Minnedosa crow shooting program extended

The Town of Minnedosa council voted to continue its crow and magpie control efforts at its regular council meeting on Mar. 24.

Approved volunteers will be able to shoot crows and magpies within town limits in Minnedosa for another year using 12-gauge or smaller shotguns. The program will be in effect through to next spring.

The town has an abundance of magpies and crows, Minnedosa CAO Danniele Carriere told the Sun. The control program was introduced in 2007 by council, and was later modified to include magpies, which are also considered nuisance animals and community health hazards in the area.

Shotgun shooting for approved volunteers is permitted from dawn to dusk, except on Saturday when shooting must take place between 10 a.m. and dusk; and Sunday, when it must take place between 1 p.m. and dusk.

Tour highlights hardship, hope in fight against hunger

A Manitoba representative with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank says global food insecurity continues to mirror economic pressures felt at home, but recent work in Kenya is offering signs of long-term hope.

Dale Friesen, the organization’s regional representative for Manitoba, travelled to Kenya in February as part of a learning tour examining food security initiatives supported by Canadian partners.

Friesen said many of the challenges facing families locally, including inflation and job insecurity, are also being experienced globally, often compounded by additional pressures.

“In many of these places, economic pressures and food insecurity are intensified by factors like climate change, violent conflict, and a lack of safety nets for families experiencing deep hardships,” he said.

Public safety event reveals lack of engagement

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE — Local officials are expressing deep frustration following what they describe as “abysmal” attendance at a public safety open house intended to address crime and community policing in the city.

The event, held the evening of March 25 at Stride Place, was organized by the RCMP, the City of Portage la Prairie, and the Portage Community Revitalization Corporation (PCRC). It featured presentations from the local RCMP detachment and Community Safety Officers (CSOs), alongside volunteer groups that included the Bear Clan, the Citizens on Patrol Program (COPP) and Crime Stoppers.

Mayor Sharilyn Knox took to social media in an emotional video statement to address the lack of community engagement.

“I have to say that the attendance was abysmal,” Knox said. “We purposely do something to help inform or help people get involved in a solution, and nobody shows up. I honestly felt for the organizations that were there … none of them have easy jobs.”

Rural hospital gets new cardiac testing suite

A new echocardiography suite has opened at the Boundary Trails Health Centre, improving access to cardiac testing for residents across southern Manitoba.

The suite was made possible through a donation from the late Bill Lyne and his wife, Colleen Lyne, facilitated by the Boundary Trails Health Centre Foundation.

Shared Health said the new facility includes state-of-the-art equipment for non-invasive cardiac testing and is expected to support about 1,600 echocardiograms annually once fully staffed. The added capacity is aimed at reducing the need for patients to travel to Winnipeg for testing.

In a statement, the Lyne family said the couple had discussed making a meaningful contribution to their community prior to Bill Lyne’s death in 2021, and identified the need for local echocardiography services as a priority.

Local mother takes up role as homeschool helpdesk

A Minnedosa mother has become a helpdesk for Westman parents who are looking to homeschool their children.

Larissa MacDonald supports local parents for up to 16 hours per month in her spare time, forwarding information packages, answering online questions, and providing in-person consultations about her passion of homeschooling. In a recent interview with the Sun, MacDonald said she wants to make homeschooling more accessible.

“I would say it’s my ministry. It’s my passion. It’s what I love to do,” MacDonald said. “I love my children and spending time with them, and I want to enable others to do so as well.”

MacDonald is a mother of eight children, a board member of the Manitoba Association of Christian Home Schools, and an administrator for the local Facebook group, Westman Homeschool Connection. She said she often helps local parents find their way through a common set of questions.

It’s officially spring: Masters week is here

For many casual sports fans, this is the week they start paying attention to golf. It’s Masters Week at Augusta, Ga., and this year’s edition offers up a number of intriguing questions. Such as:

Considering the last two Players’ champions went on to win the Masters in the same year (Scottie Scheffler in 2024; Rory McIlroy in 2025), should the Green Jacket tailors seek Cameron Young’s measurements and get an early start?

Did the recent traffic accident suffered by Tiger Woods officially eliminate any chance that he would one day make a comeback at the Masters, where he has won five times?

Will a golfer playing in the Masters for the first time win in his debut, joining the late Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 as the first player to do so since 1935?

Hands-on workshop teaches locals about tanning hides

RM OF CORNWALLIS — A Brandon resident said she was thrilled to participate in late March in a one-week hide camp hosted outside of Brandon because it gave her a chance to reconnect with her roots.

The resident, Rashel Quill, attended a workshop put on by Seven Teachings Art Collective over spring break in the RM of Cornwallis. Quill was one of a few young women who learned how to flesh hides, scrape fur and prepare hides for conversion into various tools and products using methods shared by her ancestors.

“My people have been suppressed for so long, to learn about it again is going to keep us alive,” Quill told the Sun while holding the leg bone of a moose. “It’s just nice to be here.”

In the wooded space, under a warm spring sun on a bluebird day, Quill was being taught how to use the carved bone to “flesh” a moose hide. She wore designs that reflected her Indigenous heritage, while striking and tearing away a sinewy layer of tissue to prepare the hide for processing into products like moccasins. A bonfire roasted nearby, singing the nose of a moose, considered a delicacy to many First Nations people. The tongue of the moose was boiling over the same fire.

First World War soldier’s remains traced to Manitoba

WINNIPEG — More than a century after he was killed by an enemy shell during the First World War in France, the remains of Roblin-area farmer Albert (Bert) Henry Detmold have been identified.

The 33-year-old private, who served with the 107th Overseas Battalion, was killed while digging a trench on the first day of the Battle of Hill 70 on Aug. 15, 1917.

Despite the efforts of the surviving members of the unit to find the dead and wounded, in the midst of enemy attacks that involved mustard gas, Detmold’s remains could not be found.

It wasn’t until August 2020 that a construction crew, doing excavation of a site intended for a new hospital, discovered his remains.

Owner-run bookstores have become frighteningly rare these days, but Chelsea McKee-Trenchard, proprietor at Raven’s End Books: The Horror Bookshop didn’t let that scare her off.

In business in Winnipeg since 2024, she’s established her shop as one of only three bookstores in Canada dedicated to horror. Her clientele are located all over Manitoba and across the country.

McKee-Trenchard has paired up with Brandon-based Black Wheat Brewing to present a pop-up for Westman horror readers who might be challenged to find the scary stories they’re seeking. It gives those readers a chance to find out what’s new and shivery in print and to connect with others who may share similar tastes.

McKee-Trenchard bills Raven’s End Books as “Everything you need for your spooky, cozy read.” That says a lot about what she carries, about how broad the “horror” category really is, and how it could be defined by what the reader is looking for in a scary story.