The Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF), the National Government of the Red River Métis is proud to announce that, as part of its ongoing commitment to affordable, safe, and accessible housing for Red River Métis Citizens across the province, has broken ground for its Russell Métis Seniors Affordable Housing project. This housing project will consist of two duplexes, for a total of four affordable seniors housing units.

Read all about it in this weeks issue of the Russell Banner.

Viewers who catch television shows via streaming, especially fans of Apple TV’s The Morning Show, can now watch the editorial works of a former Valley Resident. Andrew Gust has been working on The Morning Show for a few years now and has worked his way up to become an editor with the production.
“I first started on The Morning Show a few seasons ago, in season two, and I came in as an assistant editor,” said Gust. “We worked for three weeks before the pandemic hit and shut the entire world down. Film sets are places where people work in very close proximity, so filmmaking was put on pause for a while. I wound up going to a different project for a little while and then came back for season three of The Morning Show as an assistant editor.
“My mentor with the show gave me more creative opportunities to get involved with the process and by the end of season three, I became a creative editor. For season four, they brought me back as a full-time editor, joining a team of four editors for The Morning Show. I worked my way up on the show by spending a lot of time with the directors and producers, as well as demonstrating to them my creative abilities.”
A lot of work goes into producing just one episode of a television series like The Morning Show.
“On a film of this size, while filming, they capture an incredible amount of footage from multiple camera angles as well as different performances by all the actors,” said Gust. “When they are done shooting an episode, the editor receives this mountain of footage to go through. It’s the editor’s job to piece together all the best footage from all the different performances, camera angles and components that make up an episode.
“Editors, some days, will receive up to five hours of footage a day for a couple of weeks straight, and then they have to whittle that down to one hour for the entire episode. The ratio of footage shot to what actually ends up being seen by the audience is vastly different. There are a lot of decisions that go into what remains on screen.
“The story and performance are number one,” said Gust. “Editors have to piece it together in a way that feels cinematic and allows the audience to become absorbed in the show. The best work an editor can do is sort of invisible. If you are watching a show, if you think about editing too much, it can become distracting. Sometimes, if you watch a show and you just think about the story, and not the editing at all, that is when the editor has done the best job. It’s like being an invisible artist and putting it all together.
“Once the editor has pieced together the footage for an episode, they then present a rush cut of it to the director of the episode. From there, it will go through several different stages with producers, actresses such as Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, because they are producers on the show as well. Then it finally goes to Apple to take a look and give their notes. From there, it goes through all the other stages of post-production. A composer will write music for the episode for all the different scenes and moments.
“There are also a ton of visual effects on the show that people are not aware of,” said Gust. “This is a show set in New York City, but it’s actually shot in Los Angeles. So any time there is a scene inside an apartment or office, the windows in reality are just a blue screen. That all just gets replaced later on by our video effects team to give it the façade of being in New York. Some scenes will be shot in New York, but the filming will only last a few weeks.
“The episode then goes through an extensive sound design and colour production. It’s a long process to get to the final product that people get to view at home. From start to finish, it could take several months working just to finalize the edit for an episode and then months afterwards to finish it.”
The Morning Show has a storyline that focuses on the pressures of working in mainstream media. The episodes reflect a lot of the social issues of our time, such as the Me Too movement and other political issues. It takes a lot of time to get the writing and production work done for each episode, while making sure it is still relevant with the times.
“A show like this with big-name stars is a complicated beast for sure,” said Gust. “The scripts for a show like this try to be as topical as possible, with the news cycle and covering cultural discussions that are happening at the moment. At the script writing stage, they almost take a full year to write it and then finish it, because things are always changing in the world. It takes a very large village to make this show come to fruition.”
Being an editor on a production like The Morning Show has been an incredible experience for Gust. He has learned so much in working his way up and looks forward to other projects in the future as well.
“I’m still pinching myself,” said Gust. “To work on a show that not only has a wide global audience, but also tries to have a social commentary of different sorts, is really a dream come true. To be working on something like this that hopefully can spark discussion amongst people about the topics it covers. It covers a wide range of topics and social issues, and ones that hopefully resonate with everyone, even if the character lives in this larger-than-life world. The relationship conflict and situations they find themselves in, hopefully, resonate with audiences.
“It’s sort of surreal to see my name on the credits of something like this. I’ve always hoped I could get to this point and am extremely grateful to be part of a big project like this. I never would have thought that growing up in rural Manitoba that something like this was a possibility for a career path.
“Season five of The Morning Show is coming up and we will start filming that in February or March. I also just concluded a very different and much more wholesome comedy series for Hallmark called The Chicken Sisters. It’s a lighter watch and was a lot of fun to work on.
“Right now, I’ve really enjoyed working on a project like The Morning Show, with all these people who have had all this exposure in the industry,” said Gust. “I would love to also sink my teeth into a grounded feature film that features blue-collar people and their lives as well. I think that is more of something where I come from and I know that those stories are ones that are important to put out into the world. I’m just waiting on a Manitoba director to write the feature film script about a farmer in rural Manitoba.”

The Swan Valley Fire Department was kept busy early Monday morning (Oct. 13) with six incidents to respond to, all related to the first major snowfall/freezing rain of the season, fallen trees and power lines.

City Council took the opportunity to get some work done prior to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation holiday during a regular meeting, Sept 29.

Utility bills

With the postal strike, City administrators are encouraging everyhone to sign up for electronic billing to ensure they do not miss the due date for the quarterly ultility bills.

Electronic billing can be accessed by visiting www.dauphin.ca and completing registration by Oct. 9.

 Customers who do not register for electronic billing may pick up their printed bills at City Hall during regular business hours, beginning Oct. 20. Should mail delivery resume, any uncollected bills will be sent by mail at that time.

The due date for third quarter utility bills remains Nove. 17, and customers are responsible for ensuring payment is received on time. Accounts not paid by the due date will be subject to late payment penalties.

Added to taxes

Councillors voted to add two outstanding accounts receivable to the tax rolls in the amount of $2,559.85.

That total is comprised of $436.21 owing at 901 Whitmore Ave. E for  temporary storage and $2,123.64 outstanding at 29 6th Ave. SE for yard cleanup costs.

Council also opted to added one outstanding water account to the tax rolls in the amount of $33,700.53 owing at 2001-2175 Mountain Road as the owner did not pay the current water bill.

Proclamations

Council proclaimed, Oct. 1, as the International Day of Older Persons recognizing that life expectancy worldwide continues to rise and is expected to reach 81 years by the end of the century and by 2050, two billion people worldwide will be 60 years of age or older.

Oct. 5 to 11 was proclaimed as Fire Prevention Week, reaffirming the City’s commitment to ensuring the safety of those living in and visiting Dauphin. The proclamation stressed the need for fire awareness and marks the exceptional service provided by the Dauphin Fire Department.

Finally, council proclaimed 2025 as the 40th Anniversary Year of the Dauphin and District Handi-Van recognizing the  accessible, affordable and inclusive transportation the organization provides to many residents in Dauphin and in surrounding communities.

Trail dollars

Council reviewed a recent provincial news release concerning a provincial investment in more than 30 recreational trails including Dauphin’s Northgate Trails Inc., which received $15,000 for general trail maintenance.

Accounts approved

Councillors authorized the issuance of 49 cheques totalling $489,386.36 to cover accounts.

One electronic fund transfer was also approved in the amount of $1,215.37.

Recreation funding

Council authorized the mayor David Bosiak and city manager Sharla Griffiths to sign a three-year recreation funding agreement between the City and Rural Municipality of Dauphin.

The agreement will see the RM contribute $419,000 for the 2026 fiscal year, while funding for the 2027 and 2028 fiscal years will be determined on a per capita basis based on 2021 census data.

The agreement also lays out details of capital costs, cost of living increases and board governance.

Read the full story in this week’s edition of the Dauphin Herald.

About 120 students - mainly from grades 5 - 9 from Inglis, Major Pratt, Binscarth School, Ecole St Lazare and Birtle gathered at the Geo. P. Buleziuk Centre as Gambler First Nation hosted an event focusing on the meaning and importance of Reconciliation Day in Canada. Although it wasn’t requested, many area students showed up in orange shirts. Pizzas from Twin Valley Coop in Russell and the delicious cinnamon mini donuts made by cuisinA of Russell along with fruit and muffins were provided for the students and staff in attendance - thanks to the hard working ladies at the Health Centre in Gambler First Nation.

Read all about it in the October 7th, 2025 edition of the Russell Banner.

Concerned citizens gathered for the Swan River Crime Meeting facilitated by the Town of Swan River on Wednesday, October 1, at the Veterans Hall. The meeting had many in attendance, both in-person and virtually, with the recording of the meeting gaining around 1,715 views in less than 24 hours.
Roger Bouvier was the moderator for the evening and this time the focus of the meeting was to answer questions from the public. In attendance to answer questions were: RCMP West District Staff Sergeant Scott Linklater; Swan River RCMP Corporal Cole Plaetinck; James Wigley, Stacy Grindle and Jakki Lumax for Canadian Mental Health; Andrew Minor, Executive Director of Manitoba Police Commission and Senior Advisor, Public Safety Division; Mark Lafreniere, Director of Manitoba Prosecution Services; Dr. Erin Knight, Health Sciences Centre; Lanna Many Grey Horses, Assistant Deputy Minister for Homelessness for the Manitoba Department of Housing, Homelessness and Addictions; Owen Fergusson, Assistant Deputy Minister for Manitoba Justice.
The following organizations were invited but declined: Shannon Isley, Director for Manitoba Harm Reduction; Treena Slate, CEO for Prairie Mountain Health; Province of Manitoba Department of Health and Office of the Chief Provincial Public Health Office.
There were some discussions regarding police staffing levels. Out of 22 regular members, there are 12 who are active for duty. The Swan River RCMP detachment is expecting three more members coming in around November. The GIS Unit positions are new ones, with the majority of the positions yet to be filled, except for the Corporal position, which has been given to a member who is on maternity leave currently. Staff Sergeant Linklater indicated that they are holding off on the constable positions because there has been some interest shown within the detachment for these positions. They don’t want to take members away from the regular detachment to fill the GIS Unit, so as the detachment numbers go back up, those positions will be filled.
“From July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, there have been 124 serious violent crime occurrences,” said Staff Sergeant Linklater. “That ranks amongst the top three detachments in the Manitoba West District and 14th in the division of 70 detachments.”
The stats presented indicated that property crime in the Swan Valley is trending below the five-year average in the most recent quarter. Within the same timeframe, there were 676 property crime occurrences that took place. This also placed Swan River in the top three detachments and sixth in the division for property crimes.
Shoplifting in Swan River is also trending below the five-year average, according to stats presented. The worst year for shoplifting occurrences in Swan River was in 2023, with 353 occurrences reported. This year, to date, there have been 56 shoplifting occurrences reported.
When it comes to repeat offenders, ten repeat offenders have caused 89 property crime occurrences, 43 person crime occurrences, 33 CDSA occurrences; 170 total occurrences under the criminal code in one calendar year. These repeat offenders have committed crimes not only in the Valley, but in Winnipegosis, Dauphin and Ste. Rose.
A question was asked about why there were so many repeat offenders. It was explained that there are a lot of proposed changes being made to the federal government about holding repeat offenders. Much of this is related to the Criminal Code, which is handled by the federal government, not the provincial government.
In Manitoba, specially tasked units have been created to focus on repeat offenders. An ankle monitoring program has also been established to help keep track of those who are out on bail or probation who have repeat offences in their criminal record.
Comments from attendees were that the data was cherry-picked, that bureaucrats are talking in circles and that a lot of people have given up on reporting the crime. Community member and lawyer, David Gray, pointed out that there were some issues with the meeting and that an agenda is not simply a list of speakers and the need for direct answers.
Some questions were asked about CMHA’s activities and why the building was put on Main Street. James Wigley took the time to explain to people about harm reduction. He explained that although CMHA does do harm reduction methods, they do not hand out sharps or do any medical type of harm reduction. CMHA focuses on housing, employment, education, life-skill training, rehabilitation and peer support as harm reduction methods. Health organizations and regions are the ones that handle the medical supplies for harm reduction.
Wigley did note that there has been tremendous success and progress in helping people; however, the need is so great that the general public is only seeing what is not working rather than what has worked.
Another question was asked about whether or not any of the municipalities had a say on whether or not harm reduction services would be offered in the community. Presenters stood by their stance that harm reduction saves lives, from naloxone to new needle distribution and is evidence-based. The same person talked about how the discarded needles are scattered all over public places, such as playgrounds, parks, and how there is now an HIV outbreak. They asked if this was not enabling the problem. The Assistant Deputy Minister for Homelessness did note that the province provided $45,000 for needle clean-up.
Questions stemmed around how to get rid of harm reduction supplies and the risk it has put people in the community at with all the discarded sharps. A direct question was asked on how to get harm reduction out of the community. No one on the panel was able to answer that question. Citizens asked Mayor Jacobson to ask this of the province and PMH, and to look how to get rid of handing out sharps in the Valley.

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was held last Tuesday (Sept. 30) at the Elbert Chartrand Friendship Centre, in honour of Residential School survivors, and those who did not return home. The event presented speeches from survivors Fred Stevens and Dennis Chartrand who told of their experience at residential schools, followed by a walk down Main Street. Pictured here, Amber Stevens (left) and Josh Tripp (right) walk ahead of the group holding the “Every Child Matters” flag.

The City and the RM of Dauphin have struck a deal when it comes to funding recreation in the community in the future.

The agreement in principle arrived at last week will see the RM provide $419,000 in recreation funding next year followed by per capita contributions in 2027 and 2028 with a cost of living cap on any annual increases. As well, the RM will contribute $50,000 per year for capital requirements over and above its operating contributions.

A new board structure will also be developed to guide Dauphin Recreation Services going forward, although details are yet to be worked out.

Pleased to have arrived at an agreement, Mayor David Bosiak said work is now underway to  complete the paperwork and get the deal signed.

“We basically said we would leave it up to the senior administrators to come up with the proposals and we’ll sign it. Charlotte (city manager Griffiths) and Grady (RM CAO Stephenson) are working on it,” he said.

Referencing a past deal on the issue he thought was completed, which later fell through, Reeve Ernie Sirski is not ready to comment on the current plan.

“Until this deal is signed, sealed and delivered, I’m not making any comment,” Sirski said.

“We’ll have a signing ceremony and we’ll invite the press, but until that time, I’m not making any comment.”

The North-West Regional Library’s Swan River Branch just recently finished showcasing a new art display done by local artist Gus Martin. Martin’s love of art, drawing and painting was fostered at a very early age, continued throughout his school years and onto a career he loved.
“I started with art right off the bat as a young child,” said Martin. “I was constantly drawing and even received awards for my artwork when I was younger. In grade 5, I had a teacher who was very into art and she noticed I put more effort into what I was drawing. She worked really hard to help me. She even approached artist, A.Y. Jackson of the Group of Seven, to come to our school and I had the opportunity to hear how he paints. I think that may have helped direct me in terms of the way I wanted to go with my art.
“This teacher put in a lot of effort to help me attend an art high school known as Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts. It was a bit out of our neighbourhood and required me to take a bus there. It was there that I learned about graphic arts and other styles of art.
“After that, I went to Ontario College of Art and then I went on to work in an advertising agency where I was a graphic designer, illustrator, visualizer, and then later on an art director,” said Martin. “I did that in Holland, Europe, and because I had dual nationality, I did that for about 15 years. I met my wife in Canada, but she was also from Holland.
“We moved back to Canada to Muskoka, Huntsville, Ontario. There, I started up a sign shop where I did some really off-the-wall signage that was handcrafted. It became very popular in town and created a look for most of the stores there. I did that for 25 years and it was a very successful business.
“Our daughter was very musical and she went to university to study piano,” said Martin. “She was looking for jobs and got one in Swan River. Her husband also got a job in Swan River, both as teachers. They had children and all of a sudden, life got hectic. We had retired and in 2021, decided to move to Swan River so we could help out with the grandchildren.”
Martin has adapted to life in the Valley and puts a lot of focus into painting. He finds beauty in the natural surroundings and puts it on canvas. Martin has also showcased some of his work in other art galleries.
“In the last six years, I’ve been doing what I really want to do, and that is painting,” said Martin. “I started doing that in the cold winters and built my studio. I started painting quite a few paintings over the winter and it’s built up.
I’ve put paintings up at the library and at the North West Round Up and Exhibition. I’ve had an exhibition in Wasagaming, which went very well. I received a good response and sold some of my work.
“My daughter is very active with the library and they asked if I would be interested in displaying my work there,” said Martin. “This is the second time that I’ve done this. There is a wide variety of people who go to the library, so I tried to choose a diverse collection of paintings to show something for everyone who goes there.
“The paintings I do are mostly of this area and consist of the river, farm animals, landscapes and other things. It’s very intense and detailed work that I do. Generally, a painting can take anywhere from a week to three weeks to finish. I do all acrylic painting and it’s something that I enjoy working with. I started with watercolours just to get the feel for mixing colours, then I switched over to acrylic. I love working with acrylic paint because it’s very forgiving and if I want to change something, it’s easier to do.
“It allows you to do a lot of detail,” said Martin. “It compares to oil-based paintings, but acrylic paint dries much quicker. When I’m painting, I like to keep going and not have to wait for things to dry. I usually paint for four to five hours a day.
“I like to use a photograph when I am painting. I walk my dog every day, and when I see something, I take a photo for reference. When I’m painting it, I make it look the way I want it to or my interpretation of it. “
Martin has really found something he is passionate about when it comes to painting. He plans to continue with it and just go wherever it takes him.
“I still want to keep painting and doing it for my own satisfaction,” said Martin. “If it goes anywhere, it doesn’t matter because I really enjoy doing it. I have sold some paintings and at times it almost feels like giving a child away, because so much work went into them. I would like to go to Winnipeg and do something, but the distance is just too far.
“I did showcase and sell my work in Wasagaming, which wasn’t too far. There is a really nice gallery there. I know there is one in Yorkton and I’ve been debating whether or not to try there. I’m not sure where this will go, but I’m just enjoying it for now.
“With all the jobs I had before, there were a lot of pressures with timelines to turn things over quickly,” said Martin. “Now with this, I can take my time and I enjoy what I’m doing. I had the benefit of knowing what I wanted to do back when I was a kid. I loved art and got into my own world at that time. Throughout my whole life, I was fortunate to do what I loved.
“I wish I could go back and find that Grade 5 teacher and tell her what a difference she made in my life. It’s very special to have had a public school teacher put a person on the career path they loved for most of their life.”

Shubh Navratri Dandiya Nights was celebrated at the Swan River Veterans Hall this past weekend (Sept. 26 and 27). The event is a Hindu festival observed in honour of the Goddess Durga and her victory over the demon Mahishasura, in portrait to the ultimate victor in good versus evil.