Chris Sumner

It was a record setting Saturday at the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth weigh-off at the Roland Pumpkin Fair, with Lancaster, Minnesota grower Charlie Bernstrom establishing yet another high-mark at the event. The 2014, 2017 and 2018 weigh-off winner was crowned the 2024 champion with a monster that crushed the previous record he set in 2018, which was 1,753.5 pounds. Saturday morning his giant weighed in at 2,004 pounds, making it the largest winning entry ever at Roland Pumpkin Fair.

It was a record-setting Saturday at the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth weigh-off at the Roland Pumpkin Fair, with one grower bringing in a record-setting pumpkin which surpassed the 2,000 lbs mark.

Lancaster, Minnesota grower Charlie Bernstrom established yet another high mark at the event. The 2014, 2017 and 2018 weigh-off winner was crowned the 2024 champion with a monster that crushed the previous record he set in 2018, which was 1,753.5 lbs. Saturday morning his giant weighed in at 2,004 lbs, making it the largest winning entry ever at Roland Pumpkin Fair.

The Manitoba Mennonite Historical Society is organizing two unique events that will give you an on the ground perspective of the 150th anniversary of Mennonite settlement in the province. October 10th and 22nd, tours of the East and West Reserve respectively will be taking place, with Ernie Braun leading the East event and Conrad Stoesz the west.

An 88 year old male from Teulon was sent to hospital with life threatening injuries after a single vehicle collision Friday night at the corner of Highway 23 and PR 428 near Roland. RCMP, Roland Fire Department and STARS responded to the scene.

The rollover was reported at 7:55 p.m., with Pembina Valley RCMP officers from the Morden detachment attending.

According to RCMP, it appears the driver was not aware the road (PR 428) came to an end and collided with the embankment.

Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) in Winnipeg has experienced a substantial uptick in year over year enrolment. President Cheryl Pauls says numbers are up ten per cent across undergraduate and graduate programs, with particularly strong enrolments from a first-year students perspective. There are several other metrics also showing a strong rebound this school year.

Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) in Winnipeg has experienced a substantial uptick in year-over-year enrolment. President Cheryl Pauls says numbers are up ten per cent across undergraduate and graduate programs, with particularly strong enrolments from a first-year students perspective. There are several other metrics also showing a strong rebound this school year.

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.