The Arts for Manitoba Indigenous Youth Choir headed to Italy earlier this year to perform in the 29th Alta Pusteria International Choir Festival from June 10 to 14, 2026. The choir was led by Choral Director Rhonda Head and it has been one of many life-altering experiences the youth have embarked on. The scenery in Italy was unlike anything the choir had seen before.
“It was a really awesome experience; it was surreal and all of us kept saying we couldn’t believe we were going,” said Head. “The flight was long and once we arrived, we had jet lag for about two days.

Every summer, there is a campaign launched for people to be responsible and diligent in the effort of preventing Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) from taking up residence in Manitoba lakes and waterways. The most common and concerning AIS is zebra mussels; however, other invasive species can create havoc in waterways.
Recently, the curly-leaf pondweed, a member of the AIS, was detected in North Cranberry Lake.
“It was first detected in early July 2026 by a member of the Manitoba government Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) team who was checking the lake for the presence/absence of zebra mussels and other AIS as part of their annual monitoring program,” said Citizens Protecting Our Northern Waterways (CPONW) President Chris Smith. “Because of our ongoing relationship with the government AIS team, our volunteer group, CPONW, was informed.

A group known as the Indigenous Saskatchewan Women’s Environmental Water Advocacy Keeper (ISKWEWAK) launched a water movement that started on August 1 and runs until August 6. This water movement is a call to educate and urge those living near the Saskatchewan River Delta to resist the Lake Diefenbaker Irrigation project, in an effort to protect the delta.
This has been an ongoing effort that is now making its way into Manitoba.
“For me, this started way back, like 20 years ago,” said ISKWEWAK Member Denise Mckenzie. “My husband, who was with the NI Trappers, and I were trying to advocate about what was happening with the water. There was no flow going in; everything was starting to dry up. There was a smell to it, and the animals weren’t area. Everything was dying out.
“We kept getting the runaround. We went to federal and provincial government, with Justice and Environment. They referred us to Water Security and they referred us to the Watershed. Then when the Watershed Department came in and sent someone out to inspect, he said everything was good. We kept getting the runaround and nothing was happening.

Thirty-eight teams hit the links at the Dauphin Lake Golf Club, Saturday, for the Pine Creek four-person best ball golf tournament.
The team of Darryl Lacquette, Tyler Lacquette, Jose Lacquette and Evan won the tournament, finishing with a 56.
Winning the first flight was the foursome comprising of Chief Barry McKay, Chad Facey, Derek and Shawn McQuarrie, shooting a 57.
Larry Nepinak Jr., Earl Thompson, Taylor Fletcher and Al Cote were awarded second place on a countback over Dion Anderson, Adam Anderson, Kyle Sinclair and Lou Shorting. Both teams shot a 58.
Keith Pangman, Shawn Pangman, Tyson Pangman and Brad Belhumeur combined to shoot a 60, good enough for first place in the second flight on a countback.
In second place were Dustin Mousseau, Aaron Lavasseur, Rodger Roulette and Rodger Roulette Jr., while in third place was Chris Stranger, Dwayne McCorrister, Pat McKay and Cooters, with a 61.
Rey Cook, Nelson Leaske, Able Gott and Dennis Chartrand teamed up to shoot a 63 to win the third flight.
Greg Starr, Waylon Eastman, Drake Starr and Wade Aitkens took second place on a countback with a 64. In third place was the team of Russell Beaulieu, Albert B., Rob Mousseau and Mike Prince.
Closest-to-the-hole winners were Darcy Pelletier on no. 2, Farron Genaille on no. 6, Gott on no. 9, Jose Lacquette on no. 11 and Belhumeur on no. 14.
Genaille also had the men’s longest drive, while Mya Kubrakovich had the women’s longest drive. Jose Lacquette won the putting contest and McQuarrie won the chip-off.

The future of the Gilbert Plains Country Club could be decided this week at a board meeting, slated for today.
The local golf course was devastated by flooding in late June and early July. And while staff have been working on repairing the course, the board has also begun fund-raising to cover the $100,000 insurance deductible.
GPCC general manager Scott McCallum said they reached out to Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries to get a license to hold a 50-50 draw.
“The turn around time on that was four to six weeks and that was time we felt we didn’t have,” he said.
So GPCC reached out to the Dauphin Kings to use their 50-50 system and the draw began last month.
“We’re very thankful for that. And it’s going pretty well. It’s over $13,000 now and, l;ike anything, the bigger the pot, the more people will buy. So it’s going well,” McCallum said.
The draw will be made, Aug. 30, at noon. At this time, tickets can only be purchased online at DauphinKings5050.ca.
To assist with the fund-raising efforts, Park View Private Wealth Management Ltd. launched the Parkland Business Challenge with a $500 donation toward the deductible and is inviting other Parkland businesses to support the cause.
“It’s been very successful and people are being extremely generous. We’re just so thankful for everybody that’s thinking of us and helping out in whatever way they can. There’s certainly no donation too small,” McCallum said.
Seeing that support from businesses throughout the Parkland and beyond is incredible, McCallum said.
Golf courses throughout the province have also stepped up to support GPCC, with Dauphin, Neepawa, Minnedosa and Swan River offering discounts to GPCC members.
“There’s several golf courses that have reached out to us and they have some things planned for how they can help us,” McCallum said.
“And not only help us, but help our members, because, at the end of the day, our members are the ones that we’re most concerned about and they’re the ones that are losing their golf course. It’s sad, but it’s also something to celebrate to see how much people come together and support each other through times like this.”
Some courses, McCallum added, were able to take on some of the tournaments scheduled for GPCC this year.
“As sad as it is, it’s heartwarming in other areas at times,” he said.
McCallum thanks everyone in helping to publicize the fund-raising efforts.
“We’re a small non-for-profit golf course, but we know that we’re loved, obviously, by a lot of people. So it’s going to make things a little easier down the road,” he said.

Work is well underway on upgrades to the City’s Active Transportation Route along Mountain Road North.
Three blocks of the bike path - from River Avenue to Davidson Avenue - are being moved from the roadway onto a widened sidewalk following the boulevard.
The city’s focus on active transportation reflects a desire to create a cycling culture, which revolves around the Northgate trail system and feeds tourism in the future.
Mountain Road, mayor David Bosiak said, is an important part of the overall vision.
“When we contracted with urban systems to facilitate our active transport plan for the whole city, one of our priorities was we wanted to connect all of the schools and our major public facilities, parks and stuff like that,” Bosiak said.
“So we’ve always thought that Mountain Road is a tremendous spine of the system to get people going north and south.”
Other existing trails, such as the Kingsway Trail and a planned trail along Whitmore Avenue, branch off for east and west travel and spawn other active transportation routes, such as the Allen Dowhan Campus Connector.
“If we’re trying to create a bike culture up at Northgate and in Riding Mountain National Park, we have got to, by extension, do it in town. It’s got to be a complete culture of active transport, so, that’s what this is.”
City council, Bosiak said, has committed to spending up to $500,000 annually on active transportation and the work on Mountain Road will be completed in phases, along with other active transportation developments.
“We’re spending about that amount on a number of things, because we’re finishing the Al Dowhan trail to the college. We’re spending with urban systems on the design of the Whitmore Avenue Trail that’s going to go from AC towards Main Street and we’re going to spend some money this year on that first piece of the Mountain Road connection,” he said.
Bosiak added work on moving the bike path off the roadway will be done in phases as infrastructural renewal takes place along the street.
“It’s always been a plan to get that bike path off of the street,” Bosiak said, adding the former city council spearheading the Mountain Road bike path made the decision to develop the on-street option based on logistics and funding.
“They got a little grant and that’s all that they could do. That’s all they did and that’s all we got.”
Bosiak added he has heard complaints about the project and the decision to spend money on the upgrades.
“Give us the benefit of the doubt and comment on this when you see it done, Active Transportation Routewhen it’s complete. Not before it’s even started,” he said.

Dauphin Fire Department (DFD) was on the scene of a blaze last Wednesday, later determined to be suspicious in nature.
Shortly after 9 a.m., DFD was dispatched for a report of smoke coming from a residence north of the city along Hwy. 20.
Upon arrival, firefighters observed smoke coming from a window on the north side of the home. Upon entry to the structure, crews located a fire in the stairwell along the north wall, with several of the stairs already burned away.
This fire was initially extinguished, and additional firefighters had to gain access to the second floor from ladders in order to reach the fire extension.
As firefighters were working on the second floor, the roof began to fail due to the flames impacting the structural members of the roof.
This required firefighters to take a defensive position as the second floor was deemed to be unsafe due to the collapse.
Once the fire was under control, crews again entered the second floor to completely extinguish the blaze.
The department was able to clear the scene at approximately 3 p.m. once the fire was determined to be completely out. The ensuing investigation into the cause determined the fire to be suspicious in nature.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call the Dauphin RCMP at 204-622-5050 or Manitoba Crime Stoppers toll-free at 1-800-222-8477.
Friday morning, just before 10:30 a.m., DFD was dispatched to a report of smoke coming from a home on 3rd Avenue SW. Upon arriving on scene, crews found the RCMP had forced the front door open to allow the firefighters entry to the home.
The firefighters entered the home, which is under renovation, and quickly located the fire on the main floor. As the staircase to the second floor had been temporarily removed as a part of the renovation, crews accessed the upper portion of the home using a window as an access point.
Once all areas had been cleared and no further fire extension was possible, crews ventilated the building to remove the remaining smoke.
The investigation into the cause of the fire has determined it was an accidental fire. As part of the renovations, the owner had been using an oil based stain on wood for flooring and trim. The rags used had been discarded into a plastic pail after use. The rags spontaneously combusted and the flames spread to other construction materials that were piled nearby.
When oil-based stains dry, they create heat. If the rags that were used for the application of the stain are crumpled up, this heat gets trapped and can build until the rags spontaneously combust.
According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), fires caused by spontaneous combustion are a significant hazard. These fires often start hours after a project is finished, typically at night when no one is around, making them especially dangerous.
What not to do with oily rags:
Tossing them in a pile on the floor. This is the classic scenario for spontaneous combustion. The pile acts as an insulator, trapping all the heat produced by oxidation.
Throwing them in the trash can. A crumpled rag in a trash can, surrounded by other flammable materials like paper and sawdust, is a fire waiting to happen. It’s a perfect fuel package.
Putting them in a plastic bag. A plastic bag is even worse than a pile. It not only traps heat, but also melts, adding fuel to a potential fire. Never, ever do this.
Leaving them in your pocket. It sounds unbelievable, but people have suffered severe burns from oily rags combusting in their pockets hours after finishing a job.
Putting them in the washing machine or dryer. The oil residue will not wash out completely. Putting them in a dryer adds even more heat, dramatically increasing the fire risk. This can burn your house down.
Always properly dispose of them, or use only water based stains.

One of the casualties of the Swan Valley’s 2026 floods is the damage to agricultural land, with much of the usually bountiful cropland becoming non-arable for this year (and possibly future years) or having whatever crops were planted being severely stunted.
Farm operations all over the Valley will be having to choke down the hit on their bottom line, including the not-for-profits that use agricultural crops as fundraisers every year, like the Swan River Kinsmen Club.
“The Kinsmen field typically raises between $20-30,000 each year,” said Swan River Kinsmen Club President Lukas Atkinson. “The field usually accounts for about 25-35 percent of our annual fundraising, so it’s a significant source of funding for the projects and organizations we support.”
Because the spring was so frozen and wet late into the year, the window for seeding was very short before the first flood in June came, and seed for the Kinsmen field never made it into the ground.
“The seeding is normally done using donated equipment and volunteer time,” said Atkinson. “With the challenging spring we had, many of the farmers who generously help us were working hard just to get their own crops in on time.
“Fortunately, we don’t expect to lose money on the field. We should be able to break even, as the crop insurance available will help cover the expenses we’ve already put into it. While there won’t be any fundraising revenue from the field this year, we’re thankful we won’t be left with a financial loss.
“We’re very fortunate that the majority of our inputs are donated each year,” Atkinson continued. “Depending on the year, I’d say 80-90 percent of the costs are covered through donations. With the rising cost of fertilizer and other inputs, it’s become more difficult to have everything donated, so there are still some expenses that the club has to cover.”
Atkinson added that the Kinsmen Club has thankfully had some strong fundraising years in the past, and a successful Lobsterfest was held before the flooding occurred. However, with the NorthWest Round-up and Exhibition cancelled this year, the club did miss out on their other big fundraising event, when they run four busy days of food service in their on-site food booth. They have also decided to not open up during the event to be held at the Swan River Valley Agricultural Society Grounds on Aug. 29 and have donated the beef patties they would have used to the booths that will be open on that day.
“Even with those challenges, we’re still committed to supporting our community when there’s a need,” said Atkinson. “We do have to recognize that we won’t see any income for the rest of the year, which maybe means we’ll need to look at other fundraising opportunities to continue helping communities throughout the Valley as much as we can.”
The Swan Valley Stampeders Junior A Hockey Club also runs crop fundraiser, and while the volunteers did manage to get some seed in the ground, the waters of the Roaring River were running over it less than 48 hours later.
Project Coordinator Merv Beasley reported that crop insurance has approved that the field will be a complete write-off, meaning whatever crop that would have come up doesn’t need to be harvested before insurance dollars kick in.
Beasley added that the hope is for the field to be seeded to fall rye later this year and harvested next year.

Just in time for the August long weekend, the Hwy. No. 10 East washout approximately 8 km east of Swan River has been filled in to the point where traffic can cross, for the first time since the first June flood that started the morning of June 6. Pictured here, a passenger vehicle heads west over the repair. (INSET) While the CN Rail and road junction at P.R No. 486 south of Swan River needs a lot of work for cars to cross yet, the rail line is almost ready to recommence hauling lumber and agriculture products out of the Swan Valley.

Anyone who was around as the century turned in 2000 may remember all the speculation. Was the relatively new Internet going to change as everything digital turned over from 1900 to 2000? Would whatever digital data in place already just disappear? There were questions after questions.
Now, of course we know there was nothing to worry about on that front at all. As people prepared for the year 2000 to arrive, along with the preparation for epic end of the century parties, many friends and colleagues got together to place mementos of their years together in time capsules like this one.
A little while ago, Kim Shwaluk, who is an admin assistant at the Russell Hospital was downstairs in the basement of the hospital cleaning out the records room when she came across this time capsule put together by the nurses and staff working at the hospital on the last day of the century. Inside were pictures of all three shifts along with some New Years Eve 2000 party favors and a questionnaire asking the staff their predictions for twenty five years later. The questions included things like “where do you think you’ll be in the year 2025?” “What do you think your annual wage will be in 2025? “What major medical discovery /cure do you think will be made for the year 2025 among other questions. We have a few of those answers here.
Also in the capsule was a pamphlet put out by the Regional Health Authorities of Manitoba answering questions like: “will my holidays be cancelled if they’re in the early months of 2000?” along with questions about if the compatibility of medical equipment fit the pre millennial equipment on hand.
As an example of the uncertainty at the time, the RHA told their staff scheduled for a New Years Eve shift to dress in layers and bring sleeping bags in case of a midnight power outage.

Want to know what predications were made for the year 2025 back in the year 2000? Purchase a subscription to our printed or online copy of the Russell Banner, or purchase a copy at one of our fine dealers and turn to page 5.