The Sunflower Early Learning Centre is looking to grow and expand in terms of size. The demand for local daycare in Minitonas has increased, so the centre needs to increase its size to accommodate the demand.
“We are licensed for 35 children between the ages of 12 weeks and 12 years of age, and provide care to a total of 46 children from our Valley, with shared spots and accommodating part-time spots,” said Sunflower Early Learning Centre Executive Director Michelle Rinsdorf. “We employ 10 people from our Valley, including youth seeking after-school jobs who are interested in joining the field and summer students.
“We are currently located in the old Minitonas Early Years School, where we began in 2016. We strive for an inclusive, high-quality program and provide daily activities in a variety of curriculum areas based on the developmental needs and abilities of every child. We arrange our environment indoors and outdoors to be a space that inspires children to grow and learn freely, often adding and adapting learning areas to enhance their learning in specific interests.
“For example, when they were interested in airplanes, we provided activities that expanded their knowledge of airplanes and even created a giant cardboard airplane in their room,” said Rinsdorf. “We strongly believe in community engagement and seek opportunities to connect the children and families in our program with our local businesses and organizations. We love to attend the local library every week in the summer, we take the children on field trips and bring in a variety of locals as guest speakers and shop locally for our supplies and materials. We have worked really hard at ensuring that our program is more than just a babysitting service and strive for excellence in our everyday operations.
“When the school closed, our daycare stayed back in the building and continued growing. We added infant spaces since opening and then received our funding for school-age spaces, and almost two years ago, we expanded our preschool spots. We are very happy that we have grown so much, but we have outgrown the space needed to ensure we are providing the best care possible.
“The building we are utilizing has rooms designed for school-age children, with multiple sets of stairs in the way of getting to the rooms and for our younger children,” said Rinsdorf. “Especially since we’ve expanded and have more younger children in care, it continued growing as a safety concern and not a truly inclusive environment, as anyone who had physical limitations. This included some children who broke their leg and couldn’t attend childcare, which meant their parents’ employment was affected.
“We also don’t have infant/toddler-sized washrooms available and the available ones are located outside of our rooms and upstairs, which has been quite difficult when it comes time for children to learn how to use a potty safely. The building is also an aging building, and it became obvious that it wouldn’t be a long-term home for us without extensive work that was not an option at the time.
“The opportunity to purchase our own building presented itself when the old local Knox United Church came for sale and our volunteer board of directors carefully and thoroughly deliberated before reaching the decision to move forward with this plan,” said Rinsdorf. “The plan is to ensure our community is able to provide steady and reliable high-quality child care for years and years to come.”
A drafted plan of what the renovated space for the centre will look like has been released.
“We get the comment a lot and know that the new building is smaller than the school building we are in; however, there is sufficient space to actually exceed government regulations for room sizes for each group of children while also ensuring we will have ample space for storage, a programming room with craft materials and supplies, an office and a kitchen,” said Rinsdorf. “We are excited that we are expanding the mezzanine to create a whole other floor that will be used for extra space.
“There will be child-sized bathrooms in each room so that children will be able to successfully learn how to use the potty safely and our play yard is going to be a beautiful green space. We will have doors in our infant and preschool rooms leading directly outdoors to the play space, which makes transitions smooth and safe, and we will be installing a lift system in our entrance way for anyone with accessibility needs. The space will be much more appropriately sized and utilized for our program.
“The designs have been looked over, adapted and tweaked a few times now to ensure the space we are creating will, in fact, be a long-lasting, high-quality environment,” said Rinsdorf. “We have worked closely with MB Early Learning and Child Care to develop plans as well as public health and fire and safety. We have been very fortunate that we have a wonderful board member with an eye for design who has volunteered many hours talking and planning with me about what a high-quality daycare would have, including collaborating with other centers in the province who have built or done renovations.”
With the plans completed comes one of the more challenging tasks, which is raising funds to get the renovations started. The Sunflower Early Learning Centre has already begun fundraising and currently has some fundraisers on the go.
“We started our fundraising for this project since we purchased the building in 2023,” said Rinsdorf. “Some of our fundraising efforts have included monthly hot lunches for our families, Mabel’s Labels, Muddy Buddy Sales, an indoor garage sale, and a few 50/50 raffle draws. Last Christmas, we did an art auction of special artwork the children worked hard on and that was a fun and special opportunity for our community and families.
“This past December, we had the opportunity to do a Travel Voucher fundraiser where the winner got to choose between $3,000 cash or a $4,000 travel voucher through Swan Valley Travel. We were so fortunate last fall that we were chosen by the Swan Valley Co-op for the Fuel Good Day. We did a BBQ at the gas station that day with their support, and had a record-breaking event. We brought back our Trivia Night Fundraiser in 2024 and hosted our third annual night on February 28th. Last year, that brought us in over $10,000.
“We also do a 50/50 draw, silent auction, and this year we are doing a meat raffle sponsored by Red Bull Farms at the event,” said Rinsdorf. “Last year, a local community member took home $2,400 in our 50/50 draw from Trivia Night. We are currently selling raffle tickets for Countryfest, which was fully and generously sponsored by JB Construction, Campbell’s Construction T.A. Bartel Family Grain Farms and Cody Conrad.
“We have also been grateful recipients of local grants to put towards our project, including significant grants from the Swan Valley Credit Union and the Community Foundation of Swan Valley. Local businesses and families have an exciting opportunity to partner with us on this project as well, and all support will be honoured with a commemorative plaque in our completed building.
“We have a really fun fundraising event lined up for June 20th, 2026, that is a truck/machine explore event for families,” said Rinsdorf. “We have so many fun ideas lined up for that day, as it will also commemorate our 10-year anniversary.
“We would love to raise $100,000 to be able to put directly into this project, and we are so appreciative of every donation, grant, support of materials or items, or opportunity to fundraise because no amount is too small. I am very grateful to be a part of this and excited to see it come to life.”
As the centre continues to raise funds, they are waiting on final approvals before the work can begin.
“Now that our plans are almost complete and waiting for final approvals, we are itching to get the real work started,” said Rinsdorf. “What we have learned to be true is that everything with the government takes some extra time, so we have had to be patient and wait for everything to be approved along the way. Ideally, this time next year, we will be in our completed building.”

There’s something nostalgic about taking a trip down memory lane. Ray’s Strings and Things is giving people that opportunity to reminisce about the good ol’ days when it comes to music from the Valley with their Memory Lane. The project started as an idea and has now led to a collection of musicians and bands spanning over decades, from the Valley.
“We have a wall called Memory Lane here at the shop dedicated to musicians from the Valley,” said Ray’s Strings and Things Owner and Operator RJ McGregor. “One of our longtime customers and a good friend was talking with us about how many music stores there were back in the day and how many talented musicians there were. Back then there were posters and autographed pictures hung up all over, showcasing musical talent.
“We thought it would be interesting to put a spin on it if we featured all local talent. It kind of snowballed from there. Leonard Constant, a lifelong musician, donated the sign for our wall.”
McGregor is looking for people to bring in photos, posters, and bios of musicians and bands that have ties to the Swan Valley area. He will post them up on the Memory Lane wall in the shop for people to see.
“I received about a half dozen last week and they keep coming in,” said McGregor. “I have one five-piece band, about a dozen other bands, and then fifteen other artists. Every week, there are more coming in. The first two I received were from a granddaughter of two Benito musicians. I also have one from the Swan River School Band in 1967. There is a lot of school band history from here and that is great to have.
“People who bring us a submission for the Memory Lane provide us with a little bit of background on the musician or band. I had one person bring in a photo of a band from the 1960s and he not only brought in the photo, but one of the posters from a dance they performed at in 1966 or 1967.
“I have had people come into the shop, see the photos and tell me they are going to bring some in as well.
“The other thing we are trying to get a hold of as well is old dance posters too,” said McGregor. “If anyone has a paper poster from a dance back in the day, we would gladly copy it and hang it up on the wall. Some of these photos are the only ones people have, so we copy them and give them their originals back.
“I’ve had people mention they have some well-known musicians from the area, from back in the day, but the photo is old and of them playing at a kitchen party. I told them I wanted the photo for the Memory Lane wall. Back then, a lot of musicians played house parties or just sat around kitchen tables playing music.”
Looking back at the Valley’s musical history, there are many musicians who went on to do some recording. There are also familial ties to musical talent that can be seen as well.
“There are a few musicians from this area who have gone on to do some recording,” said McGregor. “Richard Adams wrote a song called Rodeo Cowboy for the band Garry Lee and Showdown.
“There are a few other musicians with local connections. One is Marianne Hulme and she is Austin Ryder’s great-aunt. So one can see how musical influence can span over generations. It’s really neat to look at.”
McGregor is accepting submissions for the Memory Lane wall and people can stop by the shop to show them what they have.
“I have a great big wall, so I have lots of room for submissions,” said McGregor. “I hope to fill it up.”

A new shop, Telentors, has opened up in The Pas and provides unique items, including anime merchandise and collectibles. Telentors Owner and Operator, Claudine Pronteau, spent many years working in retail and opening up her own shop has been a long-time dream turned into reality.
“I’ve always thought of opening a store for years, but didn’t have the courage to do so,” said Pronteau. “I have had a lot of retail experience. I’ve been working in retail since I was 15 years old, and with all my previous employers that I was employed with over the years. This experience had a lot of influence on me to open a store.”

Musical talent is a gift that can run deep in a family and can be the roots of the family tree. This is the case for Metis singer and songwriter Joe H. Henry. Henry is no stranger to the area or to music in Manitoba. His father was a well-known musician across the Prairies, with roots in the San Clara area. This is what drew Henry into music and into the area.
“I was born in Winnipeg and we moved between there and Stonewall,” said Henry. “My father was Harvey Henry and my mother is Tanis Nott. I was really young when we left Manitoba and headed to British Columbia. My father stayed in Winnipeg with my aunt. We moved around a lot during my childhood.
“I would go back to Prosper Valley, which was named after my grandfather Prosper Henry, with my dad from the time I was really little, up until I was about 18 years old. Every summer I spent with my dad was in that valley. It was constant music all the time. My uncles, aunts and father were always playing music. They would all get together and just play music.
“I remember my uncle Ephrem gave me my first musical instrument, which was the fiddle,” said Henry. “There was an old photo of me as a small child, sitting on the table holding that fiddle.
“They would build these great big bonfires that would sometimes go on for a couple of days. Also, in the kitchen of the old farmhouse, they would get together to talk, have tea, play cards and then play music. All of us kids would get put to bed in the house, and we would just go and sit by the window and listen to the music coming from outside by the bonfire.
“My entire childhood was immersed in music,” said Henry. “I was constantly surrounded by it. I came to realize that the reason my family had this gift of music was because the Metis people were meant to be the carriers of the story, not the creators of the tradition. What better way to spread and share that story than in a song?
“My father played almost any musical instrument, but he focused on playing guitar and bass and was mainly a singer, like me. My dad was mostly known for his voice. He won awards with the Harvey Henry Band. He was my biggest musical influence as a child. Listening to him play in the Harvey Henry Band and watching my family at gatherings, I just knew that was the path that I was going to end up on. I just watched how they did it, from writing to music to performing on stage.
“I slowly learned to play the fiddle, but then moved on to playing the guitar,” said Henry. “I always wanted to be a singer and playing the guitar was a way to accompany that. I built up my vocals by learning to yodel.”
It wasn’t until Henry experience a great loss that brought him back to Manitoba and his roots. Upon coming back to the area, he became connected again with family.
“I came back to Manitoba in 2013, when my father passed away,” said Henry. “I was living in Montreal at the time, and was heavily steeped in music and on the road, while also having a restaurant in Montreal. I got a call on my birthday from my Aunt Connie, who informed me of the news. It was tough.
“At that time, I realized I needed to get back to my roots. I made the plan to start my move back home to Manitoba. It happened really quickly. I stayed with my Aunt Connie and Uncle Gordon in San Clara for a bit, and started working on the same farm my dad had been working on, which was for Dave Grega. Then Dave gave me a place to stay at one of the houses he had on the farmland.”
It wasn’t long before Henry decided it was time to plant his own family roots and got married to a long-time friend. Together, they decided to build a home and a family and settled on coming to the Swan Valley area.
“I moved to Alpine a few years after coming back to Manitoba, in the San Clara area,” said Henry. “My wife, Shelby, and I needed a bigger home for us, including her two daughters, to live in. During this time, I had completely gotten out of music. I would occasionally just play music with my family. I felt I couldn’t be a musician and a father, as I needed to provide for them.
“It wasn’t until I played some music at the Benito Personal Care Home for a bit that I realized I needed to be doing more musically,” said Henry. “Then came the opportunity to perform at the Shell River Jamboree with Vaughan Poyser. Vaughan said he was interested in coming out and said he would bring Chris Taylor to play guitar and someone I might know to play drums. It ended up being my dad’s old drummer, Doug Yuel. We played the Shell River Jamboree together and it was pretty wild.
“I knew I couldn’t stay away from music, because it is a big part of who I am, so I had to learn to walk the line,” said Henry. “I would play a few gigs and then work in manufacturing for Ag Shield in Benito.”
While at work, Henry sustained an injury that almost cost him his music career.
“I had an unfortunate accident at work where I crushed my fingers and detached the tendons on the top and bottom of my chording hand,” said Henry. “I thought I would never play music again. When I went to the hospital, I was first told by a doctor that I would be fine in a few days once the swelling went down. I got a second opinion, because I couldn’t close my hand at all. It was then that I was told that I had detached the tendons on the top and bottom of my pointer, middle and ring fingers.
“I went to Winnipeg to a plastic surgeon who fixes these types of injuries. They said they could do an operation, but I asked what the likelihood was of my being able to play guitar again, and they said it wasn’t great. I went home and thought about it. I decided to reach out to someone else; I wound up doing physiotherapy instead. Now I have full use of my fingers like it never happened.

“That all led me to think about how I was going to provide, so I went on into sales,” said Henry. “I was trying to pretend I wasn’t a singer and songwriter, but instead focus on selling farm equipment. I managed to connect with a distant relative of mine that I didn’t even know, who is a fiddle player. We played together and would sometimes go play at the Benito Personal Care Home. That helped to keep me connected to music.
“It has now gotten to a point where the thing that I was trying to get away from is now the thing that I need to help provide for my family with.”
The winds of change came blowing in and Henry and his family knew it was time to move on. The calling for him to embrace his musical talents was strong and it led him away from Manitoba to another area rich in music.
“We left the Swan Valley area in 2019,” said Henry. “After playing a cousin’s wedding, it came to us that it was time for a change. All signs started pointing to the Maritimes, where we had never been. It felt like life was trying to tell us something and we needed to let it play out.
“When we came out to the East Coast, I wanted to do something different. I wound up selling farm equipment again, then when we started expecting our youngest, Wilder. We started having conversations about being happy with what I was doing. One day, we took a drive and it led to Shelby telling me to pull into a Long & McQuade parking lot. She told me to go in there and get the guitar that would get me back into songwriting. She said if it doesn’t work, at least you can say you gave it a shot.”
It took a bit of time, but then Henry began to make connections and started to work with some musical geniuses who had experience in bringing artists’ music to the forefront. It wasn’t long after that that Henry released his first EP.
“I became connected with a guy who started the Halifax Folk Festival and managed a lot of talented musicians from the East Coast,” said Henry. “He was put in my path by a good friend of mine and it all fell into place.”
In 2023, Henry released his debut EP, Keep the Fire Burning, which garnered multiple award nominations. Then in 2025, he released his second EP, Real Things, which reached number one on the Indigenous Music Countdown.
“I was working with Jamie Junger on Keep the Fire Burning, so I could get into the East Coast Music Conference with it,” said Henry. “Instead, he had a friend whom he called upon to help give us some pointers on it. This guy happened to be the one who was the producer for Sloan. That was pretty wild. He came over and listened to the song. He asked if that was all I wanted to do was get into the conference with that song, because he had some different news to tell me. That is where it all started to take place and I wrote the rest of the EP.
“With the song, Real Things, that was a culmination of everything that happened in the span of the release of Keep the Fire Burning and all of the opportunities that started to come out. It led to my first time being in Australia at the Woodwork Folk Festival.”
Henry draws his inspiration for writing songs from everyday life and that has been the focus of the songs he’s released and future ones he is working on.
“I don’t write about myself when it comes to songs,” said Henry. “For me, it’s not a cathartic experience to write a song like I’m writing in a personal journal. I feel that those moments were all lived and they served their purpose. I don’t like to look back at them unless there is a lesson to be learned. I would rather write about things that people are going through or things they might need and find how it could work lyrically with the idea that has picked me at that moment.”
Henry has been announced as one of the Socan Foundation’s 2025 TD Incubator Participants. He received a $3,000 funding grant as well as mentorship from leaders and representatives in the music industry, such as Billboard, Apple Music, Spotify, Warner, Universal, Sony and more. Recently, he just came home from a tour overseas and is working on his next one.
“This coming April will be my third time going to Australia and I just got back from my first time performing in the U.K. in Ireland, Scotland, Whales and England,” said Henry.
Henry is always looking to inspire and foster a love of music in people. He remembers what it was like to get started and be involved in music, and he hopes that more people will find the same joy and fulfillment it has brought him in his life.
“If there’s anything I can ever do to help Metis kids in the area, I’m more than happy to look into any opportunities,” said Henry.

A former student from the Valley is putting her education to the test and has been asked to be a presenter for the famous TEDx series. TEDx is considered a grassroots initiative to research and discover ideas worth spreading. Shaelyn Carr, who is currently studying at the University of Regina, has been asked to be one of the presenters in this year’s lineup.
“I grew up in Swan River, attending ESRSS from grade 6 through high school at SVRSS,” said Carr. “My parents are Debora and Lloyd Carr, and my grandma is Lena Hubscher. I’m currently in my third year of a PhD in Experimental and Applied Psychology, specializing in Forensic Psychology, which explores how psychology interacts with the criminal justice system.
“My research focuses on ways to make the justice system fairer—like developing age-appropriate police lineups for children and exploring more reliable techniques for detecting deception with suspects and alibis.”
Throughout Carr’s studies, she has been taking opportunities to broaden her horizons as well as challenge what she is learning in university. This opened the door to her taking part in TEDx.
“I’m passionate about translating my complex research into ideas that the general public can understand,” said Carr. “In 2025, I competed in the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Storyteller competition, which challenges participants to tell the story of their research in three minutes. I placed first in the University of Regina competition and was selected as a national winner.
“From there, I was invited to present at the University of Regina’s annual Taste of Research event, which showcases standout faculty and students in a TED-style format. After that presentation, an organizer from TEDx approached me about speaking at their 2026 event.
“The theme for the TED event is Once Upon Our Future,” said Carr. “ We’re at a critical moment in history where the world and our community need more than hopes and dreams; we need action. Every generation imagines what the future could look like, but the future does not just happen on its own. We have to write it and shape it together.
“Once Upon Our Future invites us to dream boldly, act quickly, and take responsibility for the chapters that are still unwritten. It is about turning ideas into action, using our creativity and collaboration. We are building a world that reflects the hopes, values, and possibilities of us as humans because the story of what comes next is ours to tell, together.
“My talk will connect my research to this theme by discussing ways to make the justice system fairer,” said Carr. “Too often, the justice system relies on whether a child or witness is believed before their testimony has weight. My TEDx talk will argue that we shouldn’t wait for belief. We need procedures and tools that help us know the truth. I will highlight new police lineup techniques I’ve explored that provide a clearer sense of how likely an eyewitness is to identify a guilty person, as well as reliable tools for detecting deception in suspects and alibis.
“Much of my research focuses on children, who are particularly vulnerable in the justice system. For example, among Canadian children, reports of sexual abuse rose 190 percent from 2011 to 2021, meaning roughly 8 percent of Canadians experience sexual abuse before the age of 15, according to Statistics Canada data from 2021. My talk will educate the public on these issues and discuss some of the ways we can improve the criminal justice system to better protect children and ensure fairness for all.
“My research is directly related to making the criminal justice system more reliable and equitable,” said Carr. “The talk will draw from my work in forensic psychology, where I test and develop methods that improve how evidence, like eyewitness testimony or suspect statements, is evaluated. It’s about using research to create a justice system that’s fairer for everyone.
“I absolutely love talking about my research and doing so in a way that laypeople can understand! This is also a really good opportunity to network and connect with the broader city of Regina.”
This is an incredible experience for Carr and is something she is looking forward to. Most would be intimidated by the public speaking aspect, but not Carr. She actually thrives off of it.
“This is also a full-circle moment for me,” said Carr. “When I was an undergraduate student, I watched TED talks regularly for class assignments or in lectures. Now, I have the opportunity to stand on that TED red circle and present my work to the community. My TEDx talk will be recorded and posted on YouTube, so it is a TED talk that the next generation of undergraduate students might watch and learn from.
“I’m one of the weird people who actually enjoys public speaking. I love translating research into accessible ideas and seeing someone have that ‘aha’ moment. I prepare by practicing my presentation repeatedly—in the car, walking to school, or even getting ready in the morning. The more familiar I am with the material, the more confident I feel on stage. I also remind myself that no one in the audience knows my research better than I do, which helps calm any nerves.”
Carr is set to give her TEDx presentation in the spring, but for those who aren’t able to attend it in person, there will be an opportunity to stream it online.
“I will be speaking at TEDx Regina on May 30, 2026,” said Carr. “The event will be held in Regina and is expected to draw over 450 attendees. After the event, my TEDx talk will be posted on YouTube, where anyone can watch it.”