Red River College Polytechnic’s newly ratified collective agreement will give employees wellness days, cultural and ceremonial leave, and gender-affirming medical leave, following a joint effort with the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union to embed Truth and Reconciliation principles into workplace rules.

The changes are part of RRC Polytech’s 2025–28 collective agreement with MGEU Local 73 and are aimed at modernizing leave policies, expanding the definition of family, and removing language rooted in colonial or binary assumptions.

Among the most significant changes is the creation of two paid wellness days to support preventive health, separate from sick leave. The agreement also introduces two paid days specifically for ceremonial, cultural, religious and spiritual practices, rather than requiring employees to use sick time or vacation.

The contract adds 15 days of gender-affirming medical leave, distinct from sick leave, and removes binary language such as “mother,” “father” and gendered pronouns from the agreement.

Manitoba could be heading into a warmer and more volatile growing season, with drought risk lingering in parts of the province despite healthy soil moisture in others, according to a weather outlook presented recently at Manitoba Ag Days in Brandon.

The presentation marked a significant moment for Justin Oertel and The Weather Centre of Manitoba, which delivered its first major seasonal forecast to producers at the western Manitoba farm show.

“I was shocked when I received an email from Ag Days asking me to speak,” Oertel said. “After that initial shock passed, I was extremely honoured to have a chance to speak at one of the province’s major farm shows.”

Oertel told farmers that soil moisture levels vary sharply across the province, largely depending on where heavy storms fell last summer.

VIRDEN — The fire chief of Wallace District Fire Department Station No. 1 is excited about an upcoming project that aims to double the size of the fire hall in Virden.

Ground is expected to be broken next year on a 5,200-square-foot building, Chief Cory Nixon said. The building will be erected beside the current 4,800-square-fire station building, which will be remodelled so the two buildings form a new, modern station.

“It’s a massive step forward for us,” Nixon said.

The expansion will solve two primary issues: lack of space, and health and safety concerns, he said.

A joint concert will bring roughly 110 vocalists together to sing at the First Presbyterian Church in Brandon on Saturday.

The concert is set to combine the Horizon Choir of Winnipeg and the Konektis Choir of Brandon for shared performances in addition to individual performances, a Konektis director, Michelle Chyzyk, told the Sun in a recent interview. The theme is Holding Hands, as the group will perform a song of that title by The Magic Lantern.

“We hope to pack the place and give them a warm Westman welcome,” Chyzyk said. “We are very excited to host musicians of the calibre of Horizon choir. We know the choirs will inspire each other.”

The show begins at 7:30 p.m.

The days are frozen and life feels a little uninspiring at the end of January. To perk things up and give yourself something to look forward to, why not start planning your annual holiday? Or maybe a dream trip? Or both? Since Jan. 27 is National Plan for Vacation Day, this is the ideal time to look ahead a season or two, or even a year or two.

Start with determining what vacation days you are entitled to and when. See where statutory holidays fall and decide if you can use them to extend your break. Have an easily accessible system to track and store research, notes and checklists.

If you’re planning a vacation close to home, get a budget in order that includes both fun and contingencies, and see that you have the right type of insurance. Arrange for someone to keep an eye on the house, and make sure you are tracking your packing.

For adventure that’s further afield, all of the above still applies. Travel abroad is an investment, both financially and personally. It can be a grand deposit into your lifelong memory bank.

A police officer and a military member who were involved in the rescue of three stranded fishers on Lake Manitoba earlier this month detailed the night as a collaboration that involved some help from the missing fishers.

RCAF member Capt. Zach Hotte was on the rescue plane, a CC-130H Hercules, on the morning of Jan. 10, flying 1,000 feet over Lake Manitoba when a flashing light caught the attention of his spotter. He said the light was cast by the stranded fishers who were signalling for help.

“The search and rescue technician who was sitting in the left window was able to spot them right away,” Hotte said in a recent interview with the Sun. “The second we got close, we had a light shining directly at the plane.”

Hotte said the fishers’ action of shining a blinking light at the plane made a real difference. The rescue team was dealing with reduced visibility due to snowfall, as well as darkness inherent to the overnight search.