MS Bike Riding Mountain made its triumphant post-COVID return this past weekend, but with a twist.

Rather than beginning in Dauphin and proceeding to Clear Lake on day one with a return to Dauphin on day two, the event involved a looped course beginning and ending at Elkhorn Ranch in Riding Mountain National Park.

What did not change, however, is the scenic views and diverse sightings of wildlife that come with a trip through RMNP.

Riders were able to choose from two loops, with a 71-kilometre option featuring a turn around at Moon Lake or a 109-kilometre round trip with a turn around at Northgate Trails.

Whichever ride they chose, riders celebrated their accomplishments with awards, food and fun. This year, the Riding Mountain event had a fund-raising goal of $85,000 with over $53,514 raised to date. MS Bike Riding Mountain is one of 12 MS Bike events happening over a four-month period across Canada with the goal of raising funds to support people living with multiple sclerosis.

On the morning of Sept. 2, Don Kobluk, an elder at Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Lennard, noticed that the front door of his church was askew and the handle had been torn off.

He went inside and found the entire sanctuary covered in fine dust from a fire extinguisher.

More in this week’s issue.

The new school year is shaping up to be a good one at Roblin Elementary School and Goose Lake High.

With Covid in the rear view mirror – not quite a distant memory yet – and school life returning to pre-Covid normals, there is a real sense of excitement among students and staff.

Read all about it in this week’s Review.

In the next couple of months, some very prominent music award ceremonies are going to be taking place and a local Roblin artist is breaking his own personal record by being nominated for six awards from two different music award ceremonies.

Ryan Keown is nominated for Single of the Year and Music Video of the Year at the 2023 Manitoba Country Music Awards (MCMAs) for his song A Lie I Can Live With. He is also nominated for four awards as Male Vocalist of the Year, Music Video of the Year, Best Video Performance and Modern Song of the Year at the ninth annual Josie Music Awards in Nashville.

Find out more in this week’s paper.

In the afternoon of Aug. 25, Roblin RCMP received a report of theft of bike from a backyard. Two bikes were locked with a rope lock and were stolen.

One was later located being ridden. Person on the bike was arrested for possession of stolen property and charges are pending. Bike was returned to owner.

See what’s kept police busy over the last two weeks in the RCMP Report.

The Pas is leaping into the future and has progressively established installing an EV charger in the community. The EV charger isn’t open for business quite yet, but will be very soon.
“The actual unit arrived during the week of the August 14, and work started then as well,” said Jackie Rechenmacher.
“We still have a couple things to figure out, but once we get it up and running, then the most common thing is to have the users pay a rate for how much power they use. The municipality is looking into other models as well, more to come on that. We will be connecting and testing the unit in the coming weeks.”

The Swan River Centennial Arena saw more action this past weekend (Sept. 1-2), as the Swan Valley Junior A Stampeders opened their Main Camp, welcoming returning players, prospects and invitees to the rink.

Much of the Swan Valley’s crops have been harvested already as weather has permitted area farmers to take their combines out into the field...

Elias Eisenbarth’s goal with one minute remaining lifted Team Hobbs to a 6-5 win over Team Cherepak in the Dauphin Kings’ annual JoFo Cup intrasquad game, Sunday afternoon at Credit Union Place.

Blake Boudreau was named player of the game for Hobbs after he scored twice and added an assist.

Linemate Rylan Gage had a goal and two assists, while Riley Borody and Jordan Bax had the other goals.

Joshua Schmidt was named player of the game for Cherepak with a two-goal effort. Josh Heistad, Sam Boldt and Danylo Dolin also scored.

Austin Siebel and Ethan Fechter combined to make 24 saves in goal for Team Hobbs. Luke Swanson and Piet Mierreau had 30 stops for Team Cherepak.

Coming into camp, Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley knew the team would be strong on the backend and in goal.

“We’ve had six guys in here and a couple of young kids that are going to be good in the future. There’s three of our guys that are battling for those spots,” he said, noting veteran Cole Sheffield and rookies Siebel, Swanson, Fechter and Mierreau all had good camps.

Mierreau and Chase Glover will likely play in the opening preseason contests, Tuesday against the Neepawa Titans and Wednesday against the Swan Valley Stampeders.

Both games get underway at 7:30 p.m. at Credit Union Place.

Dauphin will travel to Swan River for the rematch, Friday, at 7 p.m.

Newcomer Naaman Hofer, who was acquired in a trade with the Winnipeg Freeze, last week, was one of the best players in camp all weekend.

“And we really like the pairing with (Karson) Raymond and the (Trey) Gnetz kid that we got from the States, they looked really well. So our backend, we like our mobility, we like our speed and we like our first passes” he said. “And I think there’s some real good potential up front with the speed and the youth that we have.”

Most of the veterans in the intrasquad game were being outplayed by the rookies fighting to make the roster.

“Boudreau has been good all camp. Bouds has separated himself, but I think the rest of our guys, the 17 and 18 year olds have looked really good,” Hedley said, adding he liked the speed and work ethic he saw, as well as the plays that were made. "We showed some really good IQ and some creativity. At this time of year, that’s what we have to do as a coaching staff is get that compete level to the intensity that we want,” he said. “But I do like our speed and the skill sets are really good. There’s something to work with, that’s for sure.”

Tonight’s preseason game with Neepawa will feature the team’s draft picks and list players.

Following Tuesday’s game, the Kings will drop to between 25 and 30 players heading into the remainder of the preseason.

Defenceman Marco Bodnarski and Aidan Murray are out with injuries, so the team will likely carry 10 defencemen and 18 forwards, as well as three goaltenders.

For the remainder of the preseason, Hedley would like to see the work ethic and speed to continue.

“We’re looking to really get some good depth with some size, speed and compete. Hopefully, we can get six lines out of there. Six lines and 10 D and three goaltenders to go into the exhibition (games),” he said.

Kings court:

The Kings will end the preseason with a home game, Sept. 15, against the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Melville Millionaires at 7:30 p.m. at Credit Union Place, followed by a game in Virden the next night against the Oil Capitals. The regular season begins, Sept. 22, with the Stampeders in town for the home opener at 7:30 p.m.

Residents at Kinsmen Villa had a special visitor last week when a wayward black bear decided to use a tree outside the Sixth Avenue Northwest apartment block for a late morning nap.

It is that time of year when bears are on tour looking for that last bit food to build up fat prior to winter.

And with a river running through the middle of the community, the bears are provided with a perfect highway to embark on their adventures. Sometimes those adventures will bring them into the city and in contact with its residents.

If left alone, the animals will usually continue on their way without causing any problems. In fact, problems with bears are usually created by people.

Here are some tips to help you avoid attracting bears to your property:

• Garbage - eliminate odours. Put garbage in containers that have tight fitting lids, and only put it out on the morning of garbage day, not the night before. If possible, store garbage in bear-resistant containers, or indoors (house, shed, garage). Do not store garbage in plywood boxes, old freezers or vehicles. Put meat scraps in the freezer until garbage day. If you do not have curbside pick up, take your garbage to the dump often. Frequently wash garbage cans and recycle containers and lids with a strong smelling disinfectant.

• Bird and pet food - Fill bird feeders only through the winter months. Do not leave pet food outdoors. Feed pets indoors, not outside or in screened-in areas or porches.

• Fruits, vegetables and compost - Avoid landscaping with trees, shrubs or plants that produce food known to attract bears (some examples include crab apple trees, mountain ash, beech and oak). Do not put meat, fish or sweet food (including fruit) in your composter. Remove vegetables and fallen fruit from the ground. Pick all ripe fruit from trees and bushes.

• Smells - Be aware that cooking odours can attract bears. Remove grease and food residue from barbecue grills, including the grease cup underneath, after each use.

Learn about bears, their needs and behaviour. Share your knowledge with others and encourage your neighbours to practice bear-wise habits.