Strathmore

Manitoba is continuing to work on growing the agri-food sector. 

Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn announced over $6 million in funding from the province and the federal government to increase food processing opportunities.

The announcement was made at Maple Leaf Foods in Brandon, one of the recipients of the funding. 

Maple Leaf's President of Pork Operations Dennis Organ says the investment will help modernize the Brandon pork facility with state-of-the-art equipment, improving reliability, efficiency and production quality. 

A Canada-wide warrant has been issued for 35-year-old Siobhan Kirby, and officers are looking for help locating her.

According to police, Kirby is wanted for multiple sexual offences, including possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material.

"It is believed that Ms. Kirby may have left the province of British Columbia and could be in the Calgary area," wrote Abbotsford police.

Anyone with information regarding Kirby's whereabouts is asked to contact their local police detachment.

Strathmore's summer is looking more like spring this year with cooler temperatures and steady rainfall replacing the hot, dry conditions of past summers.

Over the past week, the region has experienced several days of rain, fluctuating temperatures, and smoky air quality.

Environment Canada (EC) spoke about the changes on Tuesday (July 22).

The Battle River-Crowfoot by-election is in full swing with candidates out door-knocking and putting up signs.

Currently, over 150 candidates have put their names on the ballot, and independent candidate Bonnie Critchley is just one of those names.

Critchley has a background serving in the military for 22 years. She moved to Beaver County during COVID, and during that time, she got married and bought a house.

"My family's been in this area for almost 20 years now. The whole family is military. I'm fifth generation, that I know of." 

Strathmore Seed is helping the Wheatland County Food Bank one drive at a time.

The Holes for Hunger golf tournament was held at the Strathmore Golf Club earlier this month, with every dollar raised going towards the food bank.

Kim Grant, team lead of finance at Strathmore Seed, said this was the second year that the group had hosted the charity fundraiser.

"We had an excellent year. We had 104 golfers and 21 major sponsors," said Grant. "It was an amazing turnout in support of the event. It was a good day with good weather, so everything went fairly smoothly."

What do StrathmoreNow love most about the upcoming Strathmore Stampede?

We asked our readers to share their favourite activities at the annual rodeo through a poll on our website, with 83 votes coming through.

Leading the poll with 55 votes (66.27 per cent) was the famous chuckwagon races, followed by the running with the bulls, which received 18 votes (21.69 per cent).

New Beef Cattle Research Council chair at the U of M to focus on best environmental practices and economic viability

A new beef-focused research chair will soon begin work at the University of Manitoba.

The 10-year role has been named the BCRC Chair in Beef Cattle Economic Sustainability.

“I believe this is the fourth chair position that we’ve developed,” said Craig Lehr, chair of the BCRC’s producer council.

Now that the British government has vowed to lower its voting age to 16 by the next general election, one Canadian senator says it's past time for Canada to do the same.

The U.K. announced last week that it would lower its voting age from 18 to 16 in a bid to strengthen British democracy and restore trust in politics.

Sen. Marilou McPhedran said the issue has been her "top parliamentary priority" since she joined the Red Chamber. She said lowering the voting age to 16 would be good for democracy and that the only arguments against it are "based on stereotypes."

Conservative Agriculture Critic John Barlow is warning that the Liberal's Clean Fuel Standard will hit Canadians hard at the gas pump and the grocery store.

Citing a recent Department of Agriculture briefing, Barlow said the policy will raise fuel prices by 13 cents per litre for gasoline and 16 cents per litre for diesel by 2030. He criticized the government for downplaying the impact on consumers.

The man accused of ramming an SUV into a crowd and killing 11 people at the Vancouver Lapu Lapu Day festival is set to appear in court today, with a judge determining if he's fit to stand trial.

RJ Aquino, the chair of festival organizer Filipino BC, says the court proceedings could prove "traumatizing" for victims and members of the Filipino community.

He says many have expressed anger and frustration since the April 26 attack and still find it difficult to cope with the tragedy almost three months later.