PembinaValley

The Manitoba government is moving closer to changing a highway intersection where a bus crash killed 17 people, but there is controversy over the plan.

The province is holding an open house tonight in Carberry, west of Winnipeg, not far from where a minibus carrying 24 seniors tried to cross the Trans-Canada Highway and was struck by a semi-trailer in 2023.

The province has discussed three options: widening the median, turning the intersection into a roundabout, or banning left turns onto the highway, which would force people to turn right before making a U-turn.

May inflation figures showed marginal improvements in some of the Bank of Canada's closely watched price figures — a step in the right direction, some economists say, but likely not enough to convince the central bank to cut interest rates.

The annual pace of inflation held steady at 1.7 per cent last month as cooling shelter costs helped tame price pressures, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.

Funeral For:  Ben Derksen 
Funeral Date: June 27, 2025 
Ben Derksen, 73, of Rosenfeld passed away Tuesday, June 24th at Altona Memorial Health Centre. He is survived by his wife Margaret Derksen (nee Teichroeb), their children Jason Derksen, and Chad (Miriam) Derksen, as well as 3 grandchildren, 4 sisters and 3 brothers.
The funeral service for Ben Derksen will be held Friday, June 27th at 2pm at Altona EMMC with burial at Altona Cemetery. 
Viewing will be at Wiebe Funeral Home, Altona Thursday, June 26th from 1 to 9pm and at the church prior to the service. 

Winkler's Mayor is sharing a number of thank you's with the community for its recent response to help those in need due to the wildfire situation in the province. Henry Siemens says it was important to him, and all of council, to recognize and show appreciation for how welcoming the city was to evacuees, even though the Meridian Exhibition Centre was not called upon for use by Manitoba Emergency Measures Organization.

The Liberal government will table a bill this fall introducing stricter bail conditions and sentencing for some crimes, particularly those involving organized crime, human trafficking, home invasion and car theft, Justice Minister Sean Fraser said in an interview.

"It's perhaps obvious, given the tenor around the criminal justice system, that reforms are in order," Fraser told The Canadian Press.

Altona police are investigating after a shopper walked out of a local grocery store without paying last week Monday.
    
According to the report made to police, the suspect spoke to staff at the store in a distracting manner before leaving with a bag full of items.

He was observed driving away in a dodge pickup truck. Check out the photo below.

Veteran ball player Ryan Gerbrandt has represented the Altona Bisons on the diamond for years and recently, he also took his skills as a fire fighter up north to help people in need.

Looking back over the year so far, Gerbrandt says there are positives but also room to grow. "We've got a good group of core guys out and we're also getting younger every year, which is really exciting to see the program continue on. We feel that the team has allowed a few wins to slip from our grasp a little bit, but overall, we're starting to go in the right direction."

Visitors to Sawatzky’s Furniture & Appliances in Winkler are in for a big surprise. Owner Layal Jadhav shares that it’s a complete reimagining of the appliance department.

“Brand new, exciting, beautifully curated kitchens”

“We've transformed our entire appliance department. We've done brand new kitchens, we've added new product to the floor, we've expanded,” Jadhav says. “So absolutely brand new, exciting, beautifully curated kitchens.”

Today, Morden Collegiate Institute (MCI) grade twelve students will celebrate graduation, starting with pictures at the Research Centre, crossing the stage to receive their diplomas, and enjoying a meal with their family before heading to Safe Grad for one last night with their class at the Access Event Centre. 

12 year reflection

Valedictorian Lane Fehr reflected on the last twelve to thirteen years with the class of 2025. 

Jenelle Neufeld, who has been working with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Pembina Valley as the organization’s executive director for the past six years, says her favourite part of what she does is the impact it has on the community. 

One of the groups that sees this impact is fifth- and sixth-grade girls, for whom the organization's women-led GROW youth workshop has been developed.