Candace Derksen & Robyn Wiebe

The Progressive Conservative MLA for Borderland says Tuesday's budget delivered by the governing NDP was light on details. 

"I think I would borrow the language of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities president who said the budget misses the mark in many respects," said Guenter. "I like to see more healthcare funding, but there's no details yet on where that money will go and how that will be spent, especially as it relates to beefing up staffing in the healthcare sector."

If you're a fan of indie/alternative rock, you'll want to be at the main stage on Saturday of this year's Corn and Apple Festival.  

Festival Executive Director, Tim Hodge, said this year's headliner keeps with the 90's vibe that was met with such an incredible response last year. 

"Very, very excited to announce that Sloan is going to be headlining the Corn and Apple Festival this year on our main stage on Saturday, August 26th." 

He added, organizers are doing something a bit different for the Saturday evening main stage show. 

"I care what happens here. This is my home," said Liz Reimer when explaining why she intends to seek the Conservative nomination for Portage-Lisgar. 

Current Member of Parliament, Candice Bergen, announced last year she would not run in the next Federal election.

Reimer spent her teenage years on a farm northwest of Portage la Prairie before moving to Brandon to attend Assiniboine Community College. Over 20 years ago, she moved to Morden where she has remained since. 

The ribbon was cut Friday on one of Assiniboine Community College's (ACC) newest rural rotating Practical Nursing sites, located in Morden.

Students were welcomed to the program earlier in the week, including Kerri Froese. 

"I was really excited that they decided to open up this opportunity here in Morden," she said at Friday's grand opening event. "I think there's a lot of people here, like myself, who feel that we have something we can offer the community, but we are limited because the training was so far away."

The Western School Division Board of Trustees is providing money for additional teaching staff.
    
Chairperson, Brian Fransen, says enrolment continues to grow in the division, noting there are some grades in particular that are experiencing unusually large class sizes. He noted student numbers continued to grow throughout COVID-19, and there are also students returning to the classroom now that the pandemic has dampened. There's also been a lot of immigration coming into the Morden area that has led to a further boost in student enrolment. 

The province's municipal officials are coming off the 24th annual Fall Convention for the Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM) that took place this past week in Winnipeg. The confernece serves as the annual general meeting of the entire AMM membership, bringing together over 800 delegates.

Nancy Penner is a Councillor for the City of Morden and serves as a Central Region Director for AMM. She feels this year's convention was a success.

Work has begun to clear damaged material from the Parkhill and Alvey street bridges in Morden in order to make way for new structures. The two bridges were severely damaged during this past spring's high-water event and have been closed ever since. 

"We've started on Parkhill Street. So, all of the asphalt, concrete and culverts, everything is being removed there," explained Tim Reimer, Director of Operations for the City of Morden. "The Alvey Street Bridge would be, I would assume, shortly after Parkhill is complete."

$200,000 has been invested back into the community thanks to the Morden Community Thrift Shop's annual fall giving campaign. 
    
$20,000 had already been granted to the Morden Legion back in August for emergency repairs to Legion House 1, but the remaining $180,000 was given out to various organizations on Monday.

All ten candidates vying for one of six seats around the City of Morden council table participated in an all-candidates forum Wednesday evening at the Morden Friendship centre, hosted by the Morden Chamber of Commerce.

A question-and-answer session took place following the opening statements. Questions from the crowd focused on growth and unity, immigration, affordable housing, challenges for small businesses, an indoor swimming pool, and what candidates have done to advocate for Indigenous People and the LGBTQIA+ community. 

Patients and staff at Eden Mental Health Centre in Winkler are expected to return to the facility by the end of the month.

Torrential rains at the end of August forced the quick evacuation of the centre. Since then, staff have been treating patients at two temporary sites, and acute psychiatric needs are being met at local hospital emergency rooms. 

In an update provided Wednesday, CEO Brad Unger stated construction to isolate damaged areas is underway, and most of the treatment area in the facility will be functional within two to three weeks.