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Doug Podaima of Ste. Rose has been creative since 1976 - when he first started writing at the age of 16. Fast forward 50 years to today, and he's a published author. 

Podaima has published two novels - Cascades, a crime thriller about moral compromise and survival, and Eera, a character-driven fantasy about choice, courage, and hope. Some of the ideas in Eera have been with Podaima since the 1980s. He said it's been interesting to see how those concepts have evolved over time, alongside himself. 

"It was like something calling to me, whether it be spiritual, psychological, I don't know, I had to start writing and getting my thoughts, and I though I had a story to tell to people...it's like a fine wine, it ages over time, and you change as a person, and I see changes in my characters in the story as well over the time," said Podaima. 

October is Seniors' and Elders' month in Manitoba, focused on highlighting the achievements, leadership, and ongoing contributions of Manitoba's seniors. Publishing novels at 66 isn't an easy task. But Podaima's advice to other seniors who might be on the fence about using their creativity: take the leap. 

"It's never too late to finish something you started, you have the power in you to do it, just get it out there, so we all can do it, we just need that little nudge or push or something, whatever's calling you to do it...like my novel, in Eera, we all have a fractured path, we never travel down the same path. We all have a road to discovery and to becoming, and that's one of the major themes in the novel," said Podaima. 

Podaima is planning a meet-and-green in Ste. Rose for sometime in November. 

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The Dauphin Regional Health Centre has made a few more advancements in service restoration since the Emergency Department's reopening in September, and is poised to make a few more in the coming months. 

Treena Slate, Prairie Mountain Health CEO, visited the DRHC yesterday, to have conversations with physicians and contractors about what the highest priorities are in next steps, especially with additional lab services. 

"Developing a schedule and a set of priorities based on what the clinicians see are the priorities, in terms of, what's the sequencing, what would be the priority next step if we had our choice, what could we open next on the main floor, what would we do...we are working on expanding some of the services that are [in the lab], so that will be kind of the next thing that you'll hear about," said Slate. 

Restoration of additional lab services is a big priority right now. Slate said PMH wants to continue reducing the travel necessary for services, and another way they'll do that is to bring in trailers in the coming months to supplement services that will take a while to fully restore. 

More specialized services, like hemodialysis and chemotherapy, also look to be on the horizon for the DRHC. 

"People are right now travelling for some of those tests, so that will be kind of the next thing that you'll hear about. Work on also getting some mobile trailers in, to support some of the services that are gonna be shut down for a long period of time...chemotherapy is starting in Grandview next week, and hemodialysis hopefully very soon, in the next few weeks," said Slate. 

In the short-term, after the emergency department reopened at the start of September, Slate said PMH's focus would be on expanding emergency department-specific services, to ensure the emergency department reaches a good level of care. In the month it's been open, Slate said they've made quite a few positive improvements, and they're still working on more. 

"We're working on improving accessibility to spaces in the emergency department, and really hoping that those are things that we can expand sooner than later in the emergency department to get it a little bit more functional," said Slate. 

However, with the positive advancements in the emergency room and additional services, there's still a lot of work to be done in repairing and inspecting flood-damaged areas. Pumps are still running, and there's still a lot of work to still be done. 

"[Crews have] done a tremendous job of cleaning out that silt, so after that's cleaned out, they still have to do soil testing and some remediation work in there," said Slate. 

Another positive is the installation of temporary heating in the emergency room and currently open departments, as winter gets closer. 

Slate said Prairie Mountain Health will continue to provide updates on the restoration of services as repairs progress. 

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1998 saw the launching of the Parkland Job Opportunity Centre.

Now, 28 years later, the centre is going as strong as ever, helping Parkland residents find their next employment.

Nicole Yunker with P-JOC says a number of groups have been instrumental in the organization's success. 

"We are funded by the province of Manitoba and the government of Canada.  They have stood by our sides and really boosted us up and have been a great resource.  The Parkland Chamber of Commerce oversees us, and people might not realize that they put in a lot of time to help us grow and thrive.   But most importantly to us is the people that come through the doors, who trust us to share their employment journey with us." 

Among the free services they offer are resume and cover letter writing, job searches, online applications, and interview preparation, along with talking to local employers.

To access these services, you must be 18 years old or older, and currently reside in the Parkland.  
 
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An 18-year-old man has a December court date to answer to impaired driving charges.
Around 2:25 Sunday morning, Swan River RCMP responded to reports of a possible impaired driver driving erratically in the community.
After a patrol, Mounties found the suspect car parked, and the driver sleeping behind the wheel.
A breath sample was requested, with the blood-alcohol levels being above the legal limit.
The suspect's name cannot be publicly released until the charges are sworn.
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The Parkland Chamber of Commerce hosted the first of their planned Candidate Forums yesterday, hosting City of Dauphin candidates to speak on some of the issues the City faces. 

At the forum, questions covered a wide variety of topics - from housing and homelessness, to economic development, to safety and security. The answers from the candidates were also varied - some calling for provincial and federal partnerships for housing, some calling for transparency with local businesses, some calling for the development of a new subdivision. 

Nancy Tregunna, Chamber Board Member and Forum Moderator, said the forum went well. She's moderated debates and forums in the past, and said forums like yesterday's event at the Dauphin Active Living Centre are always more informative than debates. 

"It is far easier to get people's input and get their point of view, as opposed to having lots of chaos and commotion, and people saying things that are detrimental and negative," said Tregunna. 

Tregunna and the Parkland Chamber of Commerce are thankful for the strong working relationship they have with the City of Dauphin, and the opportunity to help facilitate this forum. It's one of the better ways they can show themselves to the City, and help give the Parkland's businesses good representation. 

"It's important for us, as we are representing all the small, medium, and large-sized businesses in our membership, and so we want to be able to represent them at the table, and give people and opportunity to build the community that they want, and in order to do that, they need to be heavily involved in the municipal government," said Tregunna. 

The next planned Candidate Forum is tonight in Rorketon, hosting RM of Lakeshore candidates. There's also a pair next week for paired communities - Gilbert Plains and Grandview. 

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The long-weekend started off as a deadly one for one family.

A 24-year-old man from Brandon died after his truck rolled off a gravel road southeast of Neepawa on Friday..

Spruce Plains RCMP were called to the scene in the rural municipality of Glenella-Lansdowne at about 9:35 that evening.

Investigators determined the truck had been travelling north on Provincial Road 352, when it went off the road into the east-side ditch and rolled.

The driver, who was the only person in the vehicle at the time, was ejected from the truck and was pronounced dead at the scene.

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The Dauphin Regional Health Centre was hit hard by heavy rains and flooding on July 1st, forcing the evacuation of patients and the closure of the hospital. The emergency room recently opened back up, but what does the timeline look like for the restoration of other services? 

Turns out, the Provincial Government might not even know themselves. During Tuesday's session in Legislature, Riding Mountain MLA Greg Nesbitt asked a question about a FIPPA (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act) request about the DRHC. 

"We'd got a Freedom of Information response back to say that no briefing notes about the Dauphin Regional Health Centre were generated for the Minister of Health...I was the Minister of Natural Resources in our previous government there, and there wasn't a day gone by that I didn't have briefing notes on topics, especially the current topics of the day," said Nesbitt. 

The Dauphin Regional Health Centre's greatly reduced capabilities are still a major issue, not just for Dauphin, but for numerous nearby communities - including ones in Nesbitt's Riding Mountain constituency. The DRHC was one of the most talked about issues during the PC Caucus's recent retreat and public meetings in Dauphin. 

From the beginning of the DRHC's closure, the Progressive Conservative party - representing the Official Opposition in Legislature - has been vocal about the NDP Government's lack of communication around the closure, and what timelines and plans are in place to restore additional services. 

"We had a lot of good conversations with people at our caucus retreat in Dauphin about the Dauphin Regional Health Centre, and a lot of them still had questions about what had taken place, and what has to take place...we believe that the government needs to be clear with Manitobans that there's a lot of work to be done in Dauphin," said Nesbitt. 

Nesbitt said he'll keep pushing for more communication from the Government and Prairie Mountain Health about the Dauphin Regional Health Centre, as it affects his constituents in the same way as Dauphin. 

"Especially on the east end of my constituency there, it's just as quick to get to Dauphin as is to Brandon or Winnipeg, quicker to get to Dauphin as a matter of fact...communication is really important, and letting our citizens know so they can use the Dauphin facility is something I'll keep pushing for, and more transparency from this government moving forward," said Nesbitt. 

The Dauphin Regional Health Centre's Emergency Department was reopened on September 7th, with portable CT scanner services returning at the end of September. Other services, including cancer care, dialysis, and surgical services are still on pause. 

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Canadian farmland values continued their upward climb in the first half of 2026, although the pace of growth has slowed compared to recent years.
According to Farm Credit Canada’s latest mid-year farmland values review, cultivated farmland values increased by an average of 3.8 per cent nationwide between January and June. That’s down from the six per cent increase recorded during the same period in 2025, signaling a more cautious market environment.
Despite the slowdown, FCC says farmland remains a resilient asset. 
Manitoba was among the stronger-performing provinces, posting a 5.3 per cent increase in farmland values during the first half of the year. 
The report highlights growing regional differences across Canada’s farmland market. FCC says land values continue to rise overall, but trends are increasingly influenced by local economic conditions and the profitability of individual farming operations.
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The Province is looking to introduce a list of rules for Personal Electric Vehicles, or PEVs, set to take effect in 2027. 

The big ones: riders must be 16+, and must wear a properly fitted helmet - both drivers and passengers need helmets. PEVs will only be allowed on roads with a posted speed limit of 50 km/h or less, and on those roads, PEVs will only be allowed to go a maximum of 25 km/h. 

PEVs will also not be allowed on sidewalks, unless there is signage or traffic control devices that specifically allow it. Other rules include using hand signals when turning or stopping, not using headphones or earphones in both ears when riding, and making sure to ride as close to the curb as is practical - similar to already existing rules for bicycles. 

Peace officers will be able to stop and inspect PEVs at any time, to ensure the vehicles and safety equipment are up to code. For more information, click here to visit the Province's website page on PEVs. 

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The province is in the final stages of launching a livestock investigation unit through the RCMP.

Dauphin MLA and Manitoba Agriculture minister Ron Kostyshyn says they will select an officer in the coming weeks and months to head up the unit, whose primary role will be to investigate cases of livestock theft in Manitoba.

Kostyshyn adds the addition of this unit comes at a key time.

"The value of cattle continues to be very lucrative, and we have felt the number of potential cases of livestock that continues to go missing, that we need to bring forward a program that has been running in both Saskatchewan and Alberta for a number of years."

Kostyshyn says over the past 3-1/2 years, there have been 57 cases in Manitoba of livestock going missing. 

The Manitoba unit will work closely with similar units in Saskatchewan and Alberta to strong line of communication related to livestock theft across the prairies.  
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Fall cleanup starts today in the City of Dauphin, with crews starting in the Day 1 waste and recycling collection area, and making just one pass across the entire city.   

Grass, leaves, garden waste, and shrubs and tree branches that are less than 6 inches in diameter, and less than 8 feet long can all be placed on the curb for collection. 

Items collected must be free of garbage, recyclables, and hazardous materials, and must be placed at the curb in neat, identifiable piles, or must be in biodegradable bags or boxes.  

The City also asks that branches are piled parallel to the curb, not sticking into the road. 

The project is designed to help residents get rid of their yard waste in the fall. 

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