The Veterans Community Hall in Swan River was home to a Christmas Farmers Market this past Friday (Nov. 28) with many vendors opened up for community members to start Black Friday shopping.Gylfa (left), Anna (second from left), Jack (second from right) and Rodimus (right) Machan have their sweet treat station full of cookies, cupcakes, rice crispy and puffed wheat cake, and sugar cookies for guests. 

This past Friday saw a mind ‘gobbling’ surprise, as a wild turkey found its way into town on Westwind Road. The turkey curiously wandered around the neighbourhood and made good use of any food found on the voyage. In that specific neighbourhood, deer are more common to be around the area, in this case, a single turkey found its way.

For more than a two decades, Russell’s Take a Year Off Lottery has been one of our major fundraisers for area facilities and projects. At the same time, it’s one of the most talked about lotteries in our area.
This year, the ‘locals’ have a bit more to talk about as several of the tickets drawn out of the drum held their names.
For their 2025 draw, the lottery was 109 tickets short of a sell-out while at the same time, the 50/50 draw continues to grow year after year.
“Including a 50/50 draw was an idea the committee came up with in 2009,” committee member Chris Radford said. “I think the first 50/50 draw was around $5,000 so to be up over $29,000, certainly shows the value of doing it, adding to the monies we can payout to the benefactors every year.” Each year, when they receive their portion of the funds raised, each benefactor receives a break down of all the expenses and the revenues.
“And of course, we give those same numbers to the province every year for their audit to make sure that we’re following all the rules.”

Get the whole story in this week's Russell Banner.

Members of Roblin’s Keystone Pioneers Museum (KPM) gathered Nov. 20 at the Drop-In Centre to discuss the year that was and plans for 2026.
Following a volunteer appreciation supper – the leftovers from KPM’s fall supper held Nov. 2 – about two dozen people settled in for the annual general meeting.
Read all about it in this week’s paper.

The Parkland Crisis Centre and Women’s Shelter in Dauphin was among the recipients sharing $750,000 courtesy of the province’s  Criminal Property Forfeiture (CPF) Fund.

A grant of $35,000 was provided to the organization, which provides support services to women and children escaping intimate partner abuse, a 24-hour crisis line, emergency shelter, counselling, child and youth programs, support groups, referrals and advocacy.

“The Parkland Crisis Centre and Women’s Shelter is excited to announce the newly-formed partnership with Victim Services to improve service accessibility within our community,” said Kari Prawdzik, executive director of the Parkland Crisis Centre.

“The shelter is passionate about empowering individuals to break free from the cycles of violence and building healthier futures. Our organization’s goals are to assist in providing life-changing support to those affected by family, intimate partner and gender-based violence.”

Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said the money  provided last week is meant to support victims and surviving family members of serious crimes, including homicide, sexual assault and intimate partner violence,

“November is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and our government is strengthening its support for victims of intimate partner violence and other serious crimes throughout the province,” Wiebe said.

“Our public safety strategy commits to supporting Manitobans victimized by crime and we are able to help victims and their families rebuild their lives by redirecting the proceeds of criminal activity in Manitoba to valuable community programs.”

The Parkland Crisis Centre and Women’s Shelter and WMWC are receiving CPF victim services grants for the first time, the minister noted.

The CPF Fund distributes proceeds from the sale of seized criminal property to organizations in the province that focus on community safety.

The CPF Fund also includes a funding stream for the Manitoba Justice Victim Services branch, which offers support to all individuals under the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights. Last year, the province increased the fund to $750,000 from $500,000 in previous years.

Read the full story on this week’s edition of the Dauphin Herald.

The Arts for Manitoba Indigenous Youth Choir has been accomplishing great things in a short span of time. The choir consists of Rhonda Head as the Choral Director, Ava Meconse from Pinaymootang First Nation, Avery Pelletier from Skownan First Nation, Georgianna Blacksmith from Opaskwayak Cree Nation and Ja’Keira Lynch from Skownan First Nation. The talents from this group of young choir singers have really grown since they started, with more opportunities on the horizon.
“I started the Arts for Manitoba Indigenous Youth Choir three years ago,” said Choral Director Rhonda Head. “Since then, the choir members have gone through so much personal development. Last year, we went to Carnegie Hall and performed there.

As we wait for the snow to arrive, planning for the 2026 Northern Manitoba Trappers’ Festival (NMTF) is well underway. Many of the events are in the process of being planned.
“The NMTF Board of Directors are in full planning stages,” said NMTF Vice Chair Jenn Cook. “With so many different events, each director is working diligently to ensure that we are bringing the community the festival they have become accustomed to. One of the key pieces at this point is lining up volunteers to assist with all the events, including the Dog Races, Trapper events, parade, ice bar and more.
“This year, we are happy to announce the stage and talent who will return. Full details on that event will be coming soon and we are extremely excited to have the event back in our Festival line-up. We will also be continuing with the Ice Sculpting Contest, which saw some incredible pieces of work created last year.

The long-lasting memory of Amara Campbell has created a ripple effect that has touched the Swan Valley and created a movement to help fight cancer. The creation of Amara’s Amigos, a group of dedicated volunteers who help raise funds in the fight against cancer, was formed five years ago and has grown in many ways.
“The creation of the first Amara’s Amigos group was a very special symbol of support for Amara, Joel, Blair and me,” said Amara’s mother Lee-Anne Campbell. “Amara was a quiet, 13-year-old, who preferred not to have much attention on herself. Her cancer diagnosis took away her ability to blend in with the crowd.
“Our son Joel was 15 years old at the time. His sister’s cancer diagnosis was very tough on him as well. The shirts, events, and donations gave Amara a place to find comfort in her new identity. Also, a new type of identity for our family, I suppose. The love and support that continues to be shown for Amara’s Amigos is humbling and heart-warming for all of us.
“The Amara’s Amigos group, name and first shirts were created by Amara’s Minitonas school friends and teachers in 2019, following her cancer diagnosis,” said Campbell. “This first amazing team supported Amara by participating in the 2019 Swan River Canadian Cancer Society Relay for Life. The team name and colours were perfect, so it has remained.
“We decided to continue to raise awareness about childhood cancer and fundraise in memory of Amara. The first Amara’s Amigos Garage Sale was a success, so it has continued as an annual event. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, as well as the month in which Amara passed away, so it has been meaningful to host the garage sale during that month.
“Then, in 2021, I approached the Stampeders to support Cameron Coulthart, a local 17-year-old boy who was fighting cancer,” said Campbell. “Cameron had spent some time with the team earlier that season before he had a big surgery. We did a small event collecting money for him, shared a brief update on his cancer, and his sister dropped the puck. In the 2023/24 season, was the first year that we bought Hockey Fights Cancer team jerseys. This event has just completed its third year.”
Over the years, Amara’s Amigos has raised money for the fight against cancer in many ways. It sparked a much bigger movement in the Valley, with more people and organizations getting involved by creating new fundraisers and helping the existing ones to raise more money than in years prior.
“The money collected from the garage sales, Ride Inside events, lemonade stand, cookie sales and the Hockey Fights Cancer event with the Swan Valley Stampeders is entirely donated to the CancerCare MB Foundation (CCMB), PROFYLE Program,” said Campbell. “The name stands for PRecision Oncology For Young peopLE, those living with rare and hard-to-treat cancers. The program provides genetic testing for these kids, searching for alternative treatment options. Amara’s oncologists were able to access PROFYLE for her treatment plan. She was able to take some additional oral chemotherapy that we think allowed her more months of life.
“Amara’s Amigos have also participated in the annual Swan River Terry Fox Runs since 2019.
“The newest fundraising event started in 2024, the annual Minitonas School Memorial Lunch Fundraiser for PAC improvements for their school,” said Campbell. “This event is in memory of both Amara and Joel.
“Our core group of Amara’s Amigos has remained pretty similar in size. These family members and friends continue to jump into action to assist Blair and me with the events. However, we also recognize our much wider group of Amara’s Amigos as every person and business that has supported us. It’s very special to continue seeing more purple shirts/hoodies, with the addition of a blue heart for Joel, around town, as we partnered with the Stampeders hockey team in 2023.”
At this past Amara’s Amigos Garage Sale Fundraiser, the group not only received a lot of donations to put towards the sale, but also raised slightly more in funds than the year prior.
“A total of $5,810 was raised at the 2025 garage sale,” said Campbell. “A bit higher than last year. The garage sales have been successful in various ways. We have provided a venue for our items to be repurposed by others, offering an opportunity for a wider variety of people to contribute to our fundraising, even if it was only an extra $2 they could afford. Each year, I have been pleasantly surprised at how many people stop in at the garage sale simply to drop off their annual donation cheque for CCMB. It has also developed into an opportunity to connect with community members who still support us as we live in grief.”
The total funds raised from the Hockey Fights Cancer event have not been totalled yet; however, the money raised from both this event and the garage sale will be presented to CCMBF at the Winnipeg Jets HFC game on November 23.
“The community support from the Swan River Valley has amazed us since 2019, right from the time of Amara’s cancer diagnosis,” said Campbell. “Blair and I have been humbled by the outpouring of support.

Last week (Nov. 17-23), Tim Hortons was once again raising money for a local charity with their Holiday Smile Cookie campaign. Swan River’s Tim Hortons managed to raise $14,134, to be divided equally between the Swan River Lions Club and Tim Hortons Children’s Foundation.

The Russell Lions Club have held their annual Christmas Craft show for about the last decade or so. And, depending upon the weather, it’s always been well attended, both by shoppers and vendors. This year’s event was no different as the 2025 show drew 46 vendors from as far afield as Melville, Yorkton, Dauphin, Roblin, Elkhorn, Shoal Lake and Minnedosa. The Russell Lions Club wishes to thank all the supporters who came out to shop and purchase tickets, all the crafters who show up year after year to support the local Christmas event. The Wayway Wolverines hockey team who, despite having returned from a game at 4 am, showed up to help out. As always, the Lions spouses were on hand too - even one of their grand daughters volunteered too. The Russell Chicken Chef also supplied all the ingredients for the soup sold in the kitchen.