Cree writer, filmmaker and public speaker Sonya Ballantyne has had a busy year and recently published her latest graphic novel. The graphic novel is a self-reflective memoir about Ballantyne’s life through the lens of a superhero overcoming life obstacles.
“The Unbeatable Sonya Ballantyne is the superhero origin story of myself,” said Ballantyne. “It looks at my childhood as if I were a comic book hero, aware of their destiny, but uncertain of their powers and abilities. It looks at growing up on the Misipawistik reserve in Grand Rapids and how my interest in nerdy things helped me deal with the racism and sexism I faced.
“The Pas Regional Library also made a cameo in the first few pages of the graphic novel!”

The Parkland Mavericks overcame a slow start to win their season opener in Winnipeg, Saturday.
The Manitoba Wombats took an early 12-0 lead, but the Mavericks regrouped and stormed back for a 38-22 victory.
Ronin Mouck and Daniel Evans had two tries and two converts each and player-coach Codi Harrigan, Alex Boshoff and Riley Keith had a single try each.
Harrigan said the Mavericks were caught offguard by the Wombats strong start.
“We have a lot of new players that came out. We just had to learn where we needed to be and we had to learn our systems again. Just get used to each other, really,” he said.
“Then as soon as we found our chemistry, things started working out in our favour.”
Harrigan was pleased to see how every player supported their teammates on the field.
“If guys made a mistake, we kept our chins up. Kept our heads up. And we just went back to our systems. We kept playing our system.”
The Mavericks return to Winnipeg this weekend to face the Assassins, Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Harrigan hopes the team can keep building on its momentum.
“I think we will. These last couple of practices the guys have really bought into the system we’re introducing. They’re really happy with it and it was our first time to try it out and it worked out for us. The guys are happy and they’re looking forward to practice again,” he said, adding he is expecting a tough game against the Assassins.
“We will put in the work we have to do.”
The Parkland Lady Mavericks will play their first game, Saturday, when they face the Lady Barbarians in Brandon at noon.

Both Dauphin Clippers rugby teams ended the regular season 4-0 and will host the semifinals, this week.
The Clippers JV team played three games last week, ending its regular season with a 2-2 record.
Garrett Urichen had two tries to lead the Clippers to a 20-17 win over Crocus Plains, May 19.
Ivan Brazhko had the other try and Rudy Oosthuizen added a convert and a penalty kick.
Following a 60-7 loss to Souris on Thursday, the two Dauphin teams hooked up in the regular season finale, Saturday, which saw the varsity boys score a 33-29 win.
Josh Yakielashek with two, Ryzlie Nepinak, Blake Thacker and Ben Miner had tries for the varsity team and Jordan Evans added four converts.
Oosthuizen had two tries and a convert for the JVs. Cody Love, Urichen and Hendrik DuPlessis had the other tries and Love also had convert.
JV coach Henk DuPlessis felt the team played well in the three games to end the season.
“For a JV team, Grade 9s and 10s, they’re still boys, playing against men. What else can you ask of these kids? You can’t ask anything else. They showed a lot of heart,” he said, adding the team has improved since the start of the season.
“I could see the ball was moving a little bit today. Better tackles, hitting the rucks better. I talked to them at halftime and it helped. It looks like they improved. I think every game is getting better and better,” DuPlessis said.
“I’m really waiting for two more years.”
Varsity coach Aaron Miner liked what he saw from his team.
“We went out there and did exactly what I thought we were going to do. We were going to go out there and work on some of our set plays. We weren’t going to go out there and kill them. We were just going to go out there and practice what we’ve been practicing for the last couple of weeks,” he said.
Miner said it was hard to get up for a game against a group of, essentially, teammates.
“But wow, you look at how much they’ve grown since the opening kick off to today. It’s just amazing. I parrot what Henk says. I’m so excited about the future of this JV team in two years time. Even next year,” he said.
“We were worried about losing 12 players to graduation this year, but I think the program is going to run strong for at least the next three to four years.”
With three bonus points, the JVs finished in second place behind the varsity team. They were to have played Crocus Plains, but the Brandon team forfeited, so they will advance to the final and will face the winner of the game between the varsity squad and Souris on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in Dauphin.
The varsity girls will host the Crocus Plains Plainsmen Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
The final will take place on the weekend.

The Dauphin Rail Museum is set to begin fund-raising for the Dauphin Rail Turntable Exhibit.
To set the wheels in motion, the first of two open houses were held at the museum, Saturday.
The open house, which included a rendering of the exhibit, was intended to be a question-and-answer session regarding the project, its significance and the fund-raising effort.
“We thought it would be good for the public to come in, see what we’re trying to propose and then if they have any questions regarding the structure itself, the rendering, the fund-raising, that’s why we’re holding this today,” said museum president Jason Gilmore.
The museum has an arrangement with the City of Dauphin to accept donations on the museum’s behalf and issue tax receipts.
“If you didn’t want to go that route, you can donate directly to the Dauphin Rail Museum, as well. But if you want a tax receipt, you have to go through the City,” Gilmore said.
The goal for this phase is to move the structure to CN Park beside the CN Station, which would cost $75,000.
“We’ve already had some consultations with Reit-Syd. They’re going to help with the move and the prep of the site,” Gilmore said.
“But we do need some engineering help as this structure is still 50,000 pounds. We want to make sure it’s stable and there is a little concrete pour, so we want to make sure that’s done in the proper fashion, as well.”
The 24-foot structure is still at its current location by the city public works shop.
“Our goal, in a perfect world, is to have this in place as shown in the rendering by the time snow falls. That would be ideal, but we know in this day and age right now things are a little bit challenging financially. Especially some of the organizations in town and companies that are very community orientated, we’re hoping they’ll step up given the tax receipts issued, as well,” Gilmore said.
“But this will be a one-of-one legacy. There’s nothing like this in Manitoba, for sure, probably western Canada at the very least, bringing to light this structure that was quite common, but this was the last remaining one in Manitoba.”
A second open house will be held, May 30, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free coffee will be on hand, as well as dainties courtesy of Western Bakery.

Dauphin city councillors gathered for a special meeting, May 19, to lend their support to a proposed housing development.
The Willow Lake Properties proposal involves the construction of a 45-unit apartment building adjacent to Riverside Road as phase one of a larger, $11 million development, which will include affordable rental units to help address local housing needs.
At the meeting, council approved an incentive package to aid in the development and provided a letter demonstrating the need for housing in the community as the developers seek Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation support for the project.
“The request came from the developer. They’re trying to make their budget work so that this project can actually go ahead. For them to make the numbers work and for this project to go ahead, they were looking at the City of Dauphin to provide them with an incentive package,” Dauphin Economic Development manager Martijn van Luijn said, adding the City has provided incentives for all major developments in the community over the past several years.
“For this much needed development to go ahead the developers requested that we provide the water and sewer install from the nearest access point.”
The estimated cost of making the water and sewer connections to the development from the intersection of Riverside Road and Main Street South is estimated at $460,000.
But that number represents service for more than just the Willow Lake Properties project. With 60 acres of land behind the project also awaiting development, the City is also ensuring it is prepared to service that land when it is developed.
“I’ve been working with council to be proactive when it comes to development,” van Luijn said.
“We need the housing, there’s no doubt about it. If that means that we need to invest up front and that entices others to develop, that might sound as us taking a risk, but I think it’s a calculated risk. It’s something that you need to do as a municipality to be able to get people to come and develop.”
And development is badly needed, van Luijn said, adding he tried to stress that in the letter to CMHC.
“CMHC was not convinced that Dauphin needed additional housing, which is mindboggling,” he said, adding CMHC was probably relying on high level statistical data, which shows the depopulation in the Parkland as a whole.
“I provided as much data as possible in this letter, for example, a recent growth in the immigrant population and the fact that city hall gets daily phone calls from people looking for a place to live,” van Luijn said, adding Manitoba Health numbers show a population growth and he encouraged CMHC to research that.
With the new community justice centre and the new day care facility coming down the pipe, the need is only going to grow, van Luijn added.
“I put this whole package together in the hope that the developer can convince the financier to become a partner in his project.
“We’re just trying to support this as much as we can and at the same time, trying to think ahead and get ready for the future.”
Agreeing to the incentive package in principle, council will consider the $460,000 in funding as part of its 2027 budget deliberations.

A local artist is returning home to the Valley this summer. Brenda Lychuk of B’s Ceramic Studio is relocating back home to Minitonas and hopes to share the art of making ceramics with others. She recalls the first time she dabbled in making ceramic pieces.
“I first got interested in ceramics back in 2001, when I was working from home,” said Lychuk. “I happened to be reading the Star and Times when I came across an ad for Hogg Wild Ceramics that said, ‘Are you bored?’, and at that point, I was. So I called, signed up for a class, fell in love with the craft and worked for them for one Christmas season. Later on, I bought out Glenda in Minitonas and started B’s Ceramics.
“I learned how to make ceramics from Judy Hogg. We worked together at the Westwood Inn, so it was a couple of friends coming together. She was a great artist. I also took a few courses in Brandon at the Warehouse to earn certificates in working with specific products, as well as participated in some workshops to learn about different products.
“Back in those days, there wasn’t Google and Pinterest to do research and get ideas, whereas now the information out there is limitless when it comes to learning stuff,” said Lychuk.
This led Lychuk to open her own art studio in the Valley. Eventually, she opened one up in Flin Flon as well.
“I first opened my studio in Minitonas and started in a house I rented back in September of 2002,” said Lychuk. “My love for the craft and how I felt when I was working with the clay and the paint was truly my passion. It made me move forward, to put up a building in my yard where I worked for 12 years. The building is still standing and we are opening up again.
“I moved to Flin Flon for a period of time to spend some time with my husband. We had always worked apart and it was time for us to be in the same community. Flin Flon was so accepting of my craft and the studio.”
Lychuk loves the process it takes to make a ceramic piece of art. It’s quite a detailed process, but the finished product makes it all worthwhile.
“Creating a piece to be brought to life in the studio is what I love the most,” said Lychuk. ‘I love the process involved in making the piece. This is an art all of its own. I currently have around 6,000 molds, each of which is a different piece. There are mixers, so my clay starts in dry form, adding chemicals to get it to the proper consistency. Then it is transferred over to a table, where all my molds are lined up, and they are filled with a liquid slip.
“Depending on weather and temperatures in the building, and how dry the mold is from pouring, they stand full of clay for anywhere from half an hour to 45 minutes. Then they are drained and the molds are cleaned up on the outside and left to sit until the following day. Hopefully, by then, they will be dry enough to start opening them up. These pieces are then pulled from the molds, bottoms are cut out, and holes are made where necessary. They are put onto shelves sitting on chiprock, which helps to remove the moisture and the water from the clay. This helps them to become dry enough to be cleaned.
“When we clean a piece, the seams are cut back from when mold join, sanded and flaws taken out,” said Lychuk. “It can be scribed into at that point, and then the piece is put into the kiln, where the temperature reaches 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. A full kiln will run for about six to seven hours, depending on how many pieces are in it.
“The kiln then sits for 12 hours to cool and the pieces are then removed. They are put on the shelves and are visible for artists to come and choose the piece they want to work on.”
B’s Ceramic Studio offers classes and events where people can come and make their own ceramic piece of art. Lychuk likes to keep up with the trends and is always adding new molds and processes into the studio.
“When I was in Flin Flon, I ran evening classes, consisting of an adult class, and I tried to do a Saturday afternoon one as well,” said Lychuk. “I’ve hosted birthday and pyjama parties. I once had a bridal party come in, and the bride liked all the different frogs, so the group got together and created these pieces. At the end, the pieces were gifted to the bride for her yard. I loved working in the schools and just finished working with a grade 6 class and McIsaac School in Flin Flon. I’ve also held classes for seniors and vocational schools. Anyone who can hold a paintbrush can make a masterpiece.
“I love new molds and try to keep up with the times. I love all the new pieces that are being created, as well as purchasing the new supplies out there. I have molds of just about everything, from wildlife to Christmas, and the retro Christmas trees, which have taken off again. I have planters and welcome ones. You name it, we pretty much have it.
“The projects can range from $5 to $120,” said Lychuk. “If you can dream it, I can try to find it if we don’t already own it. The other option is to take some pieces from other molds and create something special. I really try to make sure my customers are happy and able to create the pieces of their choosing.”
Currently, Lychuk is packing up and beginning her move home to Minitonas. She is looking forward to returning to life in the Valley and teaching classes out of her studio.
“Right now, I have two locations, one in Flin Flon and the other in Minitonas,” said Lychuk. “We are currently in the process of moving everything to Minitonas to move back home. We are in the middle of a massive move and moving 3,000 molds from a building. These molds are fragile, so you can’t stack them. We are hauling them load by load. My last class in Flin Flon will be June 30. We are giving ourselves July and August to get the studio set up in Minitonas.
“I’m looking forward to moving back, starting my ceramics and the next stages of my life. Moving forward, I am really excited to see what we can all create in Minitonas.”

Now that the Swan Valley has finally settled into proper spring, flowers are sprouting and nature is flourishing. Pictured here, a few wild crocuses show their faces to the sky in the Cowan Wayside Park.

The future of Asessippi Resort and surrounding villages and businesses, if the proposed gravel pit is approved, was revealed in an article in the Calgary Herald this week entitled “Judge certifies class action lawsuit against Lafarge's Exshaw cement plant, alleging health hazards.”
Cited in the statement of claim by 700 residents near the pit was “huge quantities of harmful and destructive fine powder, excessive noise and exposure to carcinogenic dust, resulting in damage to homes, values of residences and quality of life”.
It is not too late to prevent the apocalyptic destruction of this beautiful unique valley and continued pressure on the approval committee to reject this application is the only way to show our stewardship of this God given resource. Please add your voice to those of us demanding moral accountability from TriRoads; a lawsuit after the fact does not reverse the destruction of this ecosystem.
Ron Witzke

Russell Leisure Club was established in 1978 as a drop-in center for seniors. It is also the home for an office for the Senior Services of Banner County where seniors can feel comfortable attending to get use of services directed at senior citizens. Lifeline, assistance for completion of forms for government and so on, is provided by this office. The local Thrift Shop is also housed in the same building and is operational on three part-days a week, providing a place for seniors to work on a volunteer basis, and a place for the local communities to be able to purchase clothing and other goods at very reasonable cost.
The Club assists by providing a place that can be home for activities for seniors in the area to continue living independently and with dignity by allowing activities for recreation like line-dancing and yoga, dances, a place to play pool, and gather to play cards.
Annual memberships allow seniors to make use of the Centre to meet with friends, host meeting and activities and feel like a useful part of the community.
The Leisure Centre rents out the facility to individuals and organizations for various activities. Bingos and dances are also held as fundraisers.

By Skye Anderson
The Brandon Sun

ROSSBURN — The Crown is asking the court to sentence a Russell man who’s made repeated threats against police to two years in custody.
“The level of disrespect and contempt that he shows toward members of the community who are attempting to keep the rest of the community safe is certainly eye-opening,” Crown attorney Ron Toews said during Michael Man’s sentencing hearing in Rossburn provincial court on Wednesday.
Man, 46, was convicted of uttering threats after a trial and later pleaded guilty to three additional counts.
“These are not spurious or impulsive utterances or acts. These are comments that are made after careful contemplation,” Toews said.
The man’s lawyer argued that a time-served sentence, which is the equivalent of about 16 months, would be appropriate and still send a strong message to the community that threats will not be tolerated.
Russell RCMP received several complaints about Man sending threatening messages, including toward police, on Jan. 30, 2025.
One of the messages from Man said, “Typical worthless pig f—s in costumes came here to harass me for taking pictures. Next time that happens, I’ll wait for supper hour and kick in their door and get the whole family.”
On Sept. 8, 2025, a police officer received a chain of emails between Man and a Brandon Correctional Centre employee, in which Man made comments about his treatment while incarcerated in 2023.
One of the messages said, “I’m going to have no choice but to hunt the provincial and federal employees responsible for my stay.”
Toews said the use of the word “hunt” is “chilling in its darkest context,” as it invokes a narrative that often involves stalking, premeditation, planning, contemplation and preparation.
Saskatchewan RCMP contacted Russell RCMP on Nov. 6, 2025, and said they had been notified of threats that had been sent to Pattison Media.
In the email, Man said, “F— the police. Only good cops are dead cops. Nobody seems to want to release the details of the three pig f—s that violently assaulted me at gunpoint in the dark as vigilante justice.”
He continued by writing, “I know the RCMP member personally, and he’s going to find himself thrown through the woodchipper out on his front lawn.”
Toews described this threat as “very specific” and graphic in nature, which he said showed premeditation.
“Man engineers his language to maximize his psychological harm. He uses it to power his targets. He uses it to intimidate and to erode their sense of security within the community,” he said.
Toews said he hasn’t seen the slightest suggestion of remorse from Man, and he has a concerning lack of insight or self-reflection.

Read the full story on pages 1 and 7 in this week's Russell Banner.