Candace Derksen

Three new measles exposure sites in the region have been identified by Manitoba Public Health. 

They are:
Winkler Mennonite Church, 31 Willowdale Cres., Winkler, May 8 from 7:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Gretna Elementary School, Box 90, 622 9th St., Gretna, May 5, 7 and 8 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Bus #38 before and after school, servicing Gretna Elementary School on May 5, 7 and 8 from 7:50 a.m. to 11 a.m., and 3:30 p.m. to 6:20 p.m.

Local fire fighters have packed up their gear and are out east in the R.M. of Piney helping in the wildfire effort.

As of Thursday morning, the fire had reached 7,886 hectares in size and remained 3.5 kilometres away from the townsite of Woodridge. The fire is 1.3 kilometres away from the townsite of Badger. 

Greg Zimmerman is Chief of Altona/Rhineland Emergency Services and is also Coordinator for the Pembina Triangle Mutual Aid District, which responded to a request for assistance with a task force made up of fire fighters from departments across the region. 

Border Land School Division (BLSD) officials are keeping an eye on the wildfire burning in the Carrick/Badger area.

While none of the people evacuated from Carrick or Badger are students or staff from the division, that is not the case for staff living in Woodridge who were evacuated Wednesday evening, noted Superintendent Krista Curry. She says the division has told staff and families to stay safe and follow evacuation orders, adding they'll be checking in with those affected to see how they can be supported.

A man from Zhoda was arrested after a side-by-side rollover late Saturday night, into Sunday.
    
Officers with Emerson RCMP, along with emergency medical and local fire services, responded to the incident at midnight in the R.M. of Stuartburn.
    
Authorities say the 19-year-old passenger in the side-by-side, from the R.M. of St. Andrews, was ejected from the vehicle and brought to hospital via STARS with non-life-threatening injuries.
    

Morden police are looking for a suspect they say was involved in an armed robbery in the city last week Thursday.
    
According to the department, officers were called to a hold-up alarm at a business on Thornhill Street, however, the suspect had already fled by the time they arrived. 
    
Upon investigation, police determined that a lone man walked into the business, brandished a weapon and demanded the store employee hand over goods.
    

The Town of Altona is embarking on a project it says will further push it towards climate resiliency.

Council will use a $15,000 grant, under the province's Climate Action Plan, to create a climate risk assessment and adaptation plan for the community.

The work will be divided in two phases. 

Phase 1, explained Mayor Harv Schroeder, is the assessment. It will establish context, identify risks, assess, compare and rank those risks and then identify risk mitigation and adaptation measures

Two motorists were temporarily pulled off the road by Morden police officers this past week after they blew warnings on the Roadside Screening Device.
    
The first fell subject to the test after police spotted an open beer can next to the driver, in their cup holder, during a traffic stop.
    
The second provided a sample after officers smelled liquor coming from their breath, also during a traffic stop.
    
Each driver was issued a 72-hour driving suspension, their vehicles impounded for 3 days and fined $400.

Please note the school division listed in the story has been corrected with new information from the RCMP

Eight children were taken to hospital with minor injuries after a two-vehicle crash, involving a school bus, Tuesday morning near Haywood, in the R.M. of Grey.
    
According to the initial RCMP investigation, a tractor was collecting debris being pushed by a southbound grader on Road 37W when it was rear-ended by the school bus. The grader was not involved.

For an impressive 22 years, Friesens has qualified as one of Deloitte's Best Managed Companies in Canada, and this year is no different. The Altona-based book manufacturer has once again earned the title. 

"This prestigious designation is a testament to our strategy, culture, innovation, leadership, and financial performance," stated the company in a news release submitted to PembinaValleyOnline.

The Manitoba government is creating an all-party committee to explore the future of local journalism.

Premier Wab Kinew says by studying the matter, the goal is to figure out how the province can support local media, adding he believes having a good media environment is essential for our democracy.