Chris Sumner

Grow project harvest season is well underway as projects in support of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank are being combined. Tuesday was a particularly busy day with four taken off across the region; Common Ground near Rosenfeld, Hands Harvest Hope by Darlingford, Gardenland near Boundary Trails Health Centre and the SHARE project also near Darlingford.

Cooperative weather conditions over the past week have allowed harvest to continue relatively unimpeded in Manitoba. In Manitoba Agriculture's latest crop report, it was noted combining was about 40% finished across all crops and regions, with only longer season crops like soybeans, sunflowers and corn left to start.

According to a Provincial spokesperson, the reconstruction of the southbound lanes of Highway 75 between Morris and St. Jean is progressing on schedule. The 8.34km project includes concrete work and shoulder widening.

Three kilometers of concrete pavement will be applied by the end of the 2024 construction season with the remainder being completed during next year's construction season. Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure anticipates the entire project will be completed by Fall 2025.

Like a number of other communities in the area, Morris is also looking for a new curbside compost pick-up solution after its current provider, Enviro Clean, made the decision to cease operations citing challenges in the aftermarket compost and difficulties in achieving cost recovery as the primary reasons for their closure.

There will be two additional curbside compost pick-ups in Morris, August 14th and August 28th. After that, curbside pick-up will not be available in Morris until a new solution is found.

A southern Manitoba highway is reopened after it was closed for several hours following a serious collision on Friday afternoon.

The crash occurred around 4:30 p.m. on Provincial Road 306, south of Plum Coulee, Man. 

Emergency crews from Plum Coulee Fire Department, Altona/Rhineland Emergency Services, Altona Police, EMS, and RCMP all responded to the call. Eyewitnesses say that it was a two-vehicle collision.

The Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba's leadership election committee has announced further details surrounding the race that will replace former leader and Premier Heather Stefanson.

Nominations will be accepted from July 2nd through October 15th. An all candidates leadership forum will be held in Winnipeg October 30th, with the leadership convention and announcement of the winner April 26th next year.

Saskatchewan RCMP have located the white Mercedes linked to a missing children's case which began in southern Manitoba earlier this week.

On Friday, Saskatchewan RCMP received a report of an abandoned vehicle at Pine Cree Regional Park, which is located in the Cypress Hills between Shaunavon and Eastend. The abandoned vehicle was a white 2018 Mercedes GLC, and has been determined to be the vehicle previously associated with 55-year-old Astrid Schiller.

The investigation continues after several reported tornadoes tore through parts of southwestern and south-central Manitoba Wednesday.

Environment Canada received reports of tornadoes near Rivers and Swan Lake and has indicated, at this time there is insufficient evidence to confirm tornadoes have occurred in those areas.

However, meteorologists and investigators from the Northern Tornadoes Project continue to investigate these events. 

Well, at least we had a couple of days without rain before another round of accumulating precipitation rolled across the Pembina and Red River Valleys late Sunday afternoon and evening.

"A low pressure system moving across the Dakotas pushed thunderstorms northward into Southern Manitoba," explained CMOS Accredited Weathercaster Chris Sumner. "The system was moisture filled as a southwesterly flow had been pumping the region full of instability and precipitable moisture all day."

With the lack of snowpack this Spring, and melting which primarily occurred in March, the risk of flooding along the Red River remains low. Morris Mayor Scott Crick says even though floodproofing work on Highway 75 south of town was completed last year, it's still a sigh of relief knowing the community will not be facing a high water event this Spring.