Portage

Youth football programs provide opportunities for kids of many ages to experience new sports, and the Portage Pitbulls are no exception.

With age ranges from U10 to U16, the Pitbulls provide a place to learn the game and play it at a high level around the province.

Justin Clarke is the Head Coach of the U14 PeeWee team, among other roles, but he says working with the U10 Cruncher squads is one of his favourite parts of the job.

Portage la Prairie Mayor Sharilyn Knox recently chaired the Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM) City Caucus meeting, which gathered leaders from across the province to discuss common challenges and opportunities. She explains that the caucus serves as a forum to connect municipal leaders with one another and with senior levels of government. 

Shindico has donated $20,000 to support the cenotaph expansion in the presidents' hometown.

RCMP say they’ve found the body of a 29-year-old Norwegian hiker who disappeared in northern Manitoba while on a cross-continental journey of the Canadian wilderness. 

Mounties from the Gillam RCMP detachment say police, Parks Canada officers and community searchers from Fort Severn, Ont., were on the west side of the Hayes River on Sunday morning when they received a report from a helicopter pilot who believed he'd spotted the missing hiker’s body. 

They say the searchers went to the area and confirmed the body belonged to the overdue man. 

Employees at the Canada Border Services Agency and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service are the least likely to recommend their office as a great place to work, a survey of federal public servants suggests.

The 2024 Public Service Employee Survey asked federal government employees a range of questions about their satisfaction with their workplace, including about their leadership, well-being and compensation.

One question asked public servants if they would recommend their department or agency as a "great place to work."

Southern Manitoba could see a touch of frost overnight, a reminder that summer is winding down as students prepare to return to school next week.

Frost risk tonight only

Environment Canada is calling for clear skies tonight with temperatures dropping to 4 C. With light winds expected overnight, forecasters say there is a risk of frost developing in low-lying areas. Fog patches could also form.

The chilly temperatures will be short-lived. By Monday afternoon, the forecast calls for sunshine and a high of 23 C, with overnight lows around 9 C.

Portage la Prairie schools are welcoming students back with a series of upgrades and staffing updates across the division, Superintendent Pamela Garnham says.

Garnham notes, “This year our operations department had a busy summer. We have some major construction projects happening in Portage Collegiate. We're actually tearing down the male and female washrooms and we're making eight inclusive stalls. We've been working on that and we're expecting completion of that by the end of beginning to middle of October.”

As the new school year looms, the Portage Collegiate Institute (PCI) Trojans football team is already deep into their pre-season preparations, led by newly appointed head coach Alec Zebrun. With a strong core of returning players, fresh talent, and a strong team culture, expectations are high for the upcoming season.

Zebrun, who steps into the head coaching position following the departure of Brendon Brydges, brings experience and familiarity to the position.

The Rural Municipality of St. Laurent has extended its state of local agriculture emergency for another 30 days as farmers continue to struggle with drought conditions.

The move allows the municipality to maintain communication with provincial and federal authorities and request support where needed.

Why the extension matters

Richard Chartrand, Reeve of St. Laurent, notes, "Even though we had a lot of rain, it's not going to be enough to alleviate the cutting for hay, for feed, for the animals."

The Community Safety Office in Portage la Prairie is finding a creative way to encourage positive behaviour among local youth this summer by handing out ice cream.

Office Manager Caitlyn Saindon explains that the initiative comes through a partnership with the Portage Community Revitalization Corporation (PCRC). Officers will be giving away vouchers for ice cream sandwiches from What’s the Scoop? to young people spotted doing the right thing.