Portage

Alberta Sugar Beet Growers and Rogers Sugar have reached a new 5-year agreement.

The new supply agreement was announced in a press release on Friday.

Roger's Taber location is the only sugar beet processing facility in Canada. Established almost 75 years ago, the Taber facility is supported by approximately 200 Southern Alberta farm families, which supply the refinery with sugar beets. 

According to the ASBG website, those farms harvest about 900,000 tonnes of sugar beets annually, which are turned into 125,000 tonnes of sugar or nearly 2 million cups!

Last week’s Smile Cookie campaign proved to be a heartwarming success for the Family Resource Centre (FRC) in Portage la Prairie. With dozens of classroom visits and more than $24,400 raised, the week brought together fun, learning, and strong community support.

Peter Thiessen, program director at the FRC, delivered cookies to 17 classrooms and daycare groups over the week. 

"The busiest was Friday afternoon. I was pretty busy from 12:45 until 3:00 PM. So that was a full afternoon, but I had such a good time."

Jill Verwey, President of Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP), emphasized the power of grassroots leadership and community engagement during a speech to the Rotary Club of Portage la Prairie this past Tuesday.

Lack of progress means time is growing short to get a successfull crop into the ground in Southern Alberta.

Contract negotiations are dragging on for Alberta sugar beet producers.

It’s already early May, and Alberta Sugar Beet Growers and Rogers Sugar, the sole sugar-beet processing plant left in Canada, still haven’t hammered out a deal.

Jennifer Crowson, executive director with the Alberta Sugar Beet Growers, cautioned the Western Producer in an email that she was limited in what she can share, other than that they are still in active negotiations.

The Winnipeg Jets responded with urgency in Game 2 of their second-round playoff series, taking an early lead and maintaining control throughout a 4–0 win over the Dallas Stars to even the series at one game apiece.

The Jets played much more like the Jets of the regular season, and that goes for Connor Hellebuyck as well. He would end up stopping 21 shots on his way to a shutout. It's his fourth playoff shutout of his career, and his first since 2021. Hellebuyck now has a record of 18-1-1 in the last 20 home games.

The RM of Cartier has issued a level yellow burn ban, temporarily prohibiting open air burning and the use of fireworks throughout the municipality.

The restriction, which remains in place until meaningful rainfall is received, comes as the region faces persistent dry conditions and high winds.

What level yellow means

Fire Chief Dan Bouchard says the current fire risk level means only certain types of burning are allowed.

The Manitoba RCMP arrested two individuals this month for arson linked to wildfires caused by illegal burns during provincewide fire restrictions. Police warn they will enforce burning bans “strictly” to protect public safety as dry conditions persist.

Two arson cases linked to controlled burns

On May 7, a 55-year-old man from Lake Manitoba First Nation was charged after a controlled burn spread uncontrollably, igniting a 200-acre wildfire. The same day, a 46-year-old Fort Alexander man faced arson charges when his controlled burn damaged a home and destroyed a shed.

The Portage Legion Branch #65 has received a $2,000 donation from Southport Aerospace toward its ongoing downtown cenotaph expansion project at Veterans Memorial Park.

“It’s a project that we’re working on with the city where we are attempting to add two stones to the cenotaph on either side," said Bob Oldford, service officer and media liaison for the Legion.

Oldford said the goal is to raise $25,000 nothing "they still have some room to go.”

All funds go through City Hall, and tax receipts are issued for donations.

New mandate called good time to overhaul business risk management programs and other policies that could help agriculture

Prime minister Mark Carney will name his cabinet May 12, and the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute has some advice for the incoming agriculture minister.

Kody Blois from the Nova Scotia riding of Kings-Hants served briefly after Carney replaced Justin Trudeau and is a strong candidate to continue.

Follow all our Federal Election 2025 coverage here

A boating trip on Lake Manitoba ended in tragedy after two men from Sandy Bay First Nation became stranded and attempted to swim to shore.

Yesterday evening, around 8:00 p.m., RCMP responded to a call from the Sandy Bay Fire Department after a boat malfunction left two men, a 41-year-old and a 22-year-old, stranded on the lake. The pair had launched their boat earlier that day from behind the community's water treatment plant.