Manitoba’s new executive council was sworn in last week and Dauphin MLA Ron Kostyshyn has a seat at the table.

Kostyshyn was appointed as agriculture minister during a swearing in ceremony, Oct. 18 which saw NDP Wab Kinew make history by becoming the province’s first First Nations premier.

“It is definitely an honour and a pleasure to be asked and work with a great team,” Kostyshyn said. “As you know we’ve got some major hills to climb as far as in the provincial situation, but definitely it’s an honour and it’s a great pleasure to be back at the legislative buildings.”

Having served in the legislature and the cabnet in the past, Kostyshyn said heading back feels a little bit like a homecoming.

“I felt very comfortable walking up the stairs into the legislative building and having our first cabinet meeting. It definitely was a good feeling,” he said.

Kostyshyn expects the house to resume sitting sometime in November. Until that time the cabinet will continue to meet and he will get up to speed on the Agriculture file through daily briefings with department staff so he can hit the ground running when the time comes.
“We have had our first cabinet meeting last Wednesday and we’ll be having cabinet meetings on Wednesdays on a regular basis,” he said “I am ready to go to work for the province of Manitoba and the Dauphin constituency.”

It is a sentiment which was echoed by Kinew in his opening address as premier.

“Manitobans have entrusted us with the great honour of leading our province and I do not take this responsibility lightly,” Kinew said following a ceremony honouring the seven Indigenous nations in the province. “I am proud of the team we have assembled to get real results for Manitobans on the issues that matter most - fixing health care, making life more affordable and bringing Manitobans together to build our shared future. We will work together to grow our economy and ensure that more Manitobans can join the workforce, join a union and join the middle class. I am humbled by the privilege of forming our province’s next government and I look forward to the work that lies ahead.”

The executive council has 15 ministers, reflect ing the province geographically, culturally and demographically.

Joining Kostyshyn at the cabinet table are:
• Wab Kinew, MLA for Fort Rouge - premier, minister of intergovernmental affairs and international relations, minister responsible for Indigenous reconciliation;
• Uzoma Asagwara, MLA for Union Station - deputy premier, minister of health, seniors and long-term care;
• Matt Wiebe, MLA for Concordia - minister of justice and attorney general, keeper of the great seal of the province of Manitoba, minister responsible for the Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation;
• Nahanni Fontaine, MLA for St. Johns - minister of families, minister responsible for accessibility, minister responsible for gender equity;
• Bernadette Smith, MLA for Point Douglas - minister of housing, addictions and homelessness, and minister responsible for mental health;
• Nello Altomar, MLA for Transcona - minister of education and early childhood learning;
• Ian Bushie, MLA for Keewatinook - minister of municipal and northern relations, and minister of Indigenous economic development;
• Malaya Marcelino, MLA for Notre Dame - minister of labour and immigration, and minister responsible for the Workers Compensation Board;
• Jamie Moses, MLA for St. Vital - minister of economic development, investment, trade and natural resources;
• Lisa Naylor, MLA for Wolseley - minister of transportation and infrastructure, minister of consumer protection and government services;
• Adrien Sala, MLA for St. James - minister of finance, minister responsible for the Public Utilities Board, minister responsible for Manitoba Hydro, minister responsible for the Manitoba public service;
• Renée Cable, MLA for Southdale - minister of advanced education and training;
• Tracy Schmidt, MLA for Rossmere - minister of environment and climate change, minister responsible for Efficiency Manitoba; and
• Glen Simard, MLA for Brandon East - minister of sport, culture, heritage and tourism, minister responsible for francophone affairs, minister responsible for the Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation.

“Our government is ready to get to work on the strong mandate given to us by Manitobans to improve health care, make life more affordable and bring Manitobans together,” Kinew said. “I have every confidence in the team of skilled and passionate individuals who have answered the call to serve in cabinet. I am grateful for their commitment to working diligently and collaboratively on the issues that matter most to Manitobans. I look forward to the varied perspectives they will bring to the cabinet table, representing the diversity of our province as a whole.”

The cabinet held its first meeting later in the week to continue shaping the new government’s priorities ahead of the next legislative session in November.

Brooklyn Hramalak is making a name for herself in the world of post-secondary sports.

Hramalak had a successful first season playing with the University of Regina’s Cougars softball team, ending the season off by receiving Second All-Star Team for Right Field award and has now signed with the Regina Rebels of the newly formed Saskatchewan Junior Female Hockey League. .

Read the rest of the story in this week’s paper.

There is new face at the Sam Waller Museum as the new museum director. Jaxon Baker recently started the position at the beginning of the month and came to northern Manitoba from the east coast of Canada.
“I’m originally from Truro, Nova Scotia, and moved to Fredericton, New Brunswick in 2011, and have lived there ever since,” said Sam Waller Museum Director. “I hold a BA with a major in History from the University of New Brunswick, an Ontario Graduate Certificate in Museum Management and Curatorship from Fleming College and a Masters in Museology from the Université de Montreal. Both of my parents were teachers, but they have retired now.”

Please note, some of the details in this story may be difficult, disturbing and traumatic to some readers, as it talks about MMIWG2+.
Stories of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirited people are still running at an all-time high, despite the calls to action. The one-year anniversary of the death of Tristin Jobb just passed, and for her family and loved ones, it hasn’t gotten any easier.
Tristin was a sister, daughter, grand-daughter, who was loved unconditionally and seen as a young woman who was wise beyond her years.
“Tristin was amazing as a small child and very smart beyond her years,” said Tristin’s mother Val Charlette. “One of the ladies that worked at Aboriginal Head Start in Flin Flon, said Tristin was like an elder in a little child’s body. She could read before kindergarten, was incredibly smart, asking questions, talked a lot and figured out things very early in life. Tristin was a very bright girl.

Northland Ford has started their annual Scare Hunger food drive for the month of October. The dealership collects non-perishable food items and donates them to the school breakfast programs and local organizations in the community. They have a truck set up in the showroom and welcome people to stop by and drop off a donation.
“The main things we focus on are the school breakfast programs, so non-perishable items like fruit snacks, granola bars and lunch kit related goods are just some of the things we collect,” said Northland Ford Sales Consultant Rick Lagace. “All the food items must be non-perishable, as we don’t have the space, storage or resources to collect perishable goods.

The Town of the Pas held their council meeting last Tuesday in council chambers.
A discussion was held about community celebrations and which ones the Town of The Pas would facilitate. Mayor Murphy expressed his wish to see a weekend spring event in conjunction with the R.M. of Kelsey, Opaskwayak Cree Nation, Moose Lake, Mosakahiken, Grand Rapids and other areas. He talked about it being a cultural type event that would bring everyone together. Mayor Murphy noted that there are lots of great festivals, but they are run individually and that it would be nice to have something held with everyone involved. He offered to take the lead to explore options and put a committee together.
Councillor Lane brought up Canada Day and how the Town of The Pas will address that. Mayor Murphy said he would like to see a Canada Day committee formed that would take the lead to make sure the event happens, but he doesn’t expect town employees to run it themselves and that there has to be a committee involved. He said it’s like expecting the Town of The Pas to run the Trappers’ Festival, and that isn’t possible.

The Canadians Rangers participated in Exercise Southern Cross 2023 last month, which took a select group of Rangers from across Canada to Northern Territory, Australia, where they participated in survival activities and cultural exchanges with the NORFORCE – Australia’s equivalent to the Canadian Rangers – as well as Indigenous people in the area.
The exercise fosters a close relationship between the two countries, with members of the Australian unit also visiting Canada similarly at some point, trading knowledge and experience.
Ranger Paul Hrabarchuk of the Swan River patrol in the Fourth Canadian Ranger Patrol Group was fortunate enough to be selected for the experience and represent his home country on the international stage.
“The Australian trip is one of the most sought after exercises that the Rangers do,” said Sergeant Ryan Peden of the Swan River patrol. “It’s an exchange program with our sister unit in Australia, and it’s something that doesn’t happen very often with the Rangers.”
Peden noted that anyone is open to apply, but the top of the chain of command makes the decisions on who will be able to participate.
“There are a few different factors in the selection process,” said Peden. “There’s the physical factor – you’re working in the Outback and the Northern Territory in Australia and it can be quite physically gruelling compared to things we’re used to out here. With the heat and the animal life, it’s a different sort of environment than what we’re used to.
“They also take into consideration your contribution to the Rangers as a whole, and whether you are a good ambassador to us while being in this other country.
“Paul was selected on the basis that he met those requirements and he showed himself again and again to go above and beyond what we do when we run exercises,” Peden continued. “He always has a positive attitude and always dives into things head first. That was a big part of his recommendation for this exercise.
“He’s done an excellent job at representing himself and representing the Canadian Rangers as a whole on this exercise.”
Hrabarchuk left with his Ranger comrades on Aug. 7, going through many hours of flights before landing in Darwin, on the northern shore of Australia.
“We had to do our cultural training first and learn about the Indigenous culture, the places we’re going to go and the customs that are involved,” said Hrabarchuk.
From there, the crew set off on a vehicle patrol to Jabiru, where they participated in survival training for three days.
“We camped out at a billabong there and we had a ‘welcome to the country’ from a local Indigenous leader,” said Hrabarchuk. “When we were doing survival training, we actually trained with Gordon Dedman, who is the head survival guide for NORFORCE. He also runs Bushcraft Survival Australia and the head survival guide for the TV series Alone.”
Hrabarchuk also noted that they also trained with Dr. Theresa Emmerich Kamper, who also appeared on season eight of Alone, when it was filmed in British Columbia.
The group then went on another vehicle patrol to Maningrida, where they ended up on a boat patrol on the Blyth River.
“We ended up seeing some crocs,” said Hrabarchuk. “There was a 3.5-metre one that was trying to eat the boat.”
He then flew back to Darwin and then south to Alice Springs, where he participated in a Freedom of Entry March with NORFORCE. Freedom of Entry is significant honour bestowed upon a military unit by a municipality, indicating trust between that municipality and the military.
“The last time a Freedom of Entry March was done in Alice Springs was (nearly) 40 years ago, and the one that we participated in was the first time a foreign military unit ever participated with them, so we made a little bit of history there,” said Hrabarchuk.
While in and around Alice Springs, Hrabarchuk got to experience some interesting foods and traditions, which included consuming green ant tea, kangaroo, crocodile, camel, among other things.
Hrabarchuk also travelled to nearby Uluru – otherwise known as Ayers Rock – which is a famous natural sandstone landmark in the Northern Territory with major cultural significance to the Indigenous people in the area.
“We got to see parts of the country that not many of the civilians of Australia get to see, especially in the backcountry,” said Hrabarchuk.
He finally returned to Canada with the Rangers on Aug. 28, joking that it was the first time he’d ever experienced time travel, leaving on Aug. 28 and landing on the same day, despite the flight between Brisbane and Vancouver taking 14 hours alone.
One of the biggest challenges that Hrabarchuk had to face while on this trip was passing a swim test, given that he admittedly isn’t the best swimmer.
“I basically had four lessons,” he said. “The swim test I was training for before I left the country was the basic army one, which was swim 30 metres and tread water for two minutes. I had to pass the marine one, which was plunging yourself in a 3.5 metre deep pool, swim through some debris, come to the top, swim 100 metres and tread water for five minutes.
“For me, not knowing how to swim that well, that was the most challenging thing. What made it comfortable was the strength in numbers of being with everyone in my unit, because when I was starting to get tired, everyone would call my name and get the morale up to get to the end.”
Hrabarchuk also learned about the importance of surviving in a hot climate like Australia.
“It’s a lie if anyone tells you to conserve water,” he said. “Consume as much as you can. If you conserve your water, you’re going to die of dehydration.
“One of the things Gordon Dedman taught us to have in your kit is a transpiration bag, which is basically a clear bag you put over a deciduous tree. That can collect up to a litre of water every 24 hours. And, when you’re in a survival situation, you can have a few of them going and make more than enough off of those trees. With the hot weather, we were going through about a gallon and a half to two gallons of water a day.”
Although Hrabarchuk has travelled as far as Mexico before, his previous experiences didn’t compare to this once in a lifetime opportunity, and he is very grateful that he was selected to participate and represent his country.
One big takeaway he found was the sense of connection and friendship amongst the military units between the two allied countries.
“One thing I didn’t expect is when we hit the ground, they welcomed us with open arms like family,” said Hrabarchuk.
“The Rangers is a unique opportunity. We all come from different aspects and training. There’s opportunities no matter where you’re from, and if you put your heart and soul into it, they’ll definitely send you places, no matter how young or old you think you are.”

The majority of North and South America experienced at least a partial glimpse of the annular solar eclipse that occurred on Saturday morning (Oct. 14). An annular
eclipse describes when the moon orbits in front of the sun, but does not block the full circle, leaving a ‘ring of fire’ at the time of maximum eclipse. While solar eclipses typically
happen once, or even twice a year somewhere on the globe, the occurence of one being visible from any one location can be rare. The next time the maximum shadow of a total or
annular eclipse will pass over Canada will be on April 8, 2024, after which Canadians will have to wait until 2044, when the path of totality is calculated to pass over a large swath
of the Canadian Prairies

The Dauphin Kings ended a four-game home stand with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Neepawa Titans, Saturday at Credit Union Place.

Trey Gnetz was the overtime hero for Dauphin, snapping home a shot past Neepawa netminder Mason Lobreau, who was stellar in goal, making 44 saves.

For Gnetz, it was his first of the season.

Also scoring for Dauphin were Alex Senf with his first, Blake Boudreau with his fifth and Rhett Perrin with his first.

Dylan Schrader, Kyle Weisgarber and Cooper Kasprick scored for Neepawa, with Kasprick’s goal coming on a power play with 4:32 left in the third to tie the game.

Cole Sheffield picked up his league-leading sixth win of the season, making 17 saves in the process.

Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley noted Neepawa had five different players dressed from the night before when they lost 9-2 to the Waywayseecappo Wolverines, which made a difference in their play.

“I’m glad we got the two points. They hang in there and they work hard. We had so many chances and real good looks. Lobreau plays well. You’ve got to be lucky to be good and good to be lucky and he was both,” he said.

The Kings dominated from the opening faceoff, with a strong forecheck.

The line of Ethan Williment, Perrin and Gavin Nemis was outstanding all night, Hedley said, pointing out Nemis stripped the puck off a Neepawa player in the neutral zone leading to Gnetz’s game winner.

“I was really happy with those three. Just our work ethic overall is really good. We’re working hard,” he added. “The stick battles tonight had to be definitely over 50. Stick battles are usually one of our indicators on how hard you’re working. I thought with the stick battles tonight, we turned a lot of pucks over.”

The Kings used their speed to break out of their zone well, Hedley added, which led to some good scoring chances.

“Coming up through the dots and we drove the paint really well. Senf’s goal was a really nice play. That’s the kind of stuff we have to do. Because our D-men are so active, we can drive three guys to the net and still get that fourth guy coming in with the D-man jumping in late,” he said.

As well as the Kings are playing, there are still some areas that could be improved upon, such as the power play, which sits last in the division and 11th overall at 11.1 per cent success rate.

The penalty kill is sixth overall at 84 per cent.

“Our power play has got to get better. It’s got to start making teams pay for taking penalties and taking liberties on us. So we’ve got to be better on special teams,” he said. “Defensively, we played really well tonight, using the weak side and getting pucks up the dots. And our rush defence probably has to improve a little bit, just identifying guys that we’re picking up and communicating who’s got who.”

After a slack schedule through the early part of October, things will pick up now as the Kings hit the road, Saturday, to play the Wolverines in Waywayseecappo at 7:30 p.m., before heading to Winnipeg for the league’s Showcase at the Seven Oaks Sportsplex, where they will face the Niverville Nighthawks, Oct. 23, at 4 p.m.

The next day, Dauphin plays the Winkler Flyers, which leads the MGEU East Division with a 7-0-0-0 record, having allowed just nine goals in those seven games.

The Kings sit alone in first place in the MGEU West Division with a 6-1-0-0 record, one point ahead of the Virden Oil Capitals, but Dauphin has games in hand on every other team in the division and will play their next seven games in 15 days.

Twenty high school soccer teams invaded the City of Sunshine, Friday and Saturday, looking for gold on the soccer pitches at the Vermillion Park Sportsplex.

By the end of the tournament, it was the Garden Valley Zodiaks of Winkler celebrating not one, but two provincial titles as their girls and boys teams swept the gold medal games.

In the girls’ draw, the Zodiaks defeated the W.C. Miller Aces of Altona, 2-1, while the Neepawa Tigers claimed the bronze medal with a 3-0 win over the Niverville Panthers.

The Minnedosa Chancellors won the consolation with a 4-2 win over the Morden Thunder.

In the boys’ tournament, Garden Valley beat their Winkler counterparts, the Northlands Parkway Nighthawks, 4-0 to claim gold.

The Aces boys team won the bronze medal with a 3-1 win over Niverville and Minnedosa swept the consolation crowns with a 2-0 win over the Morweena Raptors of Arborg.

As for the host Clippers, the girls played their hearts out, but fell short in both games, first losing 1-0 in overtime to the Hapnot Kopper Queens of Flin Flon, before being eliminated by Morden, 4-1 on penalty kicks.

Check this week's Dauphin Herald for a full recap of the provincials!