PembinaValley

Altona/Rhineland Emergency Services (ARES) has a new piece of equipment and it'll help crews fight grass fires. 

The department was gifted a fire skid by Global Medical, a non-profit agency based in Alberta, earlier this summer. It's one of 32 donated to fire departments across Manitoba to help in the fight against the wildfires. 

As Fire Chief Greg Zimmerman explained, it's a 250 gallon tank equipped with a small pump and a hose reel that fits in the back of a pick up truck.

The Winkler Farmers’ Market has been in full bloom this season, having moved locations to the parking lot of Central Station earlier this summer. Market organizer Matt Friesen shared that the location shift has led to more community connections and opportunities, especially through the Manitoba Community Food Currency Program, which is offered through Central Station. 

Today marks the start of a special few days for the U15 AAA Central Energy, not just because they'll be competing against some of the top teams in the country, but also because they are the host team.

Preparation

Morden's city council is preparing for 20 years into the future, hoping to provide sustainability, consistency in planning, and follow through with three new plans, called 'Shaping Morden's Future Together.'

According to the City of Morden website, these plans will help prepare for the goal of 20,000 residents by the year 2045.

Manitoba country artist Byron Falk says fans have been waiting for new music, and now it’s "finally" here. His latest single Stare into the Sun has officially been released, and added to our local music lists here at Golden West, marking a fresh chapter for the cattle-ranching singer-songwriter.

“I’ve always thought songs belong as a package… when you listen to these songs, you’re gonna feel something...” - Byron Falk, on the idea of releasing his next EP. 

Winkler firefighters continue to assist the wildfire fighting effort in Leaf Rapids. Winkler Fire Chief Richard Paetzold has provided an update on the department’s involvement. 

“We've got one crew, still in Leaf Rapids helping out the Office of Fire Commissioner with protecting that community there and slated to come home at the end of this week,” said Paetzold, “So, time to service our equipment and see whether anything else is required after that.” 

The head of the Canada's police chiefs association says they are guided by "outdated and inadequate" laws that were never designed to take on the current criminal landscape that no longer respects international borders. 

Thomas Carrique, president of the Association of Chiefs of Police, said police would have been in a better place to "disrupt" transnational crime, if the federal government had listened to his group in 2001, when it last proposed legislative changes. 

Images from space and artificial intelligence can help detect areas prone to extreme wildfires, researchers suggest, after satellite photos showed dry parts of Manitoba ahead of its devastating wildfire season.

Scientists from the University of Ottawa and Université Laval in Quebec used data collected by NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Drought Monitor to review areas hit by fast-moving blazes in late spring.

August 7th marked a new chapter for the village of Neubergthal, the first ever organized farmers market!

The Inspiration

Ron Martens is the market coordinator for the new Neubergthal Farmers Market and touched on how the market finally came to be, "people have been growing gardens for years, decades... but nobody's come together in a farmers market kind of venue that I'm aware of here in the village to do this. 

China announced a 75.8 per cent preliminary tariff on Canadian canola on Tuesday, following an anti-dumping investigation launched last year in response to Canada's tax on Chinese electric vehicles.

China's Ministry of Commerce published the details of the plan on Tuesday, claiming the "dumping" of Canadian canola into the Chinese market is hurting its domestic canola oil market.