Westman this Week – Brandon Sun

A growing herd of bagwaji-bizhikiwag offers lessons in community

Crystal Greene, Local Journalism Initiative 8 minute read Thursday, Mar. 12, 2026

A large herd of bagwaji-bizhikiwag (wood bison) call Chitek Lake Anishinaabe Provincial Park in Manitoba home — and their community has recently grown even larger.

On Feb. 18, the herd welcomed ten new bulls and cows to their territory nestled between Lake Winnipegosis and Lake Winnipeg — more than 300 kilometres northwest of the City of Winnipeg.

They’d traveled 12 hours in a massive cattle trailer across provinces, from Elk Island National Park in “Alberta.”

Wood bison, once on the brink of extinction, have seen their populations climb thanks to conservation efforts. And even though historically the species wasn’t known to live in this herd’s area, the vast isolation of the park’s boreal forest, fields and lakes helps keep them safe from disease as their numbers come back.

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Expert warns of ‘extinction event’ for fish in Okanagan waterways by 2040

Aaron Hemens, Local Journalism Initiative 8 minute read Thursday, Mar. 12, 2026

A smǝlqmíx (Similkameen) expert is warning that climate change and over-logging could lead to “an extinction event” for fish throughout the Okanagan Basin by 2040.

Lauren Terbasket, a Lower Similkameen Indian Band (LSIB) member who works for the band’s Parks Working Group, shared that these issues have led to warmer water trends across the Similkameen Watershed system in recent years.

That’s why climate resilience must become a priority, said Terbasket.

“The water warming trends indicate that we will be looking at an extinction event — in terms of fisheries — by 2040,” she said.

Portage school division proposes significant mill rate hike

Renee Lilley, Local Journalism Initiative 2 minute read Thursday, Mar. 12, 2026

The Portage la Prairie School Division is proposing a 10.97 per cent increase to the local mill rate as it deals with $4-million in mandated salary and benefit costs.

Superintendent Pam Garnham unveiled the $58.3-million draft budget during a public presentation Wednesday, February 26 at Portage Collegiate Institute (PCI). The increase translates to approximately $160 more per year for a home valued at $250,000, while a farm valued at $1 million would see an increase of roughly $370.

Garnham said the hike is largely driven by a new provincial collective agreement that harmonizes teacher salaries across Manitoba.

“We had to budget over $4 million for salary increases, benefit increases, and payroll tax increases,” Garnham said in a recent interview. “We want to maintain our staff. Our board made a very strong decision that they were not going to cut staff, because the staff need to be in the classrooms with the kids.”

Hockey Peak: U.S. women have climbed past Canada

Bruce Penton 5 minute read Preview

Hockey Peak: U.S. women have climbed past Canada

Bruce Penton 5 minute read Thursday, Mar. 12, 2026

Hockey peak: U.S. women have climbed past Canada

It’s time to admit it: The U.S. women’s hockey team is better than Canada’s.

Even though an outstanding performance in the Olympics gold medal game gave Canada a good chance, only to lose 2-1 in overtime, the evidence has been strong for about the past year that the U.S. women’s program has surpassed our country’s.

Based on population and the acceptance that there is strength in numbers, it’s no surprise that Canadians can’t compete with our neighbours to the south when it comes to major sports such as baseball, football, basketball and golf. But we could always brag about being No. 1 in men’s and women’s hockey.

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Thursday, Mar. 12, 2026

New roof for Souris’s cherished Avalon Theatre

By Connor McDowell, Local Journalism Initiative 4 minute read Preview

New roof for Souris’s cherished Avalon Theatre

By Connor McDowell, Local Journalism Initiative 4 minute read Thursday, Mar. 12, 2026

The Municipality of Souris-Glenwood began repairing the roof of the Avalon Theatre this month at a cost of about $88,000.

The municipality decided to remove the existing tar and gravel roof and replace it with tin to address ongoing leakage problems, Mayor Duane Davison said. He highlighted that the 98-year-old building is in good shape, but that the roof was damaged by the elements.

“We’ve had a little bit of water problems off and on, but it became a little more serious this winter with the freeze thaws we’ve had,” Davison said in a recent interview. “It kind of became a priority just over the past several months.”

The roof had repeatedly suffered from water seeping in and then freezing and thawing, he said.

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Thursday, Mar. 12, 2026

In this file photo, Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn cuts the ribbon at Virden’s new MASC office at a grand-opening in September 2025. Mayor Tina Williams (from left), RM of Wallace-Woodworth Reeve Clayton Canart, Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Glen Simard, and MASC chair John Plohman. (Connor McDowell/The Brandon Sun file)

New Westman MASC offices get good reviews after six months

By Connor McDowell, Local Journalism Initiative 5 minute read Preview

New Westman MASC offices get good reviews after six months

By Connor McDowell, Local Journalism Initiative 5 minute read Thursday, Mar. 12, 2026

The new MASC offices have been received positively in the communities of Virden and Shoal Lake, according to a local reeve, the CEO and the agriculture minister.

The first six months since opening day have allowed for initial feedback to be collected, and the early results seem to be positive, CEO Jared Munro told the Sun in a recent interview. MASC is gleaning results from a variety of sources at the moment, including the feedback from staff on location.

“When you talk to staff, and ask them what clients say when they come in, they’re all just very appreciative and very happy to have the option to come into those two new service centers,” Munro said. “Staff have been warmly welcomed into the community, which has been great.”

Munro said the locations are receiving about 150 to 200 calls per month, which is on track with the average MASC office in the province. He added that the Virden location represents roughly 789,000 acres of insured farmland, and the Shoal Lake location represents roughly 844,000 acres.

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Thursday, Mar. 12, 2026

The wildlife ABCs of 1, 2, 3

By Ken Kingdon 6 minute read Preview

The wildlife ABCs of 1, 2, 3

By Ken Kingdon 6 minute read Thursday, Mar. 5, 2026

I have come to the realisation that humans love to count things. For example, many people love to count birds through citizen science programs such as Project Feederwatch or the Christmas Bird Count.

Other species, such as furbearers, are best counted from the ground during the winter by counting their tracks. Black bears are difficult to count but the development of DNA testing of hair or poop samples, and the wide-scale use of trail cameras, can help establish population estimates.

Counting things, though, can get complicated, especially when it’s a highly valued species. I’m thinking in this case of elk and moose where it’s very rare for everyone to agree with survey results.

And to be honest, this is to be expected, because no matter how surveys are done, there are always animals that go uncounted. Wildlife managers know that the counts they conduct are never 100 per cent accurate, but the hope is that when these surveys are done consistently year after year, the impact of errors is reduced.

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Thursday, Mar. 5, 2026

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Spotlight on Gushue at his final Brier

By Bruce Penton 5 minute read Preview

Spotlight on Gushue at his final Brier

By Bruce Penton 5 minute read Thursday, Mar. 5, 2026

In what will undoubtedly be a week-long celebration of the curling career of Brad Gushue, the 2026 Montana’s Brier will almost certainly crown a rink skipped by somebody else.

This year’s event is being staged this week in St. John’s, N.L., where Gushue carries a saint-like aura after an outstanding career as our country’s best-ever curler. But his best days are behind him and if he happened to find some magic and lead his team to victory, it would be one of the biggest upsets in Brier history.

The overwhelming favourite to win the Brier is Brad Jacobs, representing Team Canada. Defending Brier champ and recently returned from the Milan-Cortina Olympics where he won the second gold medal of his career, Jacobs is the favourite in Pool A, the weaker of the two. He has Gushue in his pool, along with rinks from Ontario, Saskatchewan’s Kelly Knapp and Quebec. That competition will feel like your local curling club’s Thursday night men’s league schedule for Jacobs after the world-class field he faced in Italy.

It’s Pool B from where the most likely Jacobs’ rival for the title will come. Pool B features the two best rinks from Manitoba (Matt Dunstone and first-year Brier competitor Braden Calvert), along with Saskatchewan’s Mike McEwen, a regular Brier hopeful, and four-time champion Kevin Koe from Alberta.

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Thursday, Mar. 5, 2026

Students meet future employers at ConnectED

By Steven Sukkau Local Journalism Initiative 3 minute read Preview

Students meet future employers at ConnectED

By Steven Sukkau Local Journalism Initiative 3 minute read Thursday, Mar. 5, 2026

More than 80 post-secondary students had the chance to build career connections and explore future pathways last week during a mentorship-focused event aimed at strengthening ties between classrooms and the local business community.

ConnectED, hosted jointly by Assiniboine College, Brandon University and the Brandon Chamber of Commerce, brought students face-to-face with dozens of professionals who represented a range of industries and sectors.

The conference featured rotating 30-minute mentorship rounds, where one or two industry leaders met with small groups of students to answer questions, share insights and offer advice about entering the workforce. The afternoon concluded with a come-and-go networking mixer that allowed students, alumni and community members to continue conversations in a more informal setting.

Jennifer Ludwig, president of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce, said the event creates valuable opportunities for both students and employers.

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Thursday, Mar. 5, 2026

City updated on hospital foundation’s expansion

By Renee Lilley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 3 minute read Preview

City updated on hospital foundation’s expansion

By Renee Lilley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 3 minute read Thursday, Mar. 5, 2026

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE — The Portage District General Hospital Foundation is rebranding and expanding its mission to focus on staff recruitment as construction on the region’s new hospital is completed.

Joe Masi, city councillor and board chair of the foundation, provided a comprehensive update to city council recently, marking one year since the organization launched its current strategic plan. He revealed that the foundation is in the legal process of changing its name to the Portage Regional Healthcare Foundation to signify a broader scope of work.

“We’re changing the name to better reflect that we’re now getting into more things,” Masi said. “Not just equipment, but we’re doing more for improving the health-care system in Portage.”

An important pillar of the new strategy is the retention and recruitment of health-care professionals. Masi noted that while the new facility will be state-of-the-art, its success depends on the people working inside. To support this, the foundation is funding bursaries for students entering the health field and professional development for current staff.

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Thursday, Mar. 5, 2026

Portage moves forward on ‘leachate’ plan

By Renee Lilley Local Journalism Initiative 2 minute read Preview

Portage moves forward on ‘leachate’ plan

By Renee Lilley Local Journalism Initiative 2 minute read Thursday, Mar. 5, 2026

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE — The city is moving forward with a multi-phase system to manage contaminated liquid at its landfill, as officials report high diversion rates and new enforcement measures for haulers.

Landfill manager Jamie Lilley presented the annual landfill report to city council recently, highlighting the ongoing construction of a “leachate” management system. Leachate is a contaminated liquid formed when precipitation mixes with household chemicals and hazardous waste within the landfill cells.

“It is a contaminated liquid,” Lilley said, noting that provincial regulations mandate that the substance must be contained on-site. “We have to put it into a holding pond just to evaporate the liquid off and all the heavy metals over the course of years and years.”

The project is currently moving through its first two phases, which involve extracting the liquid through specialized pipes and monitoring wells before pumping it into a holding pond for evaporation. A third phase, involving a second pond, remains a possibility if more capacity is needed.

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Thursday, Mar. 5, 2026

Debate ensures over proposed hunting season

By Connor McDowell, Local Journalism Initiative 6 minute read Preview

Debate ensures over proposed hunting season

By Connor McDowell, Local Journalism Initiative 6 minute read Thursday, Mar. 5, 2026

A group of wildlife experts is trying to stop the federal government from opening up a new hunting season in Manitoba, but other hunters and wildlife experts welcome the plan.

The group of six retired biologists, conservation educators and hunters came forward in February and called on the public to contact politicians and voice opposition to a proposed new hunting plan. Tim Muir, one of the members, told the Sun that the hunting season is being floated without proper reasoning.

“It seems to be the feds sort of think: if you’ve got a sustainable population of birds, and the Americans are shooting them, so should we?” he said. “We don’t think that’s justification.”

The big problem, he said, is that hunters may accidentally kill the wrong birds during this new season, he said. The federal government is proposing to open a season for one type of swan, which looks almost identical to another that is protected, and the two may be found sharing space during migration.

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Thursday, Mar. 5, 2026

Farmland could use April showers, expert says

By Connor McDowell, Local Journalism Initiative 3 minute read Preview

Farmland could use April showers, expert says

By Connor McDowell, Local Journalism Initiative 3 minute read Friday, Feb. 27, 2026

A slow thaw and some steady rain is what is needed to recharge soil moisture this spring for the farming season in Westman, according to a federal agroclimate specialist for the prairies.

Westman is has below-normal soil moisture levels and would benefit from some April showers, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada agroclimate specialist Trevor Hadwen told the Sun in a recent interview.

“We’re going into the spring drier than normal, but with optimism that we can recover during those early spring rainfalls,” Hadwen said. “It’s not at a level that we would really want. It’s not ideal — but it isn’t super dry either.”

The situation is an improvement on recent history, however, Hadwen said.

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Friday, Feb. 27, 2026

Free tax clinics return to western Manitoba

By Steven Sukkau Local Journalism Initiative 2 minute read Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026

A free volunteer-run tax program that returned more than $10 million to residents across western Manitoba last year is gearing up again for the 2026 tax season.

The Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP), offered in partnership with the Canada Revenue Agency and Prairie Mountain Health (PMH), helps low-income individuals with simple tax situations complete and file their income tax and benefit returns at no cost.

In 2025, volunteers across the PMH region processed 4,350 returns, resulting in more than $10 million in benefits and refunds for residents. The average refund per client was about $3,500.

Organizers say filing a tax return is often the gateway to accessing critical income supports, including GST credits, the Canada Child Benefit, Manitoba Rent Assist, disability tax credits and Pharmacare deductibles.

Chained gates stand in Ninette outside the boat launch onto Pelican Lake in 2025. The gates were installed at all launches around the lake by the Rural Municipality of Prairie Lakes as part of a plan to regulate access to the lake. The plan is set to continue in 2026 as the municipality wants to be proactive in keeping aquatic invasive species out. (Connor McDowell/Brandon Sun files)

Prairie Lakes to bring back boat restrictions

By Connor McDowell, Local Journalism Initiative 6 minute read Preview

Prairie Lakes to bring back boat restrictions

By Connor McDowell, Local Journalism Initiative 6 minute read Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026

The Rural Municipality of Prairie Lakes is planning to bring back its “one boat, one lake” program to Pelican Lake this year with continued regulatory access and boat inspections.

The municipality hosted a town hall in February detailing that the boat decal sales are expected to start in April, and the fees for the program are expected to stay the same as last year. In a recent interview with the Sun, Reeve Darren Seymour said that the general public has been supportive of the program that launched last year.

“A lot of the feedback we have got from the locals is that they don’t think that it’s unfair,” Seymour said. “We feel that it’s in our best interest, and the municipalities best interest to do things the same this year.”

The town hall also provided results from the first year of the one boat, one lake inspired program, detailing how many boats were inspected, how much money was spent, and how much revenue was generated.

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Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026

Buffalo Sabres right winger Alex Tuch (right), shown during a March 2024 game in Buffalo, N.Y., is one of the reasons the Sabres may make the playoffs this year. (The Associated Press)

Finally, some smiles from Sabres’ fans

By Bruce Penton 5 minute read Preview

Finally, some smiles from Sabres’ fans

By Bruce Penton 5 minute read Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026

With the world’s best hockey players returning home from the Milan Olympics this week, the bizarre National Hockey League regular season can continue. Why bizarre? Let us count the ways, via two sections — pleasant surprises and disappointments.

PLEASANT SURPRISES:

1. Buffalo Sabres — Fans in New York state haven’t seen the Sabres win a playoff series since 2007. Led this year by Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin, the Sabres are making loud playoff noises. There’s still no guarantee they’ll make the post season, but when the Olympic break began, coach Lindy Ruff’s team was securely in a wildcard position.

2. Morgan Geekie — Blessed with one of the hardest, most accurate shots in the NHL, the native of Strathclair, Man., never scored more than 35 goals in a Western Hockey League season with the Tri-City Americans. Now, after a 33-goal campaign with Boston last year, Geekie will almost certainly surpass the 40-goal mark with the Bruins this year. He might even hit 50.

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Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026

March 17, 2026

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