You can also call the Fire Hall at 204-622-3100 to pick up your donation.

Final weigh-ins will take place on November 29th.

Weather permitting, the Fire Department also hopes to have fire trucks and members at Dauphin's three grocery stores between 1 and 3 pm Saturday to collect donations.

The RCMP has won three of the previous four years of this Food Bank Challenge.

Details: Contributed by Jeff Henson; Published: Nov 20, 2024 - 1:45 pm

A total of three openings on RM of Lakeshore council will be filled through a by-election scheduled for January 15th.

The vacancies include one council position in each ward one and two, as well as the position of Reeve for the Municipality.

Clayton Watts resigned from the Reeve position in September, citing health issues and personal family reasons for the decision.

Interested candidates can now submit nomination papers, with the deadline to do so being December 10th.

You can pick them up by contacting Senior Election Officer Jenine Norman at 431-738-7788 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Details: Contributed by Jeff Henson; Published: Nov 20, 2024 - 12:29 pm

Parkland area residents are beginning the process of digging out this morning after the first major snowfall of the winter season.

Plows are already out clearing major roadways in Dauphin this morning after Tuesday's dumping.

The Winter Storm Warning remains in effect, as another 5 cm of snow is expected to fall today.

The big issue today will be gusty northwesterly winds, which will blow this fresh snow around and cause snow drifts and reduced visibility, especially in open areas.

More local highways are now reopening following the recent snowfall.

Manitoba 5-1-1 says Highway 20 from Ochre River to Winnipegosis, and Highway 5 from Ochre River turnoff to Roblin have opened, along with Highway 10 from Ashville junction to Cowan.

All of these roads are listed as being snow-covered with reduced visibility/

Highways still closed as of 1 pm Wednesday include Highway 5 from Ochre River turnoff to Riding Mountain, Highway 10 through Riding Mountain National Park, Highway 50 from McCreary to Silver Ridge and Highway 68 from Ste Rose to Ebb & Flow.

All schools are closed today in the Mountainview, Turtle River, and Park West School Divisions, and all buses in those three divisions are also not running today.

In the Swan Valley School Division, all buses are not running today, but all schools are still open.

As for Frontier School Division, schools in Duck Bay, Pine Creek, Birdtail, Rorketon, Waterhen GYpsuville and Skownan are akk closed today.

Also, this morning, the Kin Aquatic Centre will be closed until a lifeguard can be sent in.

As well, all swimming lessons have been cancelled for today (Wednesday).

And Happy Space Children's Centre in Winnipegosis is also closed today, as is Magical Horizons Day Care in Dauphin.

Details: Contributed by Jeff Henson; Published: Nov 20, 2024 - 8:53 am

The Manitoba Government opened a new legislative session, with Premier Wab Kinew laying out plans for the future through the Throne Speach.

Among the commitments made in the throne speech are healthcare, economic growth, the New Public Safety Strategy, planning for schools, and more.

In health care, the plan includes building on the 870 net new health-care workers and new clinics in Winnipeg and Brandon with a new ER wait times strategy.

it would also look to add 800 new hip and knee surgeries at the Selkirk Regional Health Centre and applications for an improved plastic health card rolling out before the end of the year.

Plans for economic growth would explore a new critical minerals strategy, highway twinning, and a new Indigenous loan guarantee program.

For community safety, the province has already shared its new "tough on crime" plan, titled the Public Safety Strategy.

In schools, we could see expansions to the universal school meal program, updated science and finance curriculum, and a commitment to ensure all First Nations people are able to vote in school board elections.

There are also plans to address anti-competitive contracts that make groceries more expensive, a plan to freeze Manitoba Hydro rates for one year, and new steps to provide relief to renters and homeowners.

A new mother and child bison statue to be built on the front lawn of the legislative building grounds, and a new honour for veterans and other Manitoba heroes is also in the works.

Premier Kinew noted, "We’re starting to see progress on these important priorities and we won’t stop working to make life better for all Manitobans.”

You can watch the full throne speech at the Government Of Manitoba's youtube channel.

Details: Contributed by Michael Brossart; Published: Nov 19, 2024 - 8:20 pm

As Dauphin gets pounded with its first winter storm, many homes are without power.

Manitoba Hydro has reported an outage that is affecting 956 customers. The outage was first reported at 6:54 p.m. and the estimated restoration is 10:00 p.m.

The outage was unplanned

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Nov 19, 2024 - 7:39 pm

Shopping at local businesses has a lot of benefits not only for shoppers but also for the local economy.

Martijn Van Luijn, Dauphin Economic Development Manager, describes an economic metaphor known as "The Leaky Bucket".

"Imagine yourself that the community is a water bucket, and the water that comes in, that's our economy. that's all the goods we produce and all that we sell. the more we can keep in the bucket, the better it is. When we talk 'leaky bucket' that's all the money that leaves the community"

The real question is how much stays in this bucket?