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A State of Emergency has been declared for Minitonas, and the local municipality is asking residents to shelter in place, after torrential rainfall in the community on Sunday.
Reports say as much as 147.9 mm, or close to six inches fell in the community.
The bridge over the East Favel river in the west end of Minitonas is currently under water, as is Knox Avenue.
Power is out to the entire community, and Manitoba Hydro says they are working to restore service as soon as possible.
The school in the community is closed today, and the Municipality of Minitonas-Bowsman has issued a boil water advisory for the community.
Overland flooding has also been reported in and near Cowan, as other areas of the Swan Valley reported 72.2 mm of rain fall.
Meanwhile, San Clara - near Roblin - reported 119.6 mm.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
Manitoba's last Canadian Northern Railway turntable bridge was removed in Dauphin at the site of the original 15-stall roundhouse in August 2025.
Funding is now needed at an initial project estimate of $75,000 to help commemorate the community members who initially preserved the turntable in 1993 and the history of rail employees of Dauphin over the past 130 years with an off-site monument to this structure.
The new monument will be beside the Rail Station in Dauphin by the rail benches created five years ago.
"The idea is to have it a bit interactive," said Jason Gilmore, president of the Dauphin Rail Museum. "There will be a ramp where you can walk onto the portion of the turntable bridge. We do have the motor that drove it and a bit of the curved rail."
Phase one is getting it moved into place, and phase two includes some beautification and plaques.
The original structure, dating back to 1906, was an 84-foot, approximately 40-ton steel structure that originally moved steam locomotives into the roundhouse for daily repair and storage and later acted as a means of rotating and changing the direction of diesel locomotives in a limited space.
In 1997, this site was purchased by the Town of Dauphin from Canadian National Railway. 17 community members helped financially to preserve the important piece of rail heritage in Dauphin. The monument will be the remaining 24-foot, 45,000-pound portion of the turntable bridge, which is currently at the City of Dauphin Public Works shop.
The City of Dauphin has agreed to accept donations by cheque, cash or debit. The City's mailing address is: 100 Main St. S, Dauphin, MB R7N 1K3. You must provide a return address and write "turntable" in the memo if paying by cheque.
Donations of over $250 will be recognized on a donor wall.
"The City of Dauphin was kind enough to donate $10,000 for this project. We used it to get the rendering done with the architecture firm," ended Gilmore. "They're also going to match the first $10,000 raised. They have also created a separate account for this exhibit. They are issuing tax receipts for anyone who does donate."
Dauphin's rail history dates back to 1896, when the first train arrived on a small local railway (Lake Manitoba Railway and Canal Company) that was purchased, owned, and operated by Sir William Mackenzie and Sir Donald Mann.
Don Tarrant, the general manager of Reit-Syd Equipment in Dauphin, has committed to assisting the Dauphin Rail Museum with the installation and development phases of the exhibit. It's slated to be completed by the fall of 2026.
They've committed to loading, hauling, and placement of the bridge. They're also donating $10,000 to the project.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
If you are a fan of the TV show "Whose Line Is It Anyway", then this Thursday night is for you
Theatre on the Edge, the Improv portion of Theatre Amisk, is hosting a night of improv in the old fire hall portion of the Watson Arts Centre.
Group member Kirk Nyquist says this will definitely be different from the normal Theatre Amisk performances that people are used to.
"Most often, Theatre Amisk is seen as a scripted act, where people go to see the plays - those are scripted. This is the same group, but our show is unscripted. And part of doing it is the audience is a big part of it. As the audience walks in the door, the audience is going to be made a big part of the show."
Mary-Anne Harvey says it will be a fun evening, full of audience participation.
"We definitely feed off of each other, but we woulso love to be able to feed off of the audience. Through scene creation, and they will also give us some one-liners. I love the game Pockets, where the audience gives us words and verbage to say after the scene has started and you just pull them out of your pocket and try to incorporate it."
The adult-only show begins at 7 pm on Thursday, with admission costs being $10 per person.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
A simple traffic stop led to significantly more trouble for three people.
Ste Rose RCMp pulled over a vehicle around 7:45 Tuesday night on the Ebb & Flow First Nation.
After finding out that the driver did not have a valid driver's licence, and that one of the passengers was not wearing a seatbelt, Mounties conducted a search of the vehicle.
That tuend up a loaded long rifle under the back seat, $1,500 in cash, and a fanny pack that contained 40 grams of suspected cocaine, and 46 grams of suspected meth,
Among the charges against 48-year-old Joseph Demerais of Sandy Bay, 23-year-old Marcus Thompson of Brandon, and 37-year-old Tanya Kourdi of Ebb & Flow were two counts each of possession for the purpose of trafficking, and several weapons offences.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
The RM of Lakeshore is set to hold a public meeting at 4:00 PM on Monday, June 8th, to go over their need to borrow almost $2.5 million to make up for reported deficits.
The hearing will be part of their regular council meeting, and will take place at the Ochre River Community Hall, 401 Mann Street.
According to a release from the RM of Lakeshore, if the bylaw is passed, the borrowing will be repaid over 10 years with interest of 5%, making the annual repayment amount $249,754. The RM's reported deficit from 2023 and prior is $1,825,399, and the reported 2024 deficit is $672,144. The proposed repayment would be part of the municipality's annual taxes, as part of the RM's general municipal levy.
Also from the news release, copies of their borrowing proposal are available at the municipal office. This hearing is open to the public.
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- Contributed by Ian Gillingham
Doug Deans has been an active member and volunteer with Ducks Unlimited for more than 45 years. On Thursday, he was honoured with a bench dedicated to him in Vermillion Park, just a small token of Ducks Unlimited's appreciation for his dedication.
James Montgomery is Ducks Unlimited Canada's Manager of Volunteer Relations. Taking the role last year, one of the first things on his plate was to find a way to honour one of their most active and most appreciated volunteers.
"[Doug] did actually come out last fall in November 2025 to the Men's Dauphin Dinner and he was our Emcee, so he's been volunteering right up to today...the amount of people that showed up here today, to be here with Doug for this bench dedication, is a testament to the amazing work that volunteers do from right across the country, and Doug definitely stands out as one of the more exemplary volunteers that we've had with Ducks Unlimited over the last hundred years," said Montgomery.
45 years is a long time to be volunteering with an organization. In speaking with most of the people in attendance at Thursday's dedication ceremony, it's clear that Doug Deans had an impact on most of them. His longtime commitment to bettering his community speaks volumes as to what kind of person he is. In his words, Doug didn't do it for himself.
"I never started or finished doing what I was doing for any reason other than it was a good cause. You've heard about Ducks Unlimited, the name is a little deceiving. You think that what they're doing is just looking after ducks, which they do, but they preserve water and control water, and protect all of us," said Deans.
The location of the bench wasn't just a random point in the park. It's at a beautiful overlook of the Dead River in Vermillion Park, home to lots of wildlife, including turtles, and of course, ducks. That part of the park is still around today largely because of one man. Can you guess who?
"I had this idea to stock the Dead River with Jackfish, so kids would have a place to fish. I kind of pointed out, by stocking it, we're helping young ducks. And boy, these good size Jackfish, you'd probably thing we're doing [the ducks] a favour by providing food for them, kind of like a lure crop," said Deans.
After a bit of lobbying and conversation, Ducks Unlimited stepped in to help preserve the Dead River, and the rest is history. History you can see for yourself by taking a seat at Doug's new bench and simply enjoying the view.
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- Contributed by Ian Gillingham
This weekend, the Roblin Community Centre will be packed with all sorts of local businesses. The 2nd Annual Wellness & Healing Expo takes place on Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM and Sunday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
Kimberlee Markussen is one of the event's organizers. She went over a few of the things that will be available at the expo.
"It's everything from having your natural homemade skincare products, homemade soap, other things like bath salt, and even having people who do readings, offer different sorts of healing...it's quite a wide range of people we have there, like people who are making teas and spices from products that they forage," said Markussen.
Markussen, along with other organizers Cindy Bulych and Krista Bereti, organize Wellness & Healing Expos all across the prairies. She said it's always good to have as many local makers out as possible. She's noticed that the local businesses and makers are the ones that get people to show up and give their support to the vendors. Additionally, they don't ever charge a fee for visitors to attend. She said the group would rather see that money go to supporting those local vendors.
"We always do hope to get as many local people as possible that are part of our show as vendors...it's 100% free to anyone who would like to attend, we don't charge a fee to attend because we want people to spend their money on the vendors," said Markussen.
From teas and soaps to all kinds of holisitc healing, you'll probably find it at Roblin's Wellness & Healing Expo this weekend. For more info, click here to visit their Facebook page.
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- Contributed by Ian Gillingham
Keep an eye on what's in your chequing accounts, you might see a new payment from the federal government very soon.
Today marks the start of the federal government's Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, with today having a one-time top-up payment included. Those have started to go out to around 12 million eligible Canadians.
The new program is meant to replace the old GST/HST Credit, but will still follow the same quarterly payout schedule. The one-time top-up can be up to $267 for single adults without children, and up to $533 for couples with two kids.
The one-time top-up is a bonus of 50% of the annual benefit amount. The government has also said the quarterly payment amounts will increase by 25% for the next 5 years, with the first quarterly payment expected in July.
If you meet the requirements, payments will be automatically sent out by mail, or by auto deposit if you have it set up with the federal government.
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- Contributed by Ian Gillingham
Today (Friday) is a big day for graduating students from Assiniboine College's Parkland campus.
Director Carol Stewart says Convocation activities will begin with a noon hour BBQ for graduates, families and friends at Credit Union place, with the ceremony beginning at 2 pm.
"We are going to have over 70 students from several of our programs, and they will be crossing the stage in Dauphin to receive their certificates and diplomas, And it is a celebration of their hard work, determination, and perseverance."
Stewart also had a specia message to extend to this year's graduating class.
"Congratulations to this year's grads. You have reached an important milestone. Your dedication and resilience brought you to this moment. And your community is proud of what you have accomplished. We all look forward to seeing the positive impact that you are going to make in the Parkland region and beyond."
Among the courses that students are graduating from are Comprehensive Health Care Aide, Business Administration, Early Childhood Education, Social Service Worker, Heavy Equipment Operator, and the Mature Student High School programs.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
Local Mounties are hoping someone can help them identify a suspect, after an 82-year-old man was assaulted earlier this week.
The incident took place around 6:50 on Tuesday night, outside of a multi-unit residence on the 200-block of Main Street North in Dauphin.
A male suspect, who didn’t live in the building, was going through garbage behind the building when he was told by the victim to leave.
The suspect grabbed the victim and punched him, before pulling him down the rest of the staircase by a leg.
The victim suffered minor injuries. while the suspect was last seen walking southbound down the back alley.
The suspect appears to be at least 5’11”, thin, and wearing a red jacket or sweater with white lettering on the front.
The suspect was also wearing black shoes with white soles and what appears to be red lettering or a logo near the toes.
Anyone with information on the suspect’s identity is asked to call Dauphin RCMP at 204-622-5050, or Crime Stoppers.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
You were encouraged to turn on your porch light, lock your vehicle, and put away all valuables.
And, you've done it again. The City of Dauphin's 9:00 p.m. routine wrapped up at the start of the month. The three-week routine aimed to make the community a safer place for everyone.
21 days of removing your valuables from your vehicle and yard, removing your keys from ATVs and farm equipment, and 21 days of leaving a light on. You all played a part.
It was the fourth annual 9:00 p.m. routine campaign, and it was the most engaging one yet.
The Tourism of Dauphin summer student created fun and creative content on Facebook and Instagram that resonated with people.
"The response from the community was tremendous. Our kickoff post alone gathered more than 25,000 views," said Lisa Gaudet. "Throughout the campaign, we saw hundreds of likes, comments, and shares. Residents were actively participating by checking in each night and letting us know they completed their routine."
While law enforcement and community organizations play a role in public safety, all residents play a part.
"Many property crimes are crimes of opportunity," added Gaudet. "If vehicles are locked and valuables aren't visible, offenders are much less likely to target them."
The main goal of the routine was to reduce opportunities for crime before they happen.
Gaudet thanks the Dauphin RCMP for their continued efforts to keep the community a safe place.
The City of Dauphin and the RCMP have a tremendous relationship, one that continues to grow.
"The RCMP were valuable partners in this campaign. We had officers conducting foot patrols in residential neighbourhoods and leaving reminder cards on unlocked vehicles," continued Gaudet. "It was a positive way to raise awareness and to remind people that crime prevention starts with simple and everyday habits."
While the campaign is over, it's not time to put your guard down. You've created the routine of turning your lights on, removing valuables, and locking your doors.
Now, it's time to continue with those great habits.
The 9:00 p.m. routine is one piece of a much larger community safety effort underway in Dauphin.
Earlier this year, the council adopted the community safety and wellbeing plan. It provides a long-term road map for improving safety and supporting vulnerable populations.
Later this month, the City will launch the downtown safety patrol initiative. It will provide a visible presence in our downtown in key public spaces.
The goal is to improve the perception of safety, support businesses and residents, connect people with services when appropriate, and address issues before they escalate.
"Initiatives like the community safety wellbeing plan, the downtown safety patrol, and the 9:00 p.m. routine all work towards the same goal," ended Gaudet. "To create a safer, healthier, and more welcoming community for all."
Stay tuned for more details on the downtown safety patrol initiative in the coming days.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
