NewsNow
- Details
- Contributed by Jeff Henson
- Details
- Contributed by Jeff Henson
Before the flooding, not a lot of Parkland residents had heard of Team Rubicon before. Premier Wab Kinew menitoned he'd put in a request for them to help with flood mitigation and recovery efforts.
Mischa Kaplan, Team Rubicon CEO, has the basics: whenever their volunteers are in an area following a disaster, they'll do what they can to help, and they're no strangers to situations like this.
"We are a veteran-led humanitarian response charity. We mobilize military veterans, former first responders, as well as skilled civilians, and we send them to disaster zones to undertake humanitarian response work...we are a registered charity, we've been around for about 10 years now, this is our 10 year anniversary actually, and we have almost 5,000 volunteers which we call greyshirts, we have almost 5,000 greyshirts across the country now," said Kaplan.
A few recent disaters and recovery efforts they were involved in include flood preparation in Peguis First Nation earlier this year, and severe wildfires in the Conception Bay area of Newfoundland in 2025. Their work dates as far back at 2016, when they helped with recovery efforts for the Fort McMurray wildfires.
Right now, Team Rubicon has greyshirts on the ground in the Parkland, albeit in small numbers for now - they're running reconnaissance teams to collect damage evaluations, which will help the organization find where their resources are most needed in the coming weeks.
"They are in the process of conduction reconnaissance missions, so trying to understand actually what the needs are. The first thing we do when we get to a disaster zone is we try to understand what are the unmet needs. When we've understood that, the second question we ask is, what can we do as an organization to fill those needs...right now, we are patrolling the area trying to figure out exactly how extensive the damage is, where the damage is, and what that damage looks like in terms of what we can offer. So we have 4 different reconnaissance teams working right now, again their main job is to gather information on what the damage is, and try to figure out where we can fit in," said Kaplan.
With the scale of the disaster response in the Parkland, Team Rubicon will be working with various other groups and organizations to ensure things go smoothly. One of Team Rubicon's big selling points is a large number of their volunteers are Canadian Armed Forces veterans, or former first responders. Kaplan said the skills those people have make them perfect for working in disaster zones.
"The reconnaissance phase often does involve a lot of liaison with other agencies, this is going to be a fairly complex recovery effort, it involved the province, it involved the federal government, it involves a bunch of the municipalities, so part of the job of that reconnaissance team is to identify who are all the key players, and how can we work to assist those players...people that come from military backgrounds or first responder backgrounds have a very unique ability to operate in austere environments, operate under a great deal of pressure, to emphasize operational execution despite all the many challenges that you face, and all the sort of issues that can arise in a disaster setting, as you can imagine it's a very fluid setting," said Kaplan.
Kaplan said he expects the reconnaissance teams to complete their work in the next few days, helping Team Rubicon determine where their resources are best used, and what kind of resources, like heavy equipment or chainsaw teams, are best utilized.
- Details
- Contributed by Ian Gillingham
The Manitoba RCMP is urging you to be extra cautious when operating all-terrain vehicles, utility-terrain-vehicles, and all off-road vehicles.
There were eight off-road vehicle fatalities in 2025. That's up from five in 2024 and three in 2023. There have been multiple deaths reported in 2026, and the majority of cases involved a rollover.
As of May this year, Manitoba Public Insurance said there were 93,913 registered off-road vehicles of various types in the province. Just less than 36,000 are ATVs. In 2025, the RCMP issued 275 tickets for violations under the Off-Road Vehicles Act.
Staff Sgt. Matt Lavallee is with the Prairie Mountain RCMP.
"Last year, we did make an increased presence in the recreational areas. Often, we partner with Manitoba Sustainable Resource Officers. They have the same enforcement powers as we do," said Lavallee. "The combination of teamwork is continuing to grow, as is our presence in these areas, which brings us in contact with more and more people on the trails."
In a UTV that has a roll cage, you must wear your seatbelt, but a helmet isn't required. Lavallee recommends using both.
On all other off-road vehicles, helmets are mandatory.
"Just like seatbelts in motor vehicles," added Lavallee. "And that's for a reason. They have saved lives again and again. Motorcycles, snowmobiles, ATVs, UTVs, they save lives."
As the weather heats up, Matt encourages you to have fun on the trails. And while you do so, do so sober.
According to a recent report by CAA Manitoba, more Manitobans are getting behind the wheel impaired. Whether it be alcohol, cannabis, or any other drug, the need to travel sober is critical.
"The consequences for driving an off-road vehicle impaired are the same as they would be for driving your car impaired," ended Lavallee. "Off-road vehicles are not limited to ATVs. They include UTVs and snowmobiles."
In a day when off-road vehicles have more power than ever before, never let your children drive them unsupervised. It's also illegal for someone under the age of 16 to drive an off-road vehicle unsupervised.
- Details
- Contributed by Darnell Duff
The Dauphin & District Community Food Bank needs more help than ever before, and Dauphin businesses and farmers are stepping up in a big way.
Don Dewar is a Dauphin farmer, and former Food Bank board member. In an area where farming is an important way of life, what's the best way to help those in need? By doing exactly that: the Food Bank has been donated a plot of land by the City of Dauphin, and all the inputs necessary by several businesses.
Intermountain Ag Society is donating seed, seed treatment, and chemicals for the field; Dauphin Co-op is donating fuel and fertilizer; Betty and Al Dunsmore are covering the cost of signage; Cargill Grain will accept delivery and purchase the crop following harvest; the City of Dauphin has donated the field, covering the cost of crop insurance, and waiving the land lease fee for the summer. Dewar Seed Farms is providing the equipment and labour. Dewar said he couldn't have picked a better group of people to work with on the project.
"We've been fortunate enough to get all the unputs supplied by different suppliers to grow a crop...getting everybody together, I'm fortunate to know these suppliers, and we work with the suppliers on different levels, and when I asked them to support the food bank, they were more than willing to help," said Dewar.
With first-hand food bank experience, formerly serving as a member of the board, Dewar said it's not hard to see their needs are higher than ever right now. With all the work they do, all the people that make use of the food bank, and the rising cost of groceries, this project will be very helpful.
"The food bank's always had a soft spot with myself, I was on the board for years, actually I was treasurer, and I realized the problems they have trying to meet the need, we all know the price of groceries is going up...the food bank supplies all the food for the Christmas hampers that they're giving out at Christmas time, as well as all they food they give out during the year, so it's a small part of their overall budget I think, but it will be needed, and it will definitely be used," said Dewar.
If all goes well, the Food Bank expects these donations to lead between $25,000 and $35,000 in revenue for the Food Bank to put back into their programs.
- Details
- Contributed by Ian Gillingham
Charges have been laid after a 25-year-old from Winnipeg was shot in the abdomen on the Ebb and Flow First Nation.
On Friday at 8:05 p.m., Ste. Rose RCMP responded to shots fired as the man was riding his bike in the community. He was located near a local business and was ultimately taken by air ambulance to the hospital in Winnipeg for further treatment. He is in stable condition.
Joshua Houle was arrested at a home on Central Road in the community.
The 23-year-old faces several charges, including aggravated assault and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
- Details
- Contributed by Darnell Duff
Fundraising efforts for the Dauphin Rail Turntable exhibit are briefly being put on hold by the Dauphin Rail Museum.
In making the announcement, they say they understand that allowing the community to focus on the ongoing clean up and rebuild following recent flooding in the area should be the primary focus at this time.
They add the decision came after discussions with both Museum Board Members and several donors to the project
The rail museum stresses that this pause in fundraising is only temporary, adding the original timeline has not been pushed back because of recent events.
- Details
- Contributed by Jeff Henson
The Federal Government has approved the deployment of emergency support to areas of the Parkland, most notably the Swan Valley.
That support includes members of the Canadian Armed Forces assisting with flood recovery and rebuilding efforts.
Riding Mountain M-P Dan Mazier requested the assistance through a letter to the federal minister of Emergency Management last week.
While he is happy to see the request approved, he adds he will be keeping a close eye on the work they end up doing.
"I think the more important thing is what they find in the next steps. It is one thing to identify what is damaged, but there is another whole set of exercises, such as getting things dried out, to get all of that stuff out, and then how do you start rebuilding."
Mazier is particularly astonished by the amount of infrastructure damage done in the Swan Valley by the flooding.
- Details
- Contributed by Jeff Henson
Mother Nature has claimed another popular summer festival in the Parkland.
First, it was Mossey River Days in Winnipegosis last weekend.
Now, the Swan Valley Ag Society announced on Monday that this year's Northwest Round Up & Exhibition in Swan RIver was being cancelled due to the massive flooding in that community.
Ag Society president Lesley Sembaluk says it was a very difficult decision for their board to make, adding they took several factors into consideration.
"The local infrastructure, the roads, the exhaustion that people are facing - some people are going through their second flood now. People that had started repairing their homes after the first flood are now having to do it all over again. We also looked at the resources, particularly the resources that we use for the rodeo."
Typically, preparations of the rodeo grounds begin in late June, but Sembaluk says they have not been able to even get onto the grounds because of the flooding.
- Details
- Contributed by Jeff Henson
Ernie Sirski remembers the 1975 flood that tore through Dauphin.
He's lived in the Rural Municipality for 70 years, but he can't remember a more destructive flood than what swept through Dauphin and the Parkland region last week. In the RM of Dauphin, over 200 roads are washed out.
Ranging from minor road washing to severe, with complete or near complete failure of the roadway, and all of the ford crossings are compromised.
The best way for Ernie to describe the flood is that it's ugly.
"The fortunate part was that there were no fatalities or injuries," said Sirski. "That was the good thing about it. We're fortunate and happy with that. With that said, we will be repairing the damage for months."
If driving within the RM, Sirski urges you to be cautious.
"The second thing is if the road still has water over it and says it's closed, please respect that sign," added Sirski. "To my understanding, if you drive on a closed road, you've got no insurance. Keep that in mind when you're going down a closed road."
Sirski says he's witnessed tourists going down the roads to see the damage. He said that's a no-no.
"Let our crews get their work done. The more traffic on our roads, the worse it'll be, and the longer it's going to take," commented Sirski. "If you don't need to travel down that road, don't. If the road is crappy and open, maybe you don't have to haul that semiload of grain out today, maybe you can wait, and let things dry out a bit more."
The RM of Dauphin declared a local state of emergency last Wednesday. That makes the RM eligible for provincial funds for repairing infrastructure.
They've received an interim payment of $500,000 from the province, which Ernie says will go a long way.
"But the reality is it's not going to cover it. It's not going to cover the amount of damage that has been done," said Sirski. "We're going to continue to pursue the federal and provincial governments for some more financial contribution to the situation we have here."
Ernie also praises community members for stepping up and Public Works. Staff have been working 14 to 16-hour days and will continue doing so while the recovery process continues.
"I cautioned them to make sure they get some rest because the last thing I want is them getting hurt," ended Sirski. "They have done a phenomenal job. We've brought in exterior contractors to help us with this, or else we will never get it done on our own."
The RM will continue to provide updates.
Additionally, the Disaster Financial Assistance program helps Manitobans recover by providing financial assistance for uninsurable losses. You can view details of the program and apply here.
- Details
- Contributed by Darnell Duff
Both Manitoba and Saskatchewan have activated their Aquatic Invasive Species Early Detection Rapid Response Plans after Zebra Mussel veligers were found in Lake of the Prairies.
Elliott Brown, Assistant Deupty Minister of Water Stewardship with Manitoba Environment and Climate Change, said they're not sure exactly where these Zebra Mussels came from, but both Manitoba and Saskatchewan are now relying on their clean, drain, dry procedures more than ever.
"Zebra Mussles, like most aquatic invasive species, are spread by people moving their watercraft and equipment from invaded waters where AIS are present to non-invaded waters, that's why it's so important that people follow the requirement to clean, drain, and dry their watercraft and equipment. We don't know specifically what boat they arrived on or anything like that, but that's the most likely path, and there's no natural path for them to move downstream into Lake of the Prairies...we know it's a busy lake, it's a very popular fishing destination, so we need all water users at Lake of the Prairies and on the Assiniboine to follow those requirements, and also to decontaminate, and that's a requirement in both Saskatchewan and Manitoba now for Lake of the Prairies, and it's the same for any other Zebra Mussel invaded waterbody," said Brown.
As part of Manitoba's rapid response plan, more inspection and decontamination stations are popping up all across the area, and along any major routes to Lake of the Prairies. Brown said inspection stations and decontamination stations are some of the best ways to ensure infected watercraft don't make it to other bodies of water.
"In Manitoba, we already have inspection stations operating on major routes in the region, near Minnedosa and near Dauphin, and our colleagues in Saskatchewan have stations operating on the main routes around Lake of the Prairies already...within the lake it's very difficult to stop Zebra Mussels from spreading downstream when you're in a river system like the Assiniboine once they're established, and they will move downstream naturally with the waterflow, and that was the case in Lake Winnipeg to the Nelson as an example," said Brown.
It's almost impossible to stop the spread of Zebra Mussels within Lake of the Prairies, so both Manitoba and Saskatchewan are mostly focusing on preventing the spread to other bodies of water. Over the next number of years, several noticeable changes can be expacted at Lake of the Prairies.
"Our focus is on containing the spread of Zebra Mussels from Lake of the Prairies to other water bodies. The immediate impact people should see is that yes, we will be active , we will be putting up signs to remind people of the need and requirement for clean, drain and dry...we will start to see shells washing up on shores, we will start to see water infrastructure, like intake pipes, dam infrastrucutre, et cetera becoming encrusted, there's additional costs for municipalities and other water users to deal with that fouling, we start to see additional expenses for local governments, for the provincial government, and for individual water users," said Brown.
Click here to view Manitoba's news release on the detection of Zebra Mussels in Lake of the Prairies for more details.
- Details
- Contributed by Ian Gillingham
