Portage

A 64-year-old man is dead and another man is seriously injured following a two-vehicle collision early yesterday morning in the RM of Stanley.

Around 6:15 a.m. on May 26th, Carman and Manitou RCMP responded to a report of a crash at the intersection of Road 5N and Road 25W. Upon their arrival, they found local fire crews and EMS already on scene, tending to the occupants of two vehicles, which were found in the ditch.

From Alberta to Manitoba, residents across the Prairies are out of their homes, while others remain on edge as wildfires inch closer to their communities.

The Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation in Saskatchewan has imposed an evacuation order for more than 1,800 residents of Pelican Narrows, 412 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.

They are to flee to PAGC Urban Services, also known as the Margo Fournier Centre, in Prince Albert.

Gregory Keith McLeod
October 12, 1960 – May 23, 2025

After a 19 month, hard fought battle with pancreatic cancer, Greg McLeod passed away on Friday, May 23, 2025 at the age of 64 years.

Kristine Hannah, a cabin owner in Poplar Bay Provincial Park, is keeping a close eye on wildfire activity in eastern Manitoba.

The Portage la Prairie resident and her family were at their property over the weekend.

The evacuation order for the area has since been lifted, but caution remains high.

“The evacuation order lifted from the Provincial Road 313 up until just past Poplar Bay Provincial Park on 315,” notes Hannah. “Our [cabin] is in Poplar Bay Provincial Park, and so the roadblock there is just past the park.”

A Portage la Prairie high schooler is trading prairie horizons for Japanese cityscapes next school year.

Oliver Bures, a Grade 12 student at PCI, will spend 10 months in Japan through the Rotary Club Exchange Student Program, immersing himself in language, culture, and music while retaking his final year of high school abroad.

A year of cultural immersion — and karaoke

Oliver’s fascination with Japanese music sparked his decision to choose Japan.

The Americas Agriculture and Food Security Forum will be held at Olds College and run parallel to the G7 meeting in Kananaskis.

The agenda for this year’s G7 Leader’s Summit contains no discussions of agriculture or food security, but one organization is aiming to make up for what the G7 lacks at an event of it own.

The Canadian Cattle Association's (CCA) Canadian Cattle Young Leaders (CYL) program is extremely popular. 

The CCA program was developed in 2010 as a succession tool for the industry; since then, the program has had over 200 graduates.

The CYL program is geared towards people 18 to 35 from across Canada involved in various aspects of the beef supply chain.

Cailey Church, the CCA's Youth Leadership Co-ordinator says the program pairs the participant with a mentor in their specific area of interest for nine months.

Seated in a brand-new throne and surrounded by dignitaries, King Charles opened Parliament Tuesday with a show of royal tradition — the first throne speech delivered by a reigning monarch in Canada in nearly half a century.

Reading from the speech — which is drafted by the federal government and lays out its policy priorities — the King proclaimed the "True North is indeed strong and free" and reaffirmed Canada's sovereignty while underscoring the "unprecedented" challenges the nation faces.

The Picture Butte Feeder Co-op (PBFC) in Alberta is fully operational again.

The Feeder Associations of Alberta note that this has been an exceptionally trying time for the PBFC's members, whose operations were put on hold through no fault of their own. 

Earlier this year, the province suspended the group's access to the Feeder Association Loan Guarantee Program (FALGP) following an investigation and concerns relating to financial mismanagement and regulatory issues.

Farmers have been experiencing some rain delays, but seeding is still ahead of the five-year average of 59 per cent complete.

Alberta's latest crop report shows provincially 73 per cent of the 2025 crop is now in the ground. 

The South is furthest ahead at 87 per cent seeded, followed by the Central, North West, and North East regions. The Peace Region is now at  61 per cent seeded up from 27 per cent last week.