This year’s federal election has four choices for voters to choose from in the Churchill – Keewatinook Aski Riding. The Opasquia Times had an interview with NDP candidate Niki Ashton a few weeks back and had no luck connecting with the Liberal Party of Canada candidate Rebecca Chartrand and Conservative Party of Canada candidate Lachlan De Nardi.
The PPC party has a local face as their candidate in this riding. Dylan Young grew up in The Pas and has been involved with the local Boy Scouts throughout the years. “I was born and raised in The Pas,” said Young. “I went through the French Immersion education system in school, so I’m still somewhat fluent in French.
“I used to volunteer quite often with the Boy Scouts in town, but I still show up at each Northern Manitoba Trappers’ Festival to make sure the kids aren’t hungry or freezing on the parade float. This year, I brought beef in a bag and they all enjoyed it.”

Children and parents gathered at the Elbert Chartrand Friendship Centre on April 13 for the annual Easter egg hunt, where children aged 1-12 ran inside and outside to collect their springtime treasures. Here, the 1-3 age group gets let loose onto the area of ‘hidden’ Easter eggs.

On the fifth anniversary of Melinda Lynxleg’s disappearance, RCMP Major Crimes Services says it is closer than ever before to providing the Tootinaowaziibeeng Treaty Reserve woman’s family some answers as to what exactly happened to her.

Lynxleg, 40, had been missing for over three years when her body was located on June 7, 2023, at an abandoned property in San Clara.

Police located Lynxleg’s body after searching the property, which contained a small house and several outbuildings.

RCMP Forensic Identification Services, RCMP Search and Rescue and a Forensic Anthropologist were all on scene assisting with the search.

An autopsy confirmed her death was a homicide.

“The RCMP does not give up on missing people,” Sergeant Laura LeDrew, a Manitoba RCMP Major Crime Services investigator said at the time.

“More than three years of searching, conducting interviews, collecting evidence. We never stopped. Finding Melinda is an important part of this investigation. She can now go home. But our work is not done.”

Since that time, RCMP Major Crime Services, with assistance of the Roblin RCMP, have been working tirelessly to find answers as to what happened to Lynxleg.

More than 130 people were spoken to by police, as investigators followed up on every lead, while canvassing the entire community.

Police say thousands of hours have been spent looking for answers, including a complete review of the entire investigation, which recently led to new information coming to light.

This development has given the investigation forward momentum and officers are confident they’re even closer to finding those answers.

RCMP Major Crime Services continues to seek out any information someone may have.

If you have not reached out to police before, speak up now.

The RCMP Major Crime Service Tip Line is 1-431-489-8042.

Midwest Karate The Pas hosted their annual Joseph Kryschuk Memorial Friendship Tournament on Saturday, April 5, 2025. The tournament saw 30 athletes, from seven years old to adult, compete in a safe, friendly and competitive tournament. The one-day tournament is hosted each year by Midwest Karate The Pas club as a way to expose karate students to competitive karate in the region. Athletes from Flin Flon and Thompson Karate clubs joined The Pas this year.
"Each year we host a tournament as a way to introduce first-year karate students to karate as a competitive sport and allow our long-time competitors an opportunity to compete before they attend our national tournament," said Midwest Karate Club The Pas Head Sensei Jodie Kuhl. "This year our tournament went extremely well. We were excited to see several younger athletes who were just starting out competing.

Many are looking forward to warmer weather so they can get out, get active and enjoy the great outdoors. The Tri-Community Triathlon is encouraging people to come out and give the event a try, even if it is for the first time.
“We’re hoping to see lots of first-time triathletes come out and try a new sport,” said Tri-Community Triathlon Event Coordinator Emily Doucette. “The triathlon is made up of swimming, bicycling, and running.
“At last year’s event, we had 50 people participate in the triathlon. We also had a lot of local volunteers who came out to help make the race a fun and safe event for the athletes.

If you love films, then there is an event coming up in the tri-community that you won’t want to miss. The Storyteller’s Film Festival looks for the best Manitoba and Canadian-made films to draw in views to celebrate National Canadian Film Day.
“This is The Storyteller’s Film Festival’s 12th year,” said event coordinator Cheryl Antonio. “We try to move it around to attract different audiences. We also love to show local content as much as we can, which we usually get through submissions. Every year our audiences are unique, depending on which films we are showing. We get a good variety of people, of all ages and ranges from children to youth to elders and seniors. Since the beginning, Storytellers has been proud to show many Indigenous-made films. We also partner with National Canadian Film Day to show Canadian-made films. The Festival has been sponsored by The Pas Arts Council for several years.

Brother and sister duo, Randy and Cheryl Antonio, recently received recognition and were awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal last week in Winnipeg. Both siblings have contributed a lot to society and are each deserving of the award.
Randy has spent some time away from The Pas but has had a busy life between his career and his family.
“I have had the pleasure of living in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba,” said Randy. “I grew up in The Pas but left in the early 1980s for the Canadian Forces. I was an Air Cadet with 303 Squadron in The Pas, which I firmly believe pointed me in the right direction. I did leave the military in 1994 and returned home to work at the college for a year before heading to Winnipeg to attend college

The Swan Valley Stampeders held their Spring ID Camp this past weekend (April 4-6) with 40 players from all over Western Canada competing and showing their skills in front of the Stampeder coaching and scouting staff.
“The camp as a whole was very successful,” said Stampeders Head Coach Josh Tripp. “The level and pace of all of the games was super high and I was pleased with what I saw.”
The Stampeders welcomed six goaltenders, eight defenceman, and 24 forwards to the weekend for two practices, two off-ice workouts, a player seminar meeting held at the Elks Hall, and four games to test their mettle and see who could adjust the best to the junior level.
“There was a good number of kids that stood out,” said Tripp. “We had great conversations with every player that attended and I am hoping to get a good number of guys back in the fall for main camp.
We had nine players from Swan participate and they did very well. I love seeing the local products come out and showcase themselves.”
The 40 players were split up into two teams, where team Grey won three out of the four games throughout the weekend. The Stampeders had some help from former Stampeder defenceman and captain Ashton Fishley to spread some insight and keep a keen eye on the talent during the weekend.
“My biggest takeaway was how hard every guy played in every game,” said Tripp.
“Spring camps can be a bit generic with the way they are run. We tried to keep our camp smaller so we could make a more personal connection with the players and their parents. That also ensured the high level of play in each game which we saw all weekend.”
The pace of play during was most impressive throughout the weekend. All four games were competitive and had a very good pace of play. Compared to last season’s booming numbers, this year’s camp was felt to be more organized and structured.
“Going into next season I am super excited for the direction the team is heading in,” said Tripp. “We return an unbelievable group of players from last season and we saw a very high level of players in the spring camp. We are going to be competitive from day one and I think all the fans have a lot to look forward to.”
Now that spring camp is in the rearview mirror, the Stampeders officially begin their off-season mode, where they’ll be searching for new, young, and upcoming talent to join their already talented roster for the upcoming 2025-2026 season.

As spring approaches and the snow starts to disappear, it reveals all kinds of treasures, some of them better than others, such as this antler that was likely recently shed by a deer, right in the middle of Swan River Legion Park...

A member of Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN) was recognized and honoured in the Manitoba Legislature a couple of weeks ago. The Pas-Kameesak MLA Amanda Lathlin gave a special recognition statement in honour of Peggy Wilson. Wilson was acknowledged for her leadership and dedication to the Opaskwayak Culture and Healthy Living Initiative.
“After my husband and I retired in 2002, we both wanted to give back to the community,” said Peggy Wilson. “We would come back to OCN every summer after the university year was over and stay to do some work here before going back to work in the fall. One of the things I noticed was how many people had diabetes. When I realized over 60 percent of the people in the community had diabetes and I felt something had to be done.