PembinaValleyOnline News

Canadian Baptist Bible College, located in Winkler, is has announced the addition of Pastor Nathan Ravert to the administration of the college, and to the assistant pastor position of Pembina Valley Baptist Church. Ravert is assuming the Vice Presidency of the college while the current Vice President, Bryan Helm, is taking on the role of Vice President Emeritus. 

According to many of our PembinaValleyOnline Rainwatchers, last night's thunderstorms had more bark than bite with brief gusty winds, isolated downpours, frequent lightning and quite the cloud display in some regions. Severe Thunderstorm Warnings were issued for a number of Municipalities Thursday including Louise, Dufferin, Thompson, Roland and Morris, with a Severe Thunderstorm Watch in effect for much of the region during the evening hours.

Eight people were taken to hospital after a collision involving three vehicles in the RM of Rhineland late Thursday afternoon.

Pembina Valley RCMP responded to the accident just after 5 pm.

The collision happened on Hwy 14 at the intersection of Road 10W.

It was another busy day for PembinaValleyOnline Rainwatchers Wednesday with non-severe and severe thunderstorms rumbling across the region, bringing reports of small hail and heavy downpours. A Tornado Watch was in effect for much of the day, with multiple Tornado Warnings issued for areas outside our region, including portions of the southern Interlake and Westman, where weather watchers there indicated a small tornado touched down near Brookdale, located southwest of Neepawa.

Updated at 8:03pm Wednesday, June 28th - as of shortly after 8pm Wednesday evening the Tornado Watch was ended for all regions of Southern Manitoba.

For the remainder of the evening there is a small chance of additional showers or thunderstorms, but additional severe weather is not expected. The overnight low will reach around 16.

Be sure to check back Thursday morning for a full recap of precipitation totals with our PembinaValleyOnline Rainwatchers.

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Pembina Valley RCMP are looking for public assistance in identifying possible witnesses to an act of mischief that took place on May 31st between 7:30 and 8 am near the intersections of Highway 243 and 521 in the RM of Rhineland. 

A speed reader sign and the attached solar panel were damaged extensively located in the school zone near Border Valley School. Video footage captured 3 possible North and Southbound witness vehicles passing by at the time of the incident.

A whooping cough outbreak has been declared in Southern Health-Santé Sud.

According to Manitoba Health, there have been 154 confirmed or probable cases of whooping cough reported in our province since January. Of those, 152 were reported in this regional health authority. 

Most of the cases have involved children between the ages of one and nine. The age range of cases includes:

You could hear the smiles spreading across faces throughout the Pembina and Red River Valleys Thursday morning as raindrops pattered against windows and roofs. Even though there have been spotty showers and thunderstorms over the past several weeks, large pockets of the region hadn't received measurable precipitation in two to three weeks.

For parts of the Pembina and Red River Valley, it was one of the hottest days of the year Tuesday, with temperatures soaring into the mid to upper 30s, as a very hot and moist airmass from the southern U.S. was pushed into the region by a strong upper southerly flow.

"We have already had a number of days when temperatures have surpassed 30 degrees, and we are just past mid-June," noted CMOS Accredited Weathercaster Chris Sumner. "We typically see our hottest weather in July and August, but yesterday was yet another taste of that, but several weeks early."

Monday, June 19th is election day in the Portage-Lisgar by-election. Eligible voters will have the chance to cast their ballot for one of five candidates vying to be the region's Member of Parliament. Below you can find details regarding Monday's election, and links to further resources to help you place your vote.

Why is there a by-election?
The by-election was prompted when former Portage-Lisgar M.P. Candice Bergen resigned her seat earlier this year. The by-election was announced Sunday, May 14th, with Monday, June 19th set as election day.