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The City of Portage la Prairie and Mayor Ferris declared this month as one to raise awareness for Arthritis.

Portage Mayor Irvine Ferris says community support has been critical throughout the Arthritis Society’s 74-year-old history.

"That organization has a mission to fight Arthritis with cutting edge research, innovation, advocacy and evidence-based information and patient centred. So, a lot of our friends and neighbours in Portage are dealing with this."

Currently, six million Canadians are dealing with Arthritis, and there is no cure for it.

A fundraiser is continuing efforts to raise money for local newcomers from Ukraine. 

It's in cooperation with a local food supply store. Ryan Lucko is a youth intern with Communities Building Youth Futures and outlines how you can help.

The Portage la Prairie RCMP are continuing to investigate the disappearance of Shawn Roy Miness who was last seen at his residence on Tupper Street, in Portage la Prairie, on April 21, of this year.

"Shawn is missed by many, he is a father, brother, uncle, cousin, friend and more,” says his sister Ashley Reid. “His children miss him terribly, as well as his sisters, nieces and nephews. He was always there to lend a helping hand. We have a large hole in the family that we are hoping to get answers for."

Two sheds caught fire last night at a residence in the 600 block of Tupper Street North.

The Portage Fire Department says they received the 911 call around 7 p.m. last night when someone saw black smoke coming from the residence. When the crew arrived they spent 45 minutes to an hour putting the fire out.

Once the fire was extinguished, they notified Manitoba Hydro, as the power line to the residence had been burned.

There were no injuries from the fire.

As many hit the books for the first time this past week, Red River College (RRC) Polytechnic Portage has already been at the grind since the end of August.

Regional Campus Manager Guy Moffat says that the past few weeks have been an excellent start to the year, and the Portage campus has 60 students on site right now.

Things got colourful at MacGregor's Stride Centre last Sunday afternoon.

The event, which saw community members get covered in colour dye while strolling around the community, was put on with the funding help of Southern Health-Santé Sud, which provided a healthy living grant.

Karla Gurke, the recreation director for Heartland Rec, says that with the grant money from the province, they were able to pay for everything to put on this event.

The Portage la Prairie Fire Department was busy overnight as they responded to a car fire early Tuesday morning.

Sirens were heard in the city's west end around 1 a.m. as they extinguished the single vehicle blaze.

According to the Portage Professional Firefighters, there were no injuries as a result of the fire.

The Portage Professional Firefighters attended to a two-vehicle collision just East of Portage this afternoon at Hwy 1 and Rd 27. The accident happened just past Creekside Campground near the Little Red Barn.

Despite some extensive damage to the vehicles involved, there were no major injuries. Four patients were treated and released at the scene by Paramedics.

The Herman Prior Activity Centre held its annual open house on Thursday to the community's delight.

This was the centre's first open house since COVID-19 put up a roadblock to the whole world. Kathy Bryce, the executive director, says that this event is for the public to come in and see what kind of activities and programs they hold.

Bryce explains that the open house event is significant to the centre.

The Manitoba Government is encouraging citizens who would like to make a difference in their communities to vote in upcoming municipal elections and consider running.

The province sent out a press release Thursday reminding Manitobans that the next general municipal election is slated for October 26th. With that in mind, PortageOnline reached out to municipal relations minister Eileen Clarke for her input.