The Northwest Métis Council Inc. (NWMC) held its annual regional meeting in Dauphin, Aug. 13. Local executive members from 24 Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) Locals in the region came in to hear about the NWMC’s year in review, projects for the future, and the launching of a new and substantial health care initiative.

“I’m proud at the amount of staff that the NWMC has employed in the region,” said NWMC vice-president Frances Chartrand. “We now have 42 staff members working out of the administration office, 55 summer students placed across the region, 20 staff working our Michif Children’s Place and another 20 staff to be hired in the Swan River Daycare. Our new governance office should be opening soon and we will host 125 staff there.

“Other highlights for our region have been the new builds that are taking place, from the Michif Children’s Place daycare that is up and running, to our new governance office here in the City of Dauphin and the new daycare being built in Swan River. We’ve also purchased a house next door to Métis Child and Family Services that is currently being renovated and will be fully furnished.

It will be used as a medical stay place for people who have to travel in to Dauphin for medical appointments or day surgeries and need overnight accommodations.

Get the full story in this week's Dauphin Herald!

As they have for years, the Road Rebel Rendezvous ended their cruise of classic cars at Asessippi Beach and Campgound.

In the morning of Aug.14th the group of enthusiasts left from Brandon and made their way up to Clear Lake taking the leisurely drive on the winding road through Riding Mountain National Park before stopping in Dauphin for lunch and show and shine with car enthusiasts there.

After lunch they headed west to their final destination at Asessippi campground where they met up with classic car owners from Saskatchewan.

Check this week's Banner for more!

We are about to have an election, an election to not only provide input into who will represent us, but an election that will help shape the future.

On October 26, residents of Mountain View School Division (MVSD) will choose trustees for the next four years.

They will be responsible to govern education within our division.

Find more details in this week's Review!

It took a one-hole playoff between two former champions to determine the winner of Roblin’s postponed Roblin Moonshine Daze Men’s Open which finally played out Aug. 13 at the Roblin Golf and Country Club.

The tourney was originally slated for July 16 but had to be postponed due to a lack of entries.

More results in this week's Roblin Review!

Just after the Manitoba Metis Federation (MMF) held its 2022 elections, all MMF Locals across the province have either held an election in their community or are in the process of having one.

Recently, the Roblin MMF Local held its elections and a brand new executive – which hopes to inform Métis citizens about programming and services available to them as well as promote more cultural diversity.

Check this week's Review for more!

The president of the Roblin Agriculture Society had a few choice words to describe this year’s fair and rodeo.

And ‘busier’ was one of them.

“It was busier than any of us on the board anticipated,” said an extremely satisfied and still somewhat tired Ellen Arnott in an interview Thursday.

Get more details in this week's Roblin Review! 

OCN’s Smart Farm has had a few successful harvests so far under their belts for the month of August.

Despite not having any produce last year due to COVID-19, the return of the Smart Farm’s produce has been a huge success, leaving nothing to go to waste.

“We’ve been in operation for about six years,” said OCN Smart Farm Operations Manager Stephanie Cook. “Unfortunately the pandemic shut us down, because they were using the hall as a COVID-19 hall and test site for OCN, so we basically just got back up and running.

We have done two harvests now in the community and they were very well received. We had no produce left over at the end, which is really good.

“There were over 50 families that came to get produce at each one of our harvests. There are families that consist of two people or some with six to eight, and as a result, this produce is feeding a lot of people.”

Local fiddler Caitlin Armstrong is making her mark in the fiddling world. For the second time, Armstrong is headed to the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Competition where she will compete against fiddlers from across the country.

The event will be held in Winnipeg August 26 & 27th with Armstrong joining a select few fiddlers from Manitoba to represent the province.

“A handful of people get selected from each province and then go to compete. It’s the biggest competition in Canada,” Armstrong said. The competition is based on provincial selection which occurs as a result of getting noticed in the industry.

There’s a familiar face on the fire department that has a new role as the Town of The Pas Fire Chief. Cody Langlois started his new role as Fire Chief last Monday and is excited to be back in the community.

“I’m not necessarily a stranger to the community, but new to the role I’ve been hired for,” said Town of The Pas Fire Chief Cody Langlois. “I’m originally from Winnipegosis, which is a small town about 30 minutes north of Dauphin. That is where I attended my grade school and began my firefighting career as a junior firefighter through a school program we had.

“This junior program sparked a career long passion for helping others when in need. I was always a kid who cared for others and this was a career path I knew I could enjoy.”

Food security is an issue in Manitoba thanks to rising cost of food and the high level of poverty in the province. Most communities have a locally run food bank to assist those who are struggling to provide enough food to feed themselves on a regular basis.

The Pas Friendship Centre took on the role of running and facilitating the food bank during the spark of the pandemic, but now has no choice but to close it down.

“The Pas Friendship Centre has run the tri-community food bank since March 2020 and we just can no longer do it,” said The Pas Friendship Centre Executive Director Douglas Bartlett. “We started it because the pandemic put a strong focus on food shortages in the tri-community. We were up to about 200 hampers a month and then it went down to 150, with 100 of those hampers going to seniors.