The City of Dauphin is hoping operational changes at the residential recycling drop off location on First Avenue Southeast will improve conditions at the facility.
From now on, the depot will accept only cardboard.
“This is in response to ongoing misuse, contamination, and illegal dumping that were making the site increasingly difficult and costly to maintain,” City deputy manager Lisa Gaudet said.
“The residential recycling depot was originally intended as a convenient option for residents to drop off recyclable materials, but over time, staff have observed increasing contamination of recycling bins and significant misuse of the site. So materials that didn’t belong at the recycling depot were regularly being left at the location, including household garbage, broken toilets, appliances, and other discarded items.”
Staff, she said, were spending valuable time cleaning up the site and the depot was quickly becoming an eyesore.
“The condition of the site was becoming a concern,” Gaudet said.
“The site, it’s in a fairly visible location. It doesn’t reflect well in the city to have a depot with garbage strewn about.”
The operational changes are meant to preserve the service and monitoring will take place to see if simplifying the operation reduces the contamination.
Cardboard needs to be flattened before being placed in the bins and all other recyclable materials need to be placed in the residential curbside recycling bins for collection.
“We know that there’s still a risk of non-recyclable items being discarded there, but this will allow us to evaluate whether a more focused service can be maintained successfully,” Gaudet said.
“Our goal is to maintain a recycling option for residents, but that requires the facility to be used as it’s intended.”

The town is welcoming a new face to the Community Safety and Well-Being (CSWB) strategy, but the individual happens to be a born and raised local. Alexis Watts has been hired as the new CSWB Manager.
“I was born and raised in The Pas and am proud to call this community home,” said Watts. “My amazing husband is an Electrical Instructor at University College of the North (UCN); he is my absolute favourite person, such a huge motivator to the person I am and am becoming. We have two incredible sons and three semi-chaotic dogs who keep our household busy, but so full of love and energy.

This past season has been exciting for NHL player Connor Dewar. Not only did he have a great season overall, but he also signed on for two more years with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“I felt like I did a really good job playing this year with Pittsburgh and earned the trust of the coaching staff and my teammates,” said Dewar. “I got to play more than I had in the past, plus it gave me the opportunity to score. This allowed me to flourish, build confidence, find my stride and show what kind of player I am in the league.

It's a rare opportunity for a Junior A team to hire a coach who's had the opportunity to play and learn under one of the greatest coaches of our time - Ken Hitchcock - and one of, if not the greatest hockey player of all time - Wayne Gretzky.
Josh Gratton, the new President of Hockey Operations and Head Coach of the Northern Manitoba Blizzard, can claim all that and more.
Gratton, a 43-year-old native of Brantford, Ont., brings a wealth of playing and coaching experience to the Blizzard franchise. He played more than 700 professional games, playing with some of the great minds in hockey. This includes NHL stints with the Philadelphia Flyers and Phoenix Coyotes, and two Calder Cup championships with two separate AHL teams.
"I was fortunate to have great coaches from the start of my career – including John Stevens, assistant coach with the Vegas Golden Knights, who’s won a bunch of Stanley Cups and we won a Calder Cup together,” said Gratton, who also went on to talk about his above-mentioned coaches. “I got to learn from the best of the best.”

The Swan River Valley was hit with what seemed like a tropical storm over the weekend, leaving destruction in its path. With upwards of 5” of rain in spots, farm fields, acreages and basements paid a heavy price. Pictured is what is supposed to be a healthy farm field along the south bypass in Swan River, but with the heavy rainfall, looks more like a lake. See inside for more photos from the aftermath.

On May 26th, 2026 the 677 Royal Canadian Air Cadets hosted their Annual Ceremonial Review. They had an amazing crowd of approximately 70 spectators supporting the event. Major Terrence Henry generously joined the squadron as the reviewing officer for the evening. During the event, the cadets were presented with the year-end awards capping off a great training year.
The awards presented were: Level 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Excellence Awards for cadets who completed their respective level and obtained a 90% or better attendance. The Excellence in Fitness Award which is sponsored by the Russell Lion's Club and was presented by Kevan McCarthy. The Distinguished Marksmanship Award which is sponsored by the Russell Game and Fish and was presented by Ken Schmitz. The Lord Strathcona Medal presented by Major Henry and the Legion Medal of Excellence presented by Earl Smith of the Russell Legion.
The cadets had a successful training year and volunteered numeous hours with various community organizations.
The Russell 677 Air Cadets would like to thank all of the individuals and community organizations that supported us this year and made this year a success. The squadron has grown from 3 Cadets to 15 Cadets in the last 3 years and a large part of that is in thanks to the community, sponsorship committee and the local squadron staff. We look forward to our upcoming training year and an even more impressive Annual Ceremonial Review next year.
Air Cadet fall registration will be on September 8th, 2026 at the George P. Buleziuk Centre in Russell at 7:00 p.m. for youth ages 12-19.

COMING AUGUST 14! Roadshow Pickleball Manitoba will be running a youth pickleball camp for ages 12-17 years in Russell! Details coming soon! Mark your calendars!
The Russell Town wide Garage Sale is scheduled for Saturday, June 20th from 9 am-3:30 pm. If you would like your address added to the map, please contact the recreation office: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. From out of town? We will be offering in space inside the rink for $20.
Summer Camps are back! The camps are 1 week and meet daily from 9am until 3:30 pm! Come join us for outdoor activities including arts, crafts, hiking, science, swimming, games, etc. The cost is $50 for the week! Dates and ages are as follows:
Russell July 13-17 ages 9-12, Russell July 20-24 ages 7-11, Russell July 27-31 ages 6-10 and Binscarth August 4-7 ages 7-11. Please email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to register!
There is a new story on the Storybook Trail! “Cool Canadian Dinosaurs” Fun Facts from Teeth to Tracks! by Canadian Girl. The trail starts just off Alexandria Ave by the Russell grain elevator on the Trans Canada Trail. Follow the trail, stopping at each story pedestal and learn about 14 different types of dinosaurs that once lived in Canada!
Healthy Baby is Tuesday, June 23rd from 11am-1pm upstairs in the Bunge Room located in the Russell Memorial Multiplex, Main St entrance. This is a free program for expecting parents and those with babies under the age of one. Come join us!
Pickleball is at the GPB Hall in Russell (106 Shell River Ave S)! Tuesdays from 1-3 pm and Thursdays from 9-11 am and again from 7-9 pm! Pickleball is FREE and we have all equipment needed. Clean, indoor shoes required. Never played before? We’ve got you covered! We will teach you!
Badminton is in Russell at the GPB Hall on WEDNESDAY evenings from 7-9pm. It is FREE and we have all equipment needed. Clean, indoor shoes required.
Zumba is Thursday nights from 6:30-7:30pm upstairs in the Bunge Room at the Russell Memorial Multiplex, Main St entrance, $5 drop-in!
Coming soon! The disc golf course will be set up again this summer as well as the PlayBoxes in Russell and Binscarth. Stay tuned for more information!
Follow us on Facebook: Recreation Department Municipality of Russell Binscarth Not on Facebook? Check out our community bulletin board located on the front of the Russell Memorial Multiplex (Main St).

By Terrie Welwood
Russell Banner

It’s probably safe to say that Shannon and Newell Johnston are among the busiest people in the area.
Especially in the spring and summer when they prepare both of their Prairie Gardener locations in Russell and Roblin.
This year, the pair have something to cheer about aside from the ongoing success of their two locations as this year, they celebrate their 20th anniversary in business.
Shannon Johnston says every year, they look forward to the opening of their two locations
“We are happy to be able to continue to provide plants to the local area, and it really does feel like we are a part of the community in both Roblin and Russell,” Shannon said.
“We open our gates in town each year and are always so grateful to be shown again how great our customers are - they come in to say hi and are so excited to see everything we have grown.”
After several years of assisting with the business, Shannon and Newell Johnston purchased it with the help of financing from the local credit union, and began the process of disassembling and rebuilding the production farm on a newly cleared property near the edge of Riding Mountain National Park east of Inglis.
“It was quite the task to take down and reset-up the buildings and infrastructure, but we managed to make it happen and we were able to produce a nice crop the following spring despite still finishing heating and ventilation work, building benches as we went, and somehow keeping just slightly ahead of the space needs as we grew that first crop at our new location.”

Read the whole front page story in this week's edition of the Russell Banner.

It’s probably safe to say that Shannon and Newell Johnston are among the busiest people in the area.
Especially in the spring and summer when they prepare both of their Prairie Gardener locations in Russell and Roblin.
Read all about it in this week’s Review.

The Parkland Mavericks are 2-0 to start the season.
Ronin Mouck and Owen Tyschinski had two tries each to lead the Mavericks to a 56-29 win over the Winnipeg Assassins Second Division team, Saturday in Winnipeg.
Will Miner, Dylan Craik, Alex Boshoff and player-coach Codi Harrigan also had tries for Dauphin and Mouck had all eight converts.
Harrigan credited the Assassins for never giving up when the Mavericks pulled away.
“They never quit and they kept at us right to the final whistle,” he said.
Both teams suffered through the heat, with the temperature reaching 32C.
“We were tested physically and mentally (Saturday),” Harrigan said, adding it was nice to see the scoring spread out.
“We only had three substitutes available, so a lot of players had to put in big minutes. I’m really proud of our players for managing the heat, staying disciplined with hydration and working hard for the whole 80 minutes,” he said.
When fatigue set in, Harrigan said, the Mavericks continued to communicate and stuck to the game plan instead of trying to do everything individually.
“We had contributions from everyone on the roster and that showed on the scoresheet,” he said.
The Mavericks will host the Assassins First Division unit, Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
Because they were a bit shorthanded on Saturday, some players played in unfamiliar positions.
“But again, everybody contributed great. It’s those players that aren’t on the scoresheet that really shine throughout the whole game, as well. There were a lot of players doing the dirty work and they put the team first and that’s a big reason we were successful. So we hope that continues on into the weekend,” Harrigan said.