Portage

Members of the Oakville and Portage 4-H Clubs are ready to show off a year’s worth of dedication at their upcoming Steer and Lamb Sale this Friday, July 4 at the Portage Ex grounds.

The event kicks off at 2 p.m., with a free lunch for prospective buyers from noon until 1 p.m.

Chase Wood from the Oakville 4-H Club shares that this year he’s bringing a steer and a heifer to the sale.

Portage la Prairie has earned a spot among the top eight communities in North America for best-tasting water, following a rigorous competition at the American Water Works Association’s annual conference in Denver. 

One-time grant from Alberta government to help applied research associations upgrade equipment, facilities and infrastructure

Alberta’s government has provided a one-time grant of $3.2 million to 12 applied research associations across the province.

This capital funding will enable the research associations to upgrade equipment, facilities and infrastructure.

With the additional funding, the research associations will be able to address pressing capital equipment issues.

A reminder to be monitoring water sources on a regular basis right now.

With temperatures increasing across the prairies livestock producers should be on the lookout for blue-green algae in dugouts, lakes, and reservoirs. 

Blue-green algae are naturally occurring bacteria that can be present in water bodies and commonly occur during calm, hot weather in water bodies with shallow, slow-moving, or still water that has sufficient nutrients. 

The proposed merger between Bunge and Viterra was finalized on July 2nd.  

According to the company's website, the new company marks the creation of a premier global agribusiness solutions company for food, feed and fuel. 

Bunge’s Chief Executive Officer Greg Heckman says it’s a defining moment for our company and our global team as we complete this transformative business combination.

Airports were returning to normal operations Thursday after Canada's air traffic control service said some received bomb threats early in the morning.

Nav Canada said the early morning threats affected airports in Ottawa, Montreal, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver.

RCMP in Richmond, B.C., said they received a report of a threat at the Vancouver airport's Nav Canada control tower around 2 a.m. local time. The tower was evacuated and no threats were found after a search, the force said in a press release.

Emergency crews rushed to a serious crash east of Carman on Wednesday morning, sending three people to hospital and shutting down a major highway for over an hour.

The Carman Dufferin Fire Department (CDFD) responded around 9:59 a.m. to a two-vehicle collision on Highway 3, just east of town.

According to the department, a westbound minivan entered the eastbound lane, narrowly avoiding one pickup truck before striking a second.

“The truck flipped onto its roof and slid into the north ditch of the highway,” the department says in a social media post.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 2ND

Santa Clara Baseball League
Portage 19 Minnedosa 6
Neepawa 7 Austin 2
Plumas 9 Carberry 8

Manitoba Junior Baseball League
Pembina Valley 11 Winnipeg South Junior 7

American Association Baseball
Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks 7 Winnipeg Goldeyes 6

Summer in southern Manitoba is about to get a whole lot sweeter as Riverbend Orchards prepares to open its berry fields for the season on Monday, July 7th.

Philip and Karen Ronald have been offering locals the chance to enjoy fresh, homegrown fruit straight from the source for 16 seasons. Philip says they specialize in saskatoons, a berry variety that keeps on giving. 

Volunteers gathered at Hillside Cemetery over the weekend to place Canadian flags beside the graves of local veterans in advance of Canada Day.

Bob Oldford says the group came together Saturday to recognize those who served.

“We had a group of folks came out and helped us put flags on the veterans’ graves,” notes Oldford.

Oldford estimates the number of veterans buried at Hillside is around 300, though not all are easily identified.

He adds that the section of the cemetery for the fallen is included in the effort.