Rural Roundup for June 4, 2026

VIRDEN

Virden’s former Baptist church building has sat empty for over two years and is looking for a new tenant.

It was in October of 2023 when the Baptist Church community in the Virden area decided they were too few to continue and their building at 403 Nelson St. S.E. was closed.

Christine Reid, Vice President of Operations for CBWC said in a recent interview the plan for the building is to become a multi-use hub that would be available to the community.

Reid listed other possible uses such as daycare, choir practices, theatre practices, dance classes and counselling offices.

“It doesn’t sound like there is an appetite for anybody at this point to buy it. It’s a pretty significantly large building,” Reid said, explaining that the assessed value of the church building is over $480K.

“I think what we heard when we were out there was there are a bunch of people that would be interested in renting space in the building for various community events, so I think we’re proceeding down that path.”

She continued, “There might be a church that meets on Sunday and then there might be a community group. We have spoken with SAIL…. They might have community dinners in there and so, basically it would be a multi-purpose building.”

“A church home group could meet there so that, you know, people aren’t moving all their stuff around all the time.”

Building inspector Cory Nixon and Virden’s economic development manager Erica Darvill also attended the meeting.

Mayor Williams said a wide variety of interested people, “from the dance club to people who were homeschoolers” and a seniors group were “trying to come up with some ideas to do with [the church building].”

“Obviously it takes a little bit more thinking through, having kind of a multi-purpose building, but it’s just that’s what we heard and that’s what we came away with.”

» Virden Empire Advance

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DAUPHIN

Dauphin’s Countryfest organizers have launched a new promotion to put more people in the stands with just a couple of months until the 2026 festival.

The Two Step and Stay program is offering a free campsite in the Fisher regular campground for anyone purchasing two general admission weekend passes for the regular price of $738 plus fees and taxes.

The promotion, Countryfest president Duane McMaster said, is about topping up an already fantastic crowd.

“Ticket sales have been good. We’ve sold more than twice as many as we did last year, the most sales we’ve had post covid. So things are moving along, but we still have tickets to sell,” McMaster said.

“Right now we’re looking at maybe 7,500 to 8,000 people there each day and we’re still selling tickets. I’d like to see it full again.”

Given the resources put into the lineup, this year the board opted to offer only weekend passes over single day admission. At this point, that is still the plan, McMaster said.

“We always want people to come for the weekend, right. We don’t want it to be about one day. We want people to come and enjoy the event for the entire weekend,” he said, adding the board will meet later this month to re-evaluate the situation.

“We don’t want to, but if it becomes a necessity, we will. But we want to have a weekend event, we’ve always wanted that.”

» Dauphin Herald

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GLENBORO

Two years ago, Glen Thornborough of Glenboro was named one of Boston’s most influential people. Since then, his upward trajectory has only continued to climb.

The Glenboro High School graduate, who currently serves as President of TD Garden, has now taken on an expanded role as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Boston Bruins; one of the NHL’s storied Original Six franchises.

Throughout his tenure, the Garden has transformed into far more than a sports venue. The arena, which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary, has thrived under Thornborough’s leadership, expanding well beyond Bruins and Celtics games. From bull riding events to two sold-out Connecticut Sun games and the Boston Fleet’s first game on Garden ice, an event expected to set attendance records for women’s hockey, the venue has become a dynamic, multi-purpose destination.

In a recent feature naming Thornborough among Boston’s most influential, it was noted that his promotion was the least the organization could do for someone who has helped generate $365 million in direct economic impact for Greater Boston since the arena’s opening.

Now, as COO of the Bruins, Thornborough is entrusted with guiding the business operations of a franchise deeply embedded in the identity and culture of the city.

In his expanded role, he will work closely with Bruins President Cam Neely, gaining greater exposure to the hockey side of the organization. A key priority will be strengthening the connection between business and hockey operations—aligning strategy and leveraging his deep understanding of the game to elevate overall performance.

“I’m honoured to step into this expanded role alongside Cam’s leadership,” Thornborough said. “The Bruins have long been one of the NHL’s premier franchises, and I’m excited to work even more closely together in building an integrated hockey and business strategy that continues to move this historic organization forward.”

» Baldur-Glenboro Gazette

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DELORAINE

The Municipality of Deloraine-Winchester was able to drop the mill rate in their 2026 budget despite having considerable capital expenditures to pay for.

This year the mill rate will decrease 1.88%, going to 15.603 verses 15.902 in 2025.

Total planned expenditures for the municipality in 2026 are planned at $5,576,599, up a small $39,688 from 2025. The total revenue budget also reaches this figure. The total tax levy to be collected in 2026 is $5,272,256.86, with over $1.9 million being the in and out of school taxes, which the municipality collects for the divisions.

In 2025, Deloraine-Winchester showed a tidy $70,000 surplus. According to CAO Breigh Crepeele, the surpluses are not from one year, but built up over a number of years. This is not new, she said, with money being transferred over for a purpose.

“The municipality has historically used a transfer from accumulated surplus each year to help reduce the mill rate and lessen the tax impact on property owners,” Crepeele explained. “In most years, that amount has been $200,000. In 2025, Council increased that transfer to $400,000 as a one-time measure to help reduce the impact on rural properties”

Council presented their annual financial plan to the public on May 14. Only one member of the public came out to the meeting to see them present a balanced budget with a fair bit of work planned for the year.

» The Boissevain Recorder

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KILLARNEY

A Killarney area historian received the Lt. Gov Historical Award.

Charlie Baldock was recognized for his dedicated service in the preservation and promotion of the province’s history and heritage by being one of four Manitobans to receive the Lieutenant Governor’s Historical Preservation and Promotion Award by Lt.-Gov. Anita R. Neville. This prestigious event was held at Government House in Winnipeg in late May.

Baldock is now 81 years old, and well known in his community for the Wakopa General Store Museum he and his brother, Jim, built to display the artifacts saved from the store that was first purchased by the brothers’ parents back in the 1960’s. The General Store was a hub for that community offering everything from agriculture tools to livestock feed. It was the neighborhood hardware store and post office. The museum displays artifacts from across the area.

Dr. Gordon Goldsborough, head researcher with the Manitoba Historical Society, says Baldock stands out as someone who not just collects historical facts and artifacts, but also is eager to share local history.

“He is a perfect recipient of this award. You know, he fits all the categories we would want to recognize. You know, they say he’s a selfless volunteer. He’s been doing it a very long time and he’s doing good work. Like the things that he’s doing is important.”

“And that’s what I’m hoping this award will tell people, is that he, among others, has been doing wonderful work for our collective benefit,” adds Dr. Goldsborough.

Charlie Baldock also was instrumental in the mapping of the Boundary Commission Trail along the Canada/U.S. border.

Baldock is also one of the original members of the Turtle Mountain Flywheel Club, whose museum is located on the southern edge of Killarney. Baldock has also been a longstanding supporter of the Austin Thresherman’s Museum.

“And that’s what we really are trying to recognize,” explains Goldsborough. “Sure, there are people out there who are collectors and they have phenomenal collections, but if they don’t share them with anybody, I would argue that’s not really providing much of a, you know, public service. And that’s what this award is really about. It’s about public service. You know, so if you’ve been doing a lot of work and you’ve been trying to share it as best you can with the community, – and of course, that can be communities locally, it could be communities regionally, it could be communities provincially, it could even be communities nationally.”

» Discover Westman