NewsNow

The Royal Manitoba Winter Fair does not take place until March of next year, but nominations are open for the annual BMO Farm Family Awards.

The award highlights farm families who are active in their communities in agriculture and outside of it too.

"Any farming family can be put up for nomination, we're looking for that community involvement as well as the agricultural involvement. There's a lot of farm families that have many interests in local communities, from being coaches, to volunteers on boards, to even participating in local government", commented Mark Humphries, the General Manager of Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba, which hosts the fair.

Humphries says the winners of the award will receive V.I.P. treatment at the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair, including getting an opportunity to go behind-the-scenes at the fair. There will also be an award luncheon for them and they will be recognized during an evening performance. All nominees will receive a plaque to display at their farms as well.

"It's a lovely recognition of what farming folk do, we're always really happy to see them at the fair, and hear about what contributions they make to not only agricultural and farming in general, but also for local communities", said Humphries.

The deadline to submit a nomination is January 30th, 2023, and the form can be found here. The criteria is pretty simple, nominees must:

• Be actively involved in agriculture and community.
• Rely on agriculture as a major source of income.
• Have some family members reside on the farm that are active in primary agriculture.

Details

Contributed by Alec Woolston

Published: Dec 12, 2022 - 6:00 am

Ron Kostyshyn has put his name forward and is running as the NDP Candidate for Dauphin in next year's provincial election.

Kostyshyn has a long career in both provincial and municipal politics, previously serving as the MLA for Swan River, and during that time was the Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Initiatives. He most recently served as Reeve of the Mossey River Municipality.

 "Often when you get involved with municipal politics, you always get involved in other areas of politics. So I'm proud to say that I was involved with the Intermountain Watershed for a number of years, had the opportunity to be the Manitoba conservation district association president in the province of Manitoba as well, sat on the planning district for a number of years, and also was the AMM board member for 8 years."

Kostyshyn says that the first topic that comes to mind when thinking about issues that are affecting the Parkland on the provincial level, is healthcare.

"For example the Grandview situation, and I know that our leader Wab Kinew has brought it up at questions period. You've got a community like Grandview, who are trying their best to keep the hospital going as best they can in partnership with the regional health authority and the province of Manitoba. Unfortunately, there are challenges that they're facing right now, and I'll give you one example, is the fact we've got a number of retired nurses that are preparing to come back to help out in the emergency situation."

Kostyshyn says that the promises that've been made by the Conservative government to have retired nurses re-registered at Red River College don't seem to be happening.

"We discovered that Red River Community College, at this stage of the game, has no opportunity to provide those services to have nurses re-educated or re-registered, to provide their experience."

Another topic that Kostyshyn Focused on was the jail closure in Dauphin.

 "I'm not okay with the jail closure that took place a number of years ago. In perspective, when we talk about rural economic development, when you start to lose 80 jobs, and an estimated cost of about 9 million dollars into the Dauphin constituency economy, that was probably one of the largest challenges that the Dauphin constituency had to deal with."

Kostyshyn says that's one of the driving forces behind a number of issues that made him want to run for MLA.

"To take the 80 jobs that were lost in the Dauphin constituency, it's like losing 8000 jobs in Winnipeg. I wonder if it was in Winnipeg whether that would've actually happened."

On top of a career in politics, Kostyshyn has been a producer for over 40 years in both the cattle and grain sectors. He says that helps him know what the issues that are important to the area are, including the crown lands act which he views as the most troubling issue.

Kostyshyn says he was talking to someone in the Eddystone area, and there are around 20 family farm ranches that have disappeared since the act was introduced. He says it's a very bad sign for rural economic development.

"That's 20 families that have now relocated somewhere else, only to have one individual or one corporation now running the operation. That is a sign of challenges for rural economic development. That is 20 families that now have no more children going to schools, so then it becomes a domino effect of business closures simply because you have school closures because you don't have as many children, you have less population. I guess to sum it up, population drives economic development, no matter what community you're from, and once you start to lose population, that's a challenge that all communities in the Dauphin constituency will be faced with."

In 2018, the province went through the process of re-drawing the borders of nearly all ridings, meaning the Winnipegosis area, which Kostyshyn is a resident of, is now a part of the Dauphin riding.

The provincial election is currently scheduled for October 3^rd, 2023, but the Progressive Conservative government has the ability to call the election early if they chose to do so.

Details

Contributed by Sam Brownell

Published: Dec 12, 2022 - 5:35 am

Walter Kochalyk from Sifton took home the biggest prize in the Dauphin Kings Tractor Lotto.

On draw day Sunday, Walter won the $100,000.00 prize.

$1000 winners:

#191 - Lance Cory

#708 - Darla Abrey 

#1624 - Dean Morran 

#1076 - Julie Leblanc

#0088 - Loreen Husband 

#576 - Kim Watson

#2896 - Steve Hogue

#197 - Lion Lepla  

#1226 - Tom Hanke + Kim Fillion 

#206 - Charlene Gulak

$2500 winners:

#2977 - Johnny + Gay Rushinka

#1465 - Keri Elliot

$5000 winners:

#1222 - Richard Kolochuk

#1221 - Clem Bouchard

$10,000 winners:

#1974 - Tony's Auto

50/50 Draw:

#2082 - $36,625 - Barb Gordon

Supplementary Draw:

#1383 - Risa Oleksy

#1204 - Michael Sytnyk

#1166 - Tim Hill 

Details

Contributed by Darnell Duff

Published: Dec 11, 2022 - 7:23 pm

People living at 417 Main Street South had a startling experience early this morning.

Around 1 am, a pickup truck drove into the side of the building.

[Images submitted by resident of the building]

We have contacted the RCMP for more information on the matter.

Details

Contributed by Alec Woolston

Published: Dec 10, 2022 - 9:09 am

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), which was first detected in Manitoba last November, has been found in another two male mule deer in the province. 

This comes from Manitoba Natural Resources and Northern Development, who say the two cases were detected in mandatory sample submissions of harvested animals near Dropmore and Coulter, Manitoba. Dropmore is near Lake Of The Prairies while Coulter is located southwest of Brandon near the U.S. border.

The province has expanded the harvested cervid mandatory biological sample submission zone (outlined in red on the map) in 2022 to help monitor for CWD. All licensed hunters in the expanded area are required to submit head and upper neck samples of harvested white-tailed deer, mule deer, and elk for testing. There are several locations in the Parkland to bring samples to. A list of them can be found starting on page two of the above link.

Chronic Wasting Disease is an incurable, fatal disease that affects members of the deer family including white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, moose, and caribou. If it spreads and becomes endemic to Manitoba, there is a serious risk that it will threaten the health of all cervid populations in the province. For humans, it is not known to pose a health risk, but eating meat from an animal infected with it is not recommended.

Any hunters who have concerns or questions about an animal they've harvested can call 204-638-4570 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You can find the full release from Manitoba Natural Resources and Northern Development here.

Details

Contributed by Alec Woolston

Published: Dec 10, 2022 - 6:56 am

The Northwest Metis Council is hosting the Grand Opening of its new Governance Office on Monday. The event starts at 11:30 and will feature opening remarks from Mayor David Bosiak, MLA Brad Michaleski, and Manitoba Metis Federation President David Chartrand.

NWMC Vice President Francis Chartrand says they're working with the city to ensure the event can run safely.

"The streets will be blocked off, we're working in partnership with the City of Dauphin so they're blocking off the street right in front where we are, and they're going to be rerouting the traffic so it will be easier to stand out on our street when we're doing our ribbon cutting."

Chartrand says they have a great day planned, including tours of the building for people in attendance.

"We cleared up our Metis Community Centre, and we're gonna have tours are going to be going every half hour, and then we're going to have entertainment and snacks and stuff for us to do at the Metis Community Centre."

Details

Contributed by Sam Brownell

Published: Dec 10, 2022 - 6:30 am

Health Canada has approved a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine booster for children ages five to eleven. It's the first bivalent shot to be approved for use in kids and will target the original strain of COVID-19 as well as more recent variants.

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommends that children with weakened immune systems or underlying medical conditions should be offered a dose of the vaccine at least six months after they receive their first two COVID-19 shots.

Details

Contributed by Sam Brownell

Published: Dec 9, 2022 - 1:36 pm

An inmate at the Brandon Correctional Centre briefly escaped custody on Monday while being transported for medical services.

Ryan Joseph Roulette, 28, was taken to the Brandon Regional Health Centre for care, and when being transported back to the Correctional vehicle, he slipped one hand out of his handcuffs. He then assaulted the correctional officers transporting him before fleeing the scene.

Roulette hopped over a nearby fence and unsuccessfully tried to break into a car. He then got into the passenger seat of a stopped car nearby, but when the driver refused to drive, he pushed him out of the car and stole it.

Brandon Police Services responded to the scene and after a short chase, officers were able to stop Roulette. Roulette hit multiple parked cars, and nearly hit a number of pedestrians during the chase.

In total, Roulette was at large for 17 minutes, and has now been charged with the following:

• Resist Arrest x2
• Escape Lawful Custody
• Assault PO with a Weapon x3
• Dangerous Operation of a Motor Vehicle
• Fail to Stop at the Scene of the Accident x3
• Flight While Pursued by PO
• Attempted theft of a Motor Vehicle
• Theft of a Motor Vehicle
• Robbery with Violence

As a result of the assaults on Correctional Officers, two of the officers suffered swelling and bruising and the third suffered a large contusion with abrasions to his head and neck.

Details

Contributed by Sam Brownell

Published: Dec 9, 2022 - 11:41 am

Update: The 18th St. Daly Bridge has been cleared and is now open according to Brandon Police.

---

If you are in Brandon or are planning on heading to the Wheat City, be aware that the 18th Street Daly Bridge is closed to all modes of transportation right now.

Brandon Police are investigating a collision involving a vehicle and a pedestrian. Traffic is being redirected to 26th Street.

The bridge is expected to be closed for at least a few hours.

Details

Contributed by Alec Woolston

Published: Dec 9, 2022 - 9:27 am

According to Farm Credit Canad, the farm equipment market will remain strong in 2023. The country's largest ag lender released its 2023 Outlook for the Farm Equipment Market.

FCC's Chief Economist JP Gervais says several factors contribute to their predictions, and farm revenue is the first thing they look at.

"Gross revenues are going to be good, positive in 2022, and the Outlook for 2023 is positive as well. We've got commodity prices at much higher than a five-year average, they're also in some cases higher than last year's. We think that from a revenue standpoint things are going to be ok and positive, and so that drives the demand for equipment, it drives a number of different things that happen at the farm level."

However, Gervais says there are factors that could negatively affect the market.

"We're looking, as well, at a year where we're going to see inflationary efforts on farm inputs, and that's going to put a little bit of pressure on profit margins, so that might lead farm businesses to look at different things in terms of investment. Those are the two things that I'd be looking at first and foremost, farm revenues and commodity prices, versus the inflationary pressures of farm inputs."

Factors like interest rates and how the supply chain rebounds from last year need to be accounted for as well says, Gervais. Don Tarrant from Reit Syd Equipment in Dauphin says there will be much better availability this year.

Tarrant says that while Canadian manufacturers were able to supply to normal levels in 2022, they've reduced promised orders but up to 50% this year to ensure units are delivered on time, and not after the use season.

"Tractors availability will be much improved and on time in 2023, and Combine availability will be similar to 2022, the improvement is that combines will arrive on promised dates unlike 2022 late arrivals."

Details

Contributed by Sam Brownell

Published: Dec 9, 2022 - 5:30 am