By Derek Holtom
The Waywayseecappo Wolverines had an interesting week which started with a dominating victory over their division rival and expansion cousin franchise the Swan Valley Stampeders.
Coming off a low-scoring weekend, the Wolverines offense roared back to life, scoring nine goals against the Stampeders. For Head Coach and General Manager Landyn Cochrane, the outburst was all about not panicking after one bad weekend.
“We’re continuing to stick to our game plan, continuing to work hard, and follow through on our game plan,” he said.
The Wolverines also dropped a close game to the Selkirk Steelers, one of the premier teams in the MJHL this season. If not for a bounce here or there the Wolverines could have won that game.
“I feel we’re right there with the best in the league,” said Cochrane. “When we follow through with our game plan and our effort is there, we can be one of the top teams in the league.”

Get the whole score in this week's Russell Banner.

By Jennifer Laviolette
Prairie Mountain Health held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) virtually on Wednesday, October 22. PMH Board Chair Lon Cullen opened the meeting and introduced the board of directors, Donna Davidson as Vice Chair, Debbie Huntinghawk, Ron D. Janzen, Kim Magalhaes, Jody Stevens, Lori Rodych, Sue Stirling, Judy Swanson and two new members, Vaughn Wilson and Premel Patel David. The board of directors are appointed by the Minister of Health.
The board is responsible for steering three committees: the Finance and Audit Committee, the HR Committee, and the Quality and Patient Safety Committee. It’s also responsible for consultation with stakeholders.
PMH CEO Treena Slate spoke about PMH’s Strategic Plan, consisting of creating positive health care experiences; quality focus; improved health system capacity, performance and accountability; empowered workforce; and financial stability.
Some of the highlights for PMH this year focused on access to health care by improving efficiency, reducing wait times, supporting innovation in service delivery and improving client safety and care outcomes. The regional also developed partnerships that resulted in health system planning and service delivery alignment with Manitoba Health, Seniors and Long Term Care and Housing, Addictions and Homelessness priorities.

Find out more in this week's Russell Banner.

It’s been well over a year since the violent windstorm that tore the roof off of the Foxwarren rink.
With all the paperwork and approvals done, the community started raising funds for the repair of
the roof, this September. That work is well underway repairing the structural damage and ensuring all the repair work is up to code.
To date, $81,595 of the $200,000 goal has been raised thanks to generous donations of $5,000 from the Binscarth Lions,
Fusion Credit Union and the 2025 Beef and Barley committee, $2,500 from Braendle Bruce along with numerous other generous donations.

Get the full story in this week's Russell Banner.

The Russell Rams are heading back on the ice during the first week of November. In preparation for the season, the guys were selling squares at the Beef & Barley Trade show.

So, are the Selkirk Steelers for real this year? The answer just might be yes. Or at the very least, they are positioned to get back into the playoffs this year for the first time since 2022.
A month into the season, the Steelers sit atop the MJHL standings with 20 points in 11 games, one more than the Steinbach Pistons who have 19 points in 10 games.
The Steelers rocketed out to a similar strong start last year, only to flounder as their schedule got tougher. They finished nine points back of the Niverville Nighthawks for the final playoff spot – a team that has, since their addition to the MJHL, edged out the Steelers for the final playoff spot in the East Division.

Read more in this week's edition of the Russell Banner.

By Derek Holtom
The Waywayseecappo Wolverines missed a glorious chance to pick up some key divisional victories against the last-place Northern Manitoba Blizzard and create even more distance between themselves and the bottom of the West Division last week. Instead, with just one point in three games last week, things are starting to tighten up.
On paper the Wolverines were the favourite in a home game against the Winnipeg Blues and against the winless Northern Manitoba Blizzard in The Pas. But Wayway was only able to score two goals a game last week, and that ultimately factored into their three losses.

Get the whole score in this week's edition of the Russell Banner.

A new surgical program at Selkirk Regional Health Centre (SRHC) launched by the Manitoba government has completed 399 hip and knee joint replacements as of Oct. 16, nearly half of its target of 800, Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Uzoma Asagwara announced.
“This investment is about helping more Manitobans live free of pain so they can get back to what they love,” said Asagwara. “Too many Manitobans have had to wait a year or more for a relatively simple hip or knee replacement, but we are helping the ‘long waiters’ by investing in the Selkirk program. We’re seeing progress as our waitlist drops, but we know we have to keep going.”

Want to know the whole story? Pickup the latest edition of the Russell Banner.

We’re excited to share a small update about how we serve you! The team formerly known as Assiniboine Valley Recreation is now officially operating as the Recreation Department of the Municipality of Russell–Binscarth.
While our name has changed, our commitment to community, recreation, and active living remains exactly the same. You’ll still see the same friendly faces, programs, and events you know and love — just now under the municipal umbrella, allowing us to work even more closely with other departments to serve our community better.

Read the full story in this week's edition of the Russell Banner.

This short article was on the World Spectators Facebook page. We’ve also included some questions posed to the World Spectator staff and their researched reply.
There was a 3.7 magnitude earthquake Sunday night in the Esterhazy area with people reporting significant shaking at around 11:08 pm followed by a smaller quake 29 minutes later. Seismic activity was recorded northeast of Esterhazy.

Read more in the October 21st edition of the Russell Banner.