The Pas Roadrunners Swim Club hosted a memorable weekend of competition, community, and inspiration at this year’s Brent Lechelt Invitational, held on Saturday, November 8, 2025.
The annual meet brought together swimmers, families, and volunteers from across the tri-community and beyond to celebrate the sport of swimming and honour Brent Lechelt, a beloved member of The Pas Roadrunners family.
This year’s invitational featured strong performances, great sportsmanship, and an atmosphere of excitement and encouragement both on deck and in the stands. Following the competition, swimmers had the rare opportunity to take part in a stroke clinic led by Canadian Paralympic gold medalist Katarina Roxon.

Swan River’s Royal Canadian Legion Br. 39 facilitated one of countless Remembrance Day services on the morning of Nov. 11, honouring those who have fought in Canada’s Armed Forces since World War One. (TOP LEFT) Swan River’s oldest surviving veteran, Max Dick (centre), attends the service, representing the Korean War... 

The Northern Lights were astounding on Nov. 11, as a powerful solar storm provided an impressive display of colours lighting up in the night sky. The Northern Lights continued to be visible days after, but not as bright and vibrant as on Nov. 11.

The Remembrance Day ceremonies at Binscarth school on Nov 10 had a special addition when, after the school event, students and adults walked west from the school toward the cenotaph carrying the absolutely beautiful shroud of 2,100 crocheted poppies.
Pat Orsak who had seen mention of crocheted poppy shrouds in Minnedosa and Niverville along with the grand mat of poppies showcased at the Manitoba Legislature, brought the idea to Toon Cozens this past January. Soon Angela Arran - whose son Darryl had served in the military, Joy Toole and Robin Robinson set about coming up with ways to accomplish the task.
In true Binscarth style, it didn’t take long for the community - including the students at Binscarth school to jump on board.
“People from here in town, and other communities, people from afar who have a connection to Binscarth and school age students from Binscarth School worked and made 2,100 poppies”, Robin Robinson said in the presentation made to the students of Binscarth during their Remembrance service.

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

A new optical place has opened up and is ready to serve the tri-community when it comes to vision needs. Aurora Optical held its grand opening on Wednesday, October 5, at its location in the Otineka Mall.
“When I started exploring the idea of Aurora Optical, I spent a lot of time listening to people who know this community well – organizations like Beatrice Wilson, our local audiologist, pharmacists, and advisors at Scotiabank,” said Aurora Optical Owner and Optometrist Yi Zheng. “They helped me understand not just the numbers, but the lived reality of getting healthcare in and around OCN and The Pas.

Business has gotten a little more hairy in downtown Swan River this year, but actually in a good way!
If you haven’t checked out their new storefront 520 Main Street, Roaring River Fur has established themself in a new permanent location this year, giving opportunity to their client base to reliably find them and their products at the Roaring River Gift Shop.
Not only that, Roaring River Gift Shop has opened their space up to other small business makers, leading to a wide variety of foodstuffs, crafts and gift ideas produced by local people and filling their shelves with an assortment of treasures to discover, some of which are not found in any other permanent storefront location.
Roaring River Gift Shop opened at the beginning of July this year, right before the crowds of the NorthWest Round-up and Exhibition filled the town.
“I figured we’d get our feet wet before the rodeo in case it got really busy,” said Roaring River Owner/Operator Clayton Block, who operates the business and the gift shop with his wife, Andrea. “We’ve both worked retail before, so we’ve got a pretty good idea (of how it’s supposed to work), but it’s a little different when it’s yours. There’s a lot more things to think about that you don’t normally think about.”
Blocks found the summer to be fairly successful for a new business, and their shelves became quickly full of vendors’ products in the reasonable-sized retail space.
Word of mouth and having a significant presence in a busy part of town has led to more traffic in their store, just in time for the Christmas shopping season.
“This is a better opportunity (for our customers) because our stuff is always out, instead of packed away in tubs waiting for the next craft show,” said Block.
Ever since Roaring River Fur started about five years ago – with Clayton having been trapping for closer to 10 years – both Blocks envisioned having their handmade fur-based products in a store. The trouble, of course, is the retail space that their furs take up, more than what might be available in existing stores, but perhaps not enough to fill an entire retail store.
“We thought there would be enough small business people here who put their product away in tubs waiting for the next craft sale, that perhaps they would want to join us in our space,” said Block, noting that the idea has worked out well, with more than 40 vendors putting their products on the shelves in Roaring River Gift Shop, perhaps even getting close to 60 in the near future, which he noted would be about the maximum capacity, to avoid the store getting too cluttered and difficult to navigate.
“The more vendors, the better, because everybody’s paying rent, so it only helps us out even more,” said Block. “We had to hire one staff to help us because we can’t always be here, so it helps with that as well.”
Roaring River Gift Shop also uses a vendor relationship business model that is non-traditional but also not brand new. Instead of purchasing inventory from vendors and pricing up the product to profit the store, or taking a commission when vendors sell the products on their shelves, Roaring River Gift Shop simply charges their vendors $30 per month for their shelf space, allowing vendors to charge the same prices they would if they sold to their customers directly, leaving them the responsibility to manage the inventory on their shelf.
It’s a business model that’s been done before, but in other instances where this has been done, such as in large urban centres, rents on these retail shelves can sometimes be hundreds of dollars.
The lucrative business model that benefits both parties has led to a diverse mix of products, ranging from nature-based artwork, handmade cosmetic products, delicious treats and appetizers, jewellery, spreads, clothing, and so much more.
Having the business of Roaring River Fur taking up a plurality of the retail space also serves an anchor that draws customers in to discover the other treasures that they may not have known exists there.
Blocks are also pleased to be able to move into a downtown space in an era where Main Street seems to have continually more vacancies popping up than new businesses.
“It’s nice to see signs coming back up on buildings,” said Block.
Andrea Block added that their family used to spend Saturday afternoons wandering Main Street and checking out the Swan River stores, which is something that’s become more difficult.
“This was one of those things where we wanted to do this and offer an opportunity to people who would love a storefront, but can’t do it on their own,” she said. “This gives people an opportunity to have their products showcased.
“I think we’re all in the same boat and can’t do it on our own.”
Roaring River Gift Shop is open currently from Wednesday to Saturday every week, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.. Stop on by while on your Christmas shopping travels to perhaps find your favourite local product, or discover something new and unique.

Two vehicles ended up in the ditch on Hwy. No. 10 south of Bowsman on Thursday evening (Nov. 6). Swan Valley Fire Department and Swan River Emergency Medical Services conducted the appropriate rescues, and Swan River RCMP continues their investigation of the incident.

Innovation, inspiration, and hometown pride was on full display as Fusion Credit Union announced the winners of Community Infusion 2025. The annual event celebrates local entrepreneurs with bold ideas and the drive to make a difference in their communities.
Four finalists took the stage at this year’s final live event, each pitching their business idea to a panel of judges, for a chance to share in up to $30,000 in grant funding. The evening was filled with creativity, inspiration and community spirit – proof that ideas grow right here at home.
After the pitches were presented, Fusion Credit Union CEO, Darwin Johns, announced Silver Frame Photo and Video Memories from Dauphin as the grand prize winner of $20,000. The funding will help the business expand services, invest in equipment, and develop marketing initiatives. Grit and Glam Salon, also from Dauphin, received $5,000 as the 2nd place winner. Sumatu Intercontinental Trade Wears (Brandon) and Friendly’s Grocery Coop (Inglis) each took home $2,500 for their business ideas.
“Community Infusion is all about empowering local people with big ideas,” says Johns. “Each finalist showed incredible passion and dedication to building something that benefits their community. We’re proud to be a part of their journey.”

Be in the know and pick up this week's Russell Banner for the full story.

The role manufacturing plays in rural economies often goes unnoticed, especially in areas where agriculture dominates the scene.

But Ritz Machine Works Inc. in Dauphin was drawn out of the shadows recently when it’s Director of Operations, Bryan Yakimishen, was named one of the top 10 manufacturing leaders in Canada under the age of 40 by Plant, a leading industry magazine.

The awards are meant to recognize the next generation of talent in Canada’s manufacturing industry and celebrate those who are helping to actively shape the future of the sector.

When the call for nominations came out, Ritz’s chief executive officer Rick Ilnisky knew his company included such a person.

“I thought of Brian right away because he’s done some great things at our company over the 10 years plus,” Ilnisky said.

“I felt that he had come through the ranks within that 10 years. He’s had the opportunity and he’s had the aptitude to succeed. And it’s nice to see a story where a fellow from a small town can go away, get his education, and come back and thrive.”

Yakimishen started his journey with Ritz in 2015 as an engineering student home from the University of Manitoba for the summer.

After completing his degree, he remained with the company as a manufacturing engineer, eventually leading the engineering department. In that role he helped implement the company’s ISO 9100.

Last year, Yakimishen became Ritz’s director of Operations, overseeing production, engineering, maintenance, quality, human resources and more.

Humbled by the recognition, Yakimishen feels the achievement is not his alone, but rather is a testament to the work of everyone at Ritz, from owners through to the shop floor.

Read the full story in this weeks edition of The Dauphin Herald.

If you are looking for a quiet place to read or write the next best-selling novel, The Pas Regional Library has the perfect option for you. A new Silent Writing and Reading Club has started and it gives people a place without day-to-day distractions to focus on reading and writing activities.
“The library's Silent Reading and Writing Club is hosted by one of our staff members, Laura Hrabarchuk,” said The Pas Regional Library Head Librarian Dawn-Maire Blanchette. “We first started the club as a quiet reading space to give people a chance to step away for an hour and just relax.