Summer is the time of reunions. It provides an opportunity for families and friends to get together, reconnect, revel in shared memories and dream collectively about the future. And Dauphin’s Countryfest is making the most of that opportunity this summer.
A celebration of “35 years of musical heritage and community spirit”, Countryfest Homecoming 2024 is a trip back in time to the festival’s roots.
“The lineup is a very throwback lineup and the idea of homecoming was throwing it back to the ‘90s,” Countryfest general manager Kamryn Winters said, adding the festival board and staff undertook some strategic planning last summer which led to the focus.

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Staying consistent with its election focus of fixing health care and making life more affordable for Manitobans, Wab Kinew’s NDP government released its first full budget last week.
“Six months ago, Manitobans put their trust in our government to rebuild health care and lower costs for families,” Kinew said.
“Our first budget delivers on those commitments by hiring 1,000 new health-care workers and delivering cost savings for Manitoba families with a $1,500 Homeowners Affordability Tax Credit. We’re strengthening our province’s economy, with help for you and help for those who need it most.”
As it was through the election campaign, health care dominated the province’s budget with $1 billion in new spending going directly to the front lines.
According to Kinew, the record investments in health care support a plan to hire 100 doctors, 210 nurses, 90 paramedics and 600 health care aides over the next year, along with investments to retain and train even more.
It also adds hospital and ICU beds, and opens new minor injury and illness clinics and primary care clinics, so more Manitobans can see a doctor when they need one.
“The challenge that we face in health care isn’t going to be fixed overnight,” Kinew said, adding capital funding in health care is more than doubled this year.
“But based on this document, you are going to start seeing improvements in health care this year.”
The premier noted the budget helps to take better care of seniors, invests in better health care for rural and northern communities takes action to improve cancer care in Manitoba, and will help modernize health records and bring in plastic health cards.
When it comes to affordability, an extension of the gas tax holiday through the summer leads the way in addition to providing renters and seniors with increased tax credits, expanding $10-a-day child care, providing free birth control, increasing funding for fertility treatment and providing rebates for electric vehicles.
“What we heard resoundingly is the reality and the impacts of rising costs, the difficult conversations Manitobans have been having at their kitchen tables in every part of Manitoba,” Finance Minister Adrien Sala said, commenting on the process which resulted in the budget.
“We heard about the difference the gas tax is having for people in this province, of the freedom that lower costs create for your family and we know it has meant a bit more left to put into savings at the end of the month.”
The budget also makes significant investments in community safety, agriculture, the economy and education.
“I want Manitoba to be a have province in the next decade and in order to do that you have to grow GDP per capita by about 10,000 to 12,000 dollars,” Kinew said.
“And the way we do that, the best economic plan, is an education plan.”
The work is hard, Sala added, considering the situation left by the previous government when it was removed from power by voters.
“The previous government left us with a huge mess to clean up - a historic deficit, a health-care system that’s been badly hurt by seven years of cuts, and a failure to strengthen our economy or support families who were struggling with years of rising costs,” said Sala, adding the budget charts a path to balance by the end of the NDP’s first term.
“We’re different. We’re making smart, targeted investments. We can take steps to fix health care and lower costs, and we can do it while being responsible with public money and charting a path back to balance. That’s what Manitobans can expect from our first budget.”
Budget 2024: One Future, One People, One Manitoba, is a document borne of extensive consultations and conversations, Kinew said, and is a plan which should excite every Manitoban and bring them pride.
“A huge amount of work has gone into identiying the needs, to listening to the challenges, but also hearing the opportunities that Manitobans are excited about for our future. We don’t have to agree on everything to do the big things together like fixing health care and lowering costs in this present economy,” he said, adding that in addition to unity, the theme of this budget, is about delivering more help for those who need it most.
“It’s a path forward that is built on compassion. It is built on listening to the evidence and most importantly it is built on listening to you. We are very proud to bring forward this document, so that we can continue to work together making this province such a great place. A great place to grow up and a great place to grow old.”
More budget details are available by visiting www.manitoba.ca/budget2024

The City of Dauphin got a glimpse into the effectiveness of its waste programs through a recent study completed by Multi-Material Stewardship Manitoba (MMSM).

Results of a Residential Waste Composition Study completed in 2023 were forwarded to the City recently, providing data on waste generation and composition, as well as a snapshot of material recovery rates of eligible recyclable material.

At a recent meeting of city council, Director of Public Works and Operations Mike VanAlstyne said the study results did not contain any surprises.

“Every five years or so Multi-Material Stewardship Manitoba conducts audits in all the communities across the province. There’s a rotating audit schedule. Contractors come and investigate the contents of the community’s waste and figure out the amount of recycling and cross-contamination and different things like that,” VanAlstyne said. “So nothing really big came out of the study or the audit, that they provided.”

The study spanned two consecutive weeks in October 2023 with waste collected and sorted from 10 single family dwelling areas consisting of 10 households in each area, as well as from two multi-family dwellings consisting of 30 and 32 units.

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The Parkland Chamber of Commerce took some time to recognize the efforts of local business and community leaders during a Celebration Night, Mar. 20, at Countryfest Community Cinema.

Local car dealer Dean Cooley received the Business Person of the Year Award, a testament to a passion for excellence and leadership in the business community and his commitment to economic development, innovation, business ethics and community involvement.

Ian Leighton of ICL General Construction was on hand to accepted the Outstanding Business Award recognizing success in company growth, growth prospects, and employment creation, while demonstrating a clear strategic vision and engaging in innovative practices which have a continuing positive impact on the community.

Tanner Bennet of Grow Media in Dauphin was recognized as the Young Entrepreneur of the Year. The award is presented to an individual between the ages of 18 and 35 who has been in business no longer than two years and exemplifies the qualities of effective leadership, innovatively applied know-how, and excellent potential for growth.

The Community Appreciation Group award was presented to The Bridge Ochre River, a safe place for children and teens in the community.

The Community Appreciation Individual Award went to Marge Beyette. The Community Appreciation Awards recognize those who have contributed through their personal efforts to the wellbeing of the community as a whole.

Hot Shot Entertainment owner Cory Gulenchin was honoured as the winner of the Side Hustle Business Award. The award recognizes an entrepeneur who demonstrates success within a venture they operate outside their regular job.

For the second year in a row, alcohol played a role in the presentation of the Start-up Business Award as the ownership group from Obsolete Brewing Co. accepted the award from last year’s winner Pierce Cairns of Grand Vieux Liquor Co.

The evening wrapped up with a special presentation of the Legacy Award to Dauphin Music and Electronics recognizing the extraordinary things the business accomplished which benefited the region in unique and meaningful ways and served as an inspiration .

Dauphin Music and Electronics closed its doors last fall after 77 years in business.

Dauphin city councillors examined the unaudited financial statements for 2023 at their regular meeting, Mar. 21.

And while inflation was a major factor in a small General Fund deficit realized in 2022, in a memo to council director of Finance Scott Carr said the City was able to better manage operations last year in realizing a surplus of $433,356.25.

On the revenue side of the General Fund, income was $42,527 greater than budgeted as taxes added, provincial fines, waste disposal site income, provincial grants, custom work and insurance rebates were all greater than expected.

Also contributing to the surplus was the fact that Protective Services was $169,226 under budget while the Transportation department was $40,210 under budget, Environmental Development was $42,802 under budget and Economic Development was $42,802 under budget. Finally, Fiscal Services was $6,970,358 under budget due to several projects not being completed. As they were to be paid for through reserves, there is no impact on the surplus, Carr said in the memo.

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For more than 67 years, firefighters across Canada have dedicated their time and talents to raising much needed funds for Muscular Dystrophy Canada.

And for 48 of those years, Dauphin Fire Department has been front and centre in fund-raising efforts to fight MD.

“I’m not sure how the partnership was initially struck up, but they’ve had this agreement in place since 1954. Dauphin got involved in 1976 and since that time it’s over $100,000 that our department is raised for muscular dystrophy,” fire chief Cam Abrey said ,adding the department’s approach to fund-raising for the cause has taken on many different forms over the years.

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Scarlett Ruiz was one of 38 international exchange students spending the year in Mountain View School Division facilities who got their first taste of ice fishing thanks to Ken Dyck of Ken’s Anglers Service.

The group headed out Hudson Bay Point on Dauphin Lake, Mar. 15, for an afternoon of fishing, sleigh rides, warming around an ice firepit and enjoying some barbecued hot dogs.

Dyck has been hosting international students on the lake for a number of years and calls it one of the highlights of his spring to see the young people experiencing something new and enjoying themselves.

Farmers are, as a group, optimists. But tempering that optimism will be the key to effectively marketing crops in 2024.

That was the message delivered by Keith Brownell, the manager of Country Grain Marketing with Viterra, at Dauphin Agricultural Society’s Farm Outlook 2024, Mar. 14, at the Parkland Recreation Complex in Dauphin.

“In order to be a farmer, to be a grain producer especially, you need to be an optimist,” Brownell said. “You take a seed, you put it in the ground, you either take money out of your own bank, or you go to the banker and you convince them to give you money so that you can optimize the growth of that seed. Then there’s a whole bunch of stuff beyond that, that’s completely out of your control. Yet you do it.”

But being an optimist does not necessarily mean being a blind optimist. Producers make pragmatic decisions, Brownell said, based on past experiences and research.

“They’re deliberate decisions. They’re purposeful decisions that go into this,” he said. “In spite of being optimistic you do a lot of things that are purposeful and deliberate.”

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