Newly elected Spruce Woods MLA Colleen Robbins is set to step foot in the provincial Legislature on Oct. 1. She was voted in as the newest member of the assembly in an Aug. 26 byelection. Brandon Sun reporter Alex Lambert spoke with her on Sept. 9 about the new job. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Alex Lambert — Thank you for making time today. I’ll start with the Chinese canola tariffs. China put a 75.8 per cent tariff on canola last month. What do you think Manitoba should do about that?

Colleen Robbins — Well, I think Manitoba should be out looking for either new markets or a way of helping the farmers with the tariff loss, but they need to do something quickly. I’m only on my second day as an actual MLA, and so I’m going to sit down with MLA Jeff Bereza, our agriculture critic, and some farmers. But in the meantime, I just think that something needs to be done, and I honestly believe that we need to be looking at other markets to sell. We shouldn’t put all our eggs in one basket because this is the situation we get.

AL — You represent a mainly rural riding that has a lot of farmers. As someone who represents these farmers, what will you do specifically to help the pressures that they’re facing?

If your kids are dragging their feet on their way to school, it might not be natural kid-type reluctance — it might be a too-heavy backpack. And it’s more common than you might think.

Dr. Kaileigh Bresky, from LivChiro (livchiro.ca), has 11 years as a practising chiropractor with additional training in paediatrics and care for pregnant women. She shared information from her own expertise, and some numbers and pointers from an infographic prepared by one of her colleagues.

Research on the subject has shown that overloaded backpacks can lead students to adapt to the weight by altering their posture with the potential to do real harm to their spine and shoulders. Anywhere from 30 to 70 per cent of school-aged children will complain of back pain, with 20 to 30 per cent of children suffering from recurrent or chronic back pain.

Bresky said there are signs to watch.

The top five reasons the Toronto Blue Jays are going to give Canadian sports fans an October playoff thrill: George Springer, Bo Bichette, Daulton Varsho, Addison Barger and Alejandro Kirk.

Notice that the five names mentioned above do not include a pitcher, because the Jays have led the American League East for a good chunk of the season in spite of poor to average pitching. It has been decent at the front end (starters) and dismal at the back (relief corps). Only four American League teams have given up more runs than the Jays, but only one, the Yankees, has scored more. The Blue Jays are a team that can never be counted out. A great example was Sept. 3 in Cincinnati, where the Reds jumped on starter Shane Bieber for five runs in the second inning and a 5-0 lead. No problem. The Jays put their awesome offence into overdrive, pounded out five home runs and 18 hits en route to a 13-9 victory.

Springer and Bichette have been the catalysts for the Jays. Bichette, in his seven years with the Blue Jays, had a rough season in 2024, batting .225 and playing in only 81 games due to injuries. This year, he leads the major leagues in hits, is batting comfortably over .300 and is en route to eclipsing his career-high RBI total (102 in 2021). Springer’s resurgence has been as good, or better. The 12-year vet, who has been the Jays’ designated hitter for most of 2025, is having a banner year and, while he won’t win the A.L. MVP award (Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh are the front-runners), he deserves to get a few votes. Springer will push past the 30-home run mark, carried a .307 batting average into the second week of September and has been Mr. Clutch all year.

While Bichette and Springer have been the two offensive keys for Toronto, the contributions of Kirk, Barger and Varsho cannot be overlooked. Kirk had been regarded as little more than a journeyman catcher, but his bat has come alive this year. He’s been batting close to .300 all season and has already surpassed his career high RBI total, which was 63 back in 2022, and will post the best OPS figure (on-base percentage plus slugging) of his five full years in Toronto. Varsho missed about 80 games, but since his return, he’s on a 50-home run pace and has been spectacular defensively in centrefield. Barger, meanwhile, has been the team’s rookie surprise. He was a big hit in spring training, but doubts were expressed about whether he’d be able to carry the hot bat into the regular season. Well, he’s third on the team in homers, fourth in RBI and seems to always come through with a clutch hit when needed. He may not be the American League rookie of the year, but he’s definitely the No. 1 freshman with the Jays.

Springfield social media policy sparks concerns

The RM of Springfield council reviewed a Social Media Moderation & Public Engagement Procedure at its Sept. 2 meeting, but not everyone is convinced the policy will protect transparency.

The municipality says the policy is designed to maintain “respectful, productive, and accurate communication” on its official social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. It outlines rules for hiding or deleting comments that contain profanity, threats, hate speech, spam, or misinformation and allows staff to block repeat offenders.

The draft also states that comments deemed defamatory, misleading, or reputational attacks may be removed without notice. Serious safety or legal concerns could be escalated to the chief administrative officer or, in some cases, the RCMP.

Community advocate Edwin Giesbrecht submitted a detailed critique of the draft warning that the policy risks going too far.

HIV outbreak in Swan Valley

The numbers landed like a gut punch. In 2022, just seven people in Prairie Mountain Health were newly diagnosed with HIV. By last year, it was 44. Now, halfway through 2025, the region has already recorded 75 cases.

That surge was the unspoken weight behind a recent digital town hall, a virtual gathering where Swan Valley residents asked provincial health officials the question: Why here? Why now?

The meeting, hosted online through EngageMB, drew community questions about the causes of the outbreak, the rapid rise in cases and the range of responses underway. Representatives from Prairie Mountain Health, the Department of Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care, and the Department of Housing, Addictions and Homelessness fielded questions for an hour.

Dr. Carol Kurbis, a medical officer of health with the province, highlighted the scope of the crisis. “HIV has been increasing in Manitoba since about 2019, with significant increases since 2022,” she said, noting that Prairie Mountain Health has seen some of the sharpest growth. As of mid-2025, the region recorded 75 new diagnoses, more than double the total from the previous year.

A cutting-edge sound and music festival is happening in Brandon on Sept. 19-20. The Prairie Wires Modular Festival of Electronic Sound will feature passionate electronic musicians performing in concert. Attendees will have access to concerts, a public open-house symposium, and interactive activities at the two-day event, which is open to all ages and all free of charge.

In what started in 2019 as a self-initiated performance opportunity for himself, musician Brendon Ehinger has since played the role of “hat rack” — the one guy who wears all the hats — undertaking every job imaginable to get the Prairie Wires Modular Festival of Electronic Sound rolling.

“I guess I could be considered the founder/director/curator/janitor/graphic designer for Prairie Wires,” Ehinger said.

“I called it Prairie Wires because of the musical instrument: the modular synthesizer.”

Mecca Productions announces theatre season lineup

Mecca Productions’ recently announced 2025-26 season offers an unparalleled opportunity for Westman audiences to experience the best of Broadway, in the heart of the westman arts community, the WMCA, in Brandon.

The season opens with The Magical Land of Oz from Oct. 16 to 18. The Tim Kelly adaptation is based on the classic tale by Frank Baum.

The show features dozens of young performers from across western Manitoban communities including Souris, Dauphin, Wawanesa, Minnedosa, Virden and Brandon. The cast completed auditions this past week.

Vocal director for the October musical, Tiana Vasconcelos, looks forward to working with the talented youngsters in the show. ‘The response to our kids’ musicals has been overwhelming. These kiddos are so talented!’ While rehearsals are designed to be fun, the performance is well-worth the price of a ticket. ‘We take a great deal of pride in our kids’ shows. We have high expectations of them and they meet it every time.’

Tenant calls out Manitoba housing

A Gimli-area tenant says his personal struggles with unsafe housing conditions reveal deeper flaws in Manitoba’s rental system, pointing to weak oversight, regulatory loopholes and what he calls “profit farming” by landlords.

For more than six years, the Gimli resident, who wished to remain anonymous, has lived in an apartment where he says the HVAC system is unsafe and the air quality is deteriorating his health. He points to full-body screws sticking into the ductwork, against code requirements, and structural vibrations, drafts in interior walls that pose a fire risk and an air conditioning unit too small to cool his 800-square-foot suite.

“This suite should never have been rented out,” he said. “The HVAC alone makes it not to code. If that’s what’s visible, I can only wonder what else is being hidden.”

He claims Manitoba Health even photographed his HVAC system but failed to test the air or follow up on the potential risks. “The fact that they documented the problem and then walked away only raises more questions about oversight,” he said.

Retired teacher’s songs bring people together

Wanda Sparkes is not famous, not really. She will tell you that herself, probably twice. But in Arborg, Manitoba, where news travels fast, she is something of a sensation. A retired schoolteacher who decided to point an iPhone at her backyard, press record, and not care if she looked ridiculous.

The results are songs like Redneck Leisure-Loving Water Paradise and Whiskey Train to Gimli that have made her a minor folk hero in her town, where neighbours stop her in the grocery aisle and ask, “What’s next?” The videos are silly, unpolished, sometimes slightly out of tune. They are also, in their own way, perfect.

“I mean, maybe some people think we’re too silly,” she said. “But I think, with everything that’s going on in the world, people just need a laugh.”

Sparkes has always had music in her blood — she sang with her sisters as a child, and still ropes them into her videos. There’s usually a nephew or a friend behind the banjo, a sister on backup vocals, someone’s cousin holding the phone. The cast rotates, but the vibe is constant: a family reunion where someone spiked the lemonade.

Hockey is the theme for maze’s new season

The Secord Corn Maze has dropped the puck on a new fall season.

The maze, north of Dauphin, opened on Sept. 2, co-owner Shelley Secord told the Sun. Built into the maze this year are activities and puzzles themed around hockey, she said.

Secord said clues to a hockey themed crossword puzzle have been placed in the maze for players to find.

“We also cut into the maze, the word ‘hockey,’ and we cut the outline of the Stanley Cup, which was an interesting task,” Secord said.

Riders, Stamps dominant in CFL’s West

Winnipeg is playing host to this year’s Grey Cup game but, for the first time in six years, the Blue Bombers likely won’t be the West Division’s representative.

The Bombers won the Cup in 2019 and 2021 (2020’s game was cancelled due to COVID) and then lost three Grey Cup games in a row — 2022, 2023 and 2024. Finally getting to host the game for the first time since 2015 could be bittersweet for Bomber fans, whose team will likely be watching from the sidelines.

The power in the West Division has shifted, thanks primarily to great quarterbacking play by Vernon Adams in Calgary and Trevor Harris in Regina. The Stampeders and Roughriders have been the class of the West through the first half, and it’s likely they’ll carry on to the division final in early November.

Trying to determine who’s the better team is tricky. The Stampeders are 2-0 against the Riders this year, including a 32-15 win in Calgary on Aug. 23, but Saskatchewan held an 8-2 pre-Labour Day record through 10 games, one game up on the Stamps, who inexplicably lost twice to Eastern Division weakling Ottawa (3-8 record) and once to Montreal (5-6). Calgary coach Dave Dickenson evidently gets his team ready to play the crucial games, and the Stamps let up somewhat when they’re facing inferior teams.

Trucker slang 101

Decoding common CB radio phrases

Citizens band (CB) radio has been a staple of trucking culture for decades and has a language all its own. During National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, tip your hat to the men and women behind the wheel by cracking the code on some classic trucker slang.

1. “10-4” translates to “Message received” or “I understand.”

2. “A smokey” playfully refers to a highway patrol officer, named after the Smokey Bear-style hats many state troopers wear.