COMING AUGUST 14! Roadshow Pickleball Manitoba will be running a youth pickleball camp for ages 10-17 years in Russell on Friday, August 14, from 10am-3pm at the George P. Buleziuk Hall (106 Shell River Ave. S). FREE register at: Pickleballmanitoba.ca
Pickleball and Badminton will be moving to the rink for the month of July! Dates are:
Pickleball Tuesdays: 1-3pm, July 7, 14, 21, 28, Thursdays: 9-11am and 7-9pm, July 9, 16, 23. Badminton, Wednesdays: 7-9pm, July 8, 15, 22. Please enter through the main rink doors at the Russell Memorial Multiplex (206 Darcy St) FREE! We provide all equipment needed, clean indoor shoes required. NO pickleball or badminton the week of June 30-July 2.
Healthy Baby is Thursday, July 23rd from 11am-1pm upstairs in the Bunge Room located in the Russell Memorial Multiplex, Main St entrance. This is a free program for expecting parents and those with babies under the age of one. Come join us!
There are 2 horseshoe pits located next to the Russell Swimming Pool. They are up and ready to go! There are 2 old sets of shoes on site as well as a rake. If you would like the new horseshoes, they can be signed out for FREE at the pool during pool hours or at the recreation office (204)773-2422.
PlayBoxes are set up and ready to go! PlayBoxes are filled with outdoor toys, balls, bases outdoor games, etc. There is a box in Binscarth next to the toboggan slide, and one in Russell on the south side of the GPB Hall (106 Shell River Ave. S). These items are free to play with, just contact the recreation office for the code! Unlock the box, unlock the fun! Please return all items and lock the box when finished. Thanks!
The disc/frisbee golf course is now set up! The starting point is located on the walking trail next to the Russell Museum (314 Assiniboine St. W). There is a course map along with a rule sheet attached to the post at the start of the course. Need discs/frisbees? They are located in the PlayBox on the southside of the GBP Hall. Call/text (204)821-8285 for the code. Please return and lock the box back up when you are done. Thanks!

Two RCMP officers were seriously injured Sunday night after they were shot while responding to an assault complaint at a home in Melville. Saskatchewan RCMP said officers were called to a residence on Eighth Avenue West at about 9:35 pm. When they arrived, a firearm was discharged, and two Melville RCMP officers were struck. Both officers were taken to the hospital by EMS with injuries described as serious. RCMP later said the officers were transported to a Regina hospital, but no further update on their condition was available Monday morning.
Police said the armed suspect, believed to be an adult man, remained inside the residence after the shooting. Officers from the Melville detachment and the Saskatchewan RCMP’s Critical Incident Response Team responded, including the Emergency Response Team, Police Dog Services, and the Crisis Negotiation Team.
The Saskatchewan RCMP Serious Crimes Unit was also called in. The Government of Saskatchewan’s Protection and Response Team assisted, along with Regina Police Service SWAT officers.
The standoff ended at about 2 am on Monday when the suspect and another person exited the home. RCMP said the suspect was arrested and remains in custody. The second person was initially detained but was released shortly afterward and has since been cleared of any involvement. No charges had been laid as of Monday morning. RCMP said no further details about the suspect were being released because the investigation remains active.
Markus Dodge, a 55-year-old from the community, has been charged with two counts of attempted murder; two counts of aggravated assault; two counts of discharge firearm with intent; two counts, pointing a firearm; and one count, unlawful possession of a firearm.
The injured officers remain in hospital. They are in stable condition; however, their injuries are serious and potentially life-altering in nature.

Municipal Facilities Manager

38 talented area artists took part in the Arts cARTel show, welcoming artists ages 11+ who submitted original artwork for adjudication and exhibition.
Pictured here is some of the amazing local artwork displayed at the Geo. P. Buleziuk Centre in Russell, held June 14 and 15.

By Skye Anderson
The Brandon Sun

A Russell man who repeatedly made threats against police was sentenced to almost a year and half of time served, with the judge citing the damaging effects of the internet.
But the judge denied the Crown’s request to ban Michael Man, 46, from the community during his three years of probation.
“Man found himself radicalized in his beliefs, making violent threats against those he blames for challenges in his life,” Judge Donovan Dvorak said while delivering Man’s sentence in Rossburn provincial court on Wednesday.
“This type of communication maybe seems to have been normalized by the media, but it is unacceptable criminal conduct. In a world where peace officers and other citizens are murdered by radicalized people, words that convey an intention to commit … harms are not legitimate expressions of dissatisfaction.”
Dvorak previously convicted Man of uttering threats after a trial, and Man later pleaded guilty to three additional counts.
All four counts included behaviour “similar in nature,” with threats to cause death to peace officers, their families and government employees by way of the internet and emails, the judge said.
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.”
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.”
At a sentencing hearing in May, Crown attorney Ron Toews recommended a sentence of two years, followed by three years of probation, with a condition prohibiting Man from being in Russell.
The Rural Municipality of Russel Binscarth also previously submitted a letter to the court asking it to ban Man from the RM, which includes the Town of Russell.
Defence lawyer Ryan Amy argued for a sentence of time served, which was the equivalent of about 16 months at the time. Amy was opposed to a condition banning Man from Russell. He said it is his home and he “does not have anywhere else to go.”
Dvorak said a probation condition banning someone from their home community is “rarely lawful” and noted that in his 32 years in the criminal justice system, as both a prosecutor and judge, he couldn’t remember a time when he had asked for that order or granted it.
“Although some of the victims live in Russell, the offending was such that it could have occurred regardless of whether Mr. Man was in fact in the community,” he said.
Banishing him from his home community would have a negative impact on Man’s rehabilitation, Dvorak added, and would simply move the risk to a different community.
In his decision, Dvorak said one could make the argument that the internet has been a “net negative for society” and has radicalized people “passively through algorithms that direct people to increasingly polarized media” and, in some cases, actively by groups and people who profit from it.
Young people are particularly vulnerable, but older people are not immune, he said.
“It seems we can no longer agree on foundational facts. Many people believe that the Earth is flat. They believe that climate change doesn’t exist. They believe the moon landing was fake,” he said.
“Conspiratorial thinking that would have others question their sanity 20 years ago (is) now considered a debate by some. Ad hominem attacks and violent rhetoric against those with whom one disagrees have become normalized online and increasingly in life in general.”
He said this is where Man falls.
While rehabilitation remained a factor, Dvorak said Man’s offences required a “significant custodial sentence” that sends a message of deterrence and denunciation. A sentence in the range of 18 months would be appropriate, he said.
Dvorak included several other conditions in his probation order, including that Man is to have no contact or communication with any member of the Russell RCMP, Roblin RCMP or Rossburn RCMP unless required in the course of their duties.
Additionally, he is prohibited from being within 100 metres of the home, workplace, school or place of worship of any member of those RCMP detachments, except that the RCMP may bring Man to the Russell RCMP detachment if required as part of their duties.
The order will prohibit him from owning a device with access to the internet, with the exception of having one cellphone for emergencies and online banking. It will also prohibit him from accessing any social media.
While Man had the equivalent of 536 days of time served to his credit, which is four days shy of 18 months, Dvorak said he didn’t see value in Man serving the extra handful of days and sentenced him to time served.
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