Portage

Thick, smoky air has settled over large swaths of southern Manitoba on Monday afternoon, prompting Environment Canada and Manitoba Health to issue an air quality warning for several rural municipalities.

Residents from Portage la Prairie to Neepawa are being urged to take precautions as wildfire smoke continues to sweep across the province, reducing visibility and posing health risks to vulnerable individuals. Officials say it is already impacting air quality and could reach the U.S. border before the day’s end.

Thousands of people came to Austin, Manitoba, for the annual Manitoba Threshermen’s Reunion & Stampede. A one-of-a-kind celebration of prairie grit, horsepower, and deep-rooted traditions. With four days of heritage demos, rodeo thrills, and family fun, the event continues to draw everyone from first-time visitors to lifelong attendees.  

Proven Seed is expanding its portfolio with the launch of three new LibertyLink canola hybrids and a cutting-edge TruFlex variety, giving farmers more disease resistance, improved harvest management, and greater flexibility in straight cutting.

The new LibertyLink lineup includes:

The Fort Garry Giants are celebrating as Manitoba's AA U13 baseball champions after an emphatic 18-8 victory over the hometown Portage Phillies last night at Rotary Republic of Manitobah Park. The Giants' potent offence and strong defence sealed the provincial title in a hard-fought final under the Portage lights.

Giants' MVP second baseman Ted Regan beamed with pride, reflecting on the win and his accolades. "It feels really good. I worked really hard for it, so I'm really happy it paid off," says Regan, heading into Grade 8.

Manitoba Hydro is increasing its efforts to clear trees, brush, and overgrown vegetation near power lines this summer in response to a rising number of power outages and safety concerns.

While the utility has always done vegetation management, it’s now putting more resources into the work to help prevent outages and improve reliability for customers.

“We’re putting an extra emphasis on it this year because we’re starting to see more outages due to tree contact with power lines,” notes Peter Chura, spokesperson for Manitoba Hydro.

A fast-moving thunderstorm passed through the Central Plains region Sunday night, bringing scattered rainfall amounts across southern Manitoba. While some communities saw only light showers, others were hit with heavier bursts of rain as the system moved through.

Here’s a look at Sunday’s totals from around the region:

You can call in to ask host Carla Hrycyna all of your gardening questions live every Saturday morning starting at 9:15am: 1-800-374-3315

A single-vehicle crash on Saturday evening sent first responders to a rural road west of Austin, but fortunately, no major injuries are reported.

Austin Fire Department was dispatched at 6:50 p.m. on July 26 to Road 59N and 62W, after a report of a pickup truck possibly smoking in the ditch.

When firefighters arrived, they found a pickup truck that had left the road and struck a tree head-on in the south ditch.

Manitoba health officials are reporting a new measles exposure at Tornado’s Restaurant and Lounge in Portage la Prairie on July 20 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Anyone present during that time is asked to monitor for symptoms until Aug. 11 and check their immunization status.

Measles cases have totaled 167 in Manitoba between February and July 2025, with a peak of 72 confirmed cases in May and 39 in July.

A man is dead following a small plane crash near Oakbank, the second fatal aviation incident in southeastern Manitoba this month.

Oakbank RCMP say they were notified just after 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 26, about a downed aircraft in the Rural Municipality of Springfield. Emergency responders, including RCMP, local firefighters, and EMS, located the wreckage of a privately owned, single-engine, two-seater aircraft on the north side of Highway 15, just west of Highway 206.

Police report that the body of an adult male, the lone occupant, was recovered.