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The latest results of the Provincial Governance Review are in after the MVSD board of Trustees was put under the Microscope.

The Minister Of Education has appointted an oversight panel to support the MVSD board to ensure it progresses on key priorities such as diversity, inclusion, and reconciliation.

According to the Update posted on the MVSD website, this panel will consist of the following members:

  • Frances Chartrand, Cabinet Minister of the Manitoba Metis Federation
  • Jim Murray, School Trustee, Brandon School Division
  • and Andrea Zaroda, Staff Officer, Manitoba Teachers' Society.

The Announcement further states that this panel will assist in navigating recent board and staff turnover, strengthening governance practices, and community relations.

 The Rural Municipality of Dauphin stated on Tuesday that it will terminate its current Dauphin Recreation Services funding agreement with the city at the end of this year, unless a new agreement can be reached that they say pulls away from the previous per-capita model, and reaches "an agreement that benefits both municipalities".

"We are having a regular council meeting on Monday where we will discuss (the R-M announcement)." says City of Dauphin Mayor David Bosiak when reached by CKDM News Now for reaction. "Then we will have a formal statement on Tuesday, mostly to clarify what was in their news release and to give our side of the story and fill in some of the blanks that were missing."

Bosiak is still hopeful that a new agreement can be reached.

"On behalf of all of the residents of the City, I think a partnership is always better,  But if they have made a decision that they do not want to participate, then I can not change that.  We have had the discussion with them for 18 months now, and they have made a decision."

Another week, and another crop report filled with less-than-ideal conditions.

The rain was fairly isolated, but still unwelcome, as most areas in Agro-Manitoba have received well over 150% of expected rainfall since may 1st.

The Northwest region had the second-highest rainfall, and the highest minimum, with 44.3mm in Birch River and 8.2 mm in Reedy Creek respectively.

Paired with this were fewer than average growing degree days, which have slowed down early plant growth a fair bit.

Notably,  Provincial seeding progress is about 92% complete and behind the 5-year average of 96% for the second week of June.

Spring cereals, peas, and grain corn are approximately 97% complete. Canola and soybean planting advanced as well, with 88% of canola acres and 92% of soybean acres planted.

Many of the unseeded acres are expected to be planted to canola. 

Fall rye crops are generally at full head emergence, and winter wheat is following closely behind it.

Spring Cereals are rapidly approaching completion, with Spring wheat seeding at 98% complete, barley and oats at 97% and grain corn at 98%.

Oil Seeds continue to struggle, Sunflower planting is at 61% completion across the province, canola at 88%, and flax at 76%

While both Flax and Canola have decent growth, Sunflowers are struggling with the cooler weather.

Pulse and soybeans are near completion, but seem to be stalled by standing water, as they haven't moved much from last week.

Field pea planting is at 97% completion across the province, Soybeans at 92%, and Dry bean planting is at 86%.

The pastures sure have greened up with all the rain, but like everything else, it needs a good boost of sunshine to really kick-start growth.

The extra water has raised some concern when it comes to foot rot in cattle herds though, so many producers are aiming to keep their cattle in the high ground.

Breeding season has begun on some farms, with bulls being placed with cow herds. 

Producers are checking their fences and carrying out necessary maintenance work ahead of the grazing season.

Moving closer to home, the Northwest region again saw cool, cloudy, and windy conditions for most of the week along with scattered showers.

Seeding is continuing where possible, with some acres being seeded around potholes.

The strong wind drew away a minuscule amount of moisture but created a lot more difficulty for Herbicide applications.

Plenty of crops are feeling the stress of standing water.

that being said, Winter wheat and fall rye have begun heading.

Approximately 92% of spring wheat is seeded and the earliest seeded wheat is tillering. Canola is approximately 80-85% complete, with further progress in the Roblin and Swan River areas.

Stages of canola are varied due to the challenges of seeding this spring. Most advanced canola is at the 2 to 4-leaf stage. 

Soybean crops continue to emerge and most advanced soybeans are in the unifoliate stage. Field pea seeding is complete and most fields have emerged.

Flea beetles have also begun to become a problem, and some canola did need reseeding due to the damage.

A week of solid sunshine and warmer temperatures is what's on everyone's mind, as it would cause a speedy end to seeding and much-needed growing degree days.

Until next week, We here at CKDM wish everyone a safe, speedy, and productive season.

The RM of Dauphin held a special Press release this afternoon, about the Funding of Dauphin Recreation Services.

"It has been stated by the mayor and the City of Dauphin that the RM of Dauphin has not contributed to their share to Dauphin Recreation Services (DRS). I'm here to clarify some misinformation."

According to the release, Put out by Reeve Ernie Sirski, the RM has put forward just under a million dollars of operational funding, and given over 140 thousand dollars in Capital funding, as requested by the DRS.

The problem the RM has is that there is little to no financial return on this investment.

"We don't have a lot of restaurants or hotels in the Rural Municipality. Anytime there's a function, anytime there's a hockey tournament, a curling bonspiel, the rodeo that just happened, the bull riding that just happened, brings in visitors from out of town. Where do they stay? They stay in the city of Dauphin. Where do they eat? In the city of Dauphin. Where do they shop? In the city of Dauphin. The economic benefit accrues to the city, and I think they have to recognize that."

The RM has offered to negotiate an agreement that pulls away from the previous per-capita model, and reach "an agreement that benefits both municipalities if the city so chooses".

If an agreement isn't reached, the RM has chosen to terminate the current agreement at the end of this year.

RCMP in The Pas are asking the public to help them locate a missing 30-year-old man from Grand Rapids.

They say Reginald Maxwell Cook was last seen on the evening of June 4th at a residence on Ross Avenue in The Pas.

Police and family are concerned for the well-being of Cook, who is described as 5’9” tall, 120 lbs, with brown hair and hazel eyes.

He was last seen wearing a black shirt and black pants.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts are asked to call The Pas RCMP or Crime Stoppers.

In the courts, a 28-year-old Dauphin man arrested in mid-January near Ste Rose has had a new court date set. 

Clint Nepinak faces drug charges and other outstanding warrants and will be back before a judge in Brandon next Thursday.

And a 29-year-old man facing Second Degree murder charges following a death this past January on the Birdtail Sioux Dakota Nation was also back in court.

Michael Hanska remains in custody until his next appearance on July 5th. 

This Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of the accident near Carberry that claimed 17 lives and injured eight others.

A special Ceremonial Tribute in Remembrance is being planned for Saturday afternoon at 2 pm in CN Park. 

Lavonne Tyschinski - who's mom was a passenger on the bus - is helping to plan the memorial. 

"We will be having representation from the province, the City of Dauphin and the RM of Dauphin, as well as from the Ministerial Association.  We will then have a tribute to the passengers as well as a reading of the passengers' names, and then a tribute to the passengers.  That will be followed by a moment of silence, and then the unveiling of the monument."  

"(The monument) is in honour of both the deceased and the survivors.  It is a tribute as well to the first responders.  It is really a collective monument for everyone that would have been involved or impacted by the accident."

Tyschinski says the day is another step in the healing process for everyone impacted by this tragedy.

"We also want to recognize and express our sincere gratitude to the emergency services... STARS Air Ambulance, the RCMP, any volunteer responders who attended to our loved ones that day.  With this tribute, we really wanted to show our gratitude." 

Seating will be limited so anyone planning on attending is encouraged to bring a lawn chair.

The ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. and will be followed by a Memorial Tea at the Dauphin Active Living Center. 

For those unable to attend the ceremony, Pathways Funeral Home will be live-streaming it on their website. 

Last night's Board of Trustees meeting was a bit different, with a much smaller board, and a much larger crowd attending.

It started with an address by Board Chair Gabe Mercier and was followed by minutes from meetings previous.

While the regular board meeting minutes from May 27th were reviewed with the public, the special meeting minutes from the 31st, where Stephen Jaddock was dismissed, were not.

Nearing the end of the meeting, concerned parent Jerri Thompson broke decorum to call for the board to be dissolved after recent controversies.

"Educate yourself, read the policies, read the bylaws, and get involved with your schools. Even if this board is dissolved, there is nothing to stop them from running again except for the public. We need to know who's running for our school boards, and we need to know they have the same values in mind as the broader community."

Thompson encourages any other parents to stay informed and voice their concerns.

While the Board did make note of the ongoing governance review, there's been no new information provided on that yet.

Friday was a special day for everyone associated with Assiniboine Community College's Parkland Campus.

Director Carol Stewart says 54 graduates were recognized for completing nine certificate, diploma, and advanced diploma programs.

"We had students graduate from our Adult Learning Centre, the School of Health and Human Services, The School of Business, the Russ Edwards School of Agriculture and the Environment, and our School of Trades."   

Stewart adds the next steps for these students is to find employment, hopefully within the field that they studied.

"We are pretty optimistic that this will be the case for most of our graduates, because we just recently got the results of our latest graduate follow-up survey.  On average, over 90 per cent of Assiniboine grads are employed and have careers related to their studies."

Joana Lusung Ribagorda, a Social Service Worker graduate, was the Valedictorian for the Parkland Campus ceremony, which was held at Credit Union Place. 

Canada's National Ukrainian Festival kicked-started the summer season with its annual Pre-party at Obsolete Brewing.

CNUF board President Kayla Gillis was thrilled by the turnout and is even more excited about what's to come.

"We're going to have a huge announcement coming up for our Saturday night headliner and we're really looking forward to that. expectations, we know everybody is going to have a great time, but if you haven't been,  grab a buddy and come up to the hill, you'll have a fantastic time."

Gillis was thrilled to have a crowd out enjoying Ukrainian Dancing, Food, and fellowship.

It also allowed a great avenue to show off Merchandise with the brand-new CNUF Logo, as seen above.

Gillis thanks all the Volunteers and community support that make this event possible.

Stay tuned, as we'll have more on the big announcement coming later this week.

Tonight (Monday) is the first school board trustee meeting for the Mountain View School Division since the removal of Stephen Jaddock as Superintendent by the board in late May.

That decision eventually led to the immediate resignation of three trustees - Scott McCallum, Leifa Misko, and Floyd Martens on June 3rd. 

Limited public seating for the meeting was spoken for well in advance of tonight's gathering.