PembinaValley

The Winkler Chamber of Commerce gave back to the business community Friday, May 30th with a Member Appreciation BBQ at The Bunker as a part of Pay it Forward May.  

Founded 40 years ago, the Alzheimer Society of Manitoba exists so that all Manitobans affected by dementia receive the help they need today and have hope for the future. As a province-wide organization, the Society seeks to achieve its mission through community awareness; individual, family and professional education; support programs and research funding. Their biggest fundraiser of the year is coming up on Wednesday (June 4th) in Altona with the Walk for Alzheimer's!

Prairie Soundscape, the Pembina Valley’s “community of inclusive choirs,” is wrapping up another season with a bang.  

Heidi Friesen (public relations/media) and Selina Lovatt (secretary) say the conclusion of the 8-week choir program will take place at St. Paul’s United Church in Morden.  

Welcome to another Made in Manitoba, and this weekend we're focusing on a singer-songwriter from Westman, Scott Dunn, who is making his first appearance on our program.

Scott was born and raised in Deloraine, and now lives at Lake Metigoshe in retirement. That rural upbringing and lake life has inspired his music and sound. His musical journey started when he was only 6 or 7 years old, and he saved up to buy his first guitar from, you guessed it, the Sears catalogue! Playing consistently into his teens, before taking a brief break and picking it back up in his mid 20s.

Prairie farmers may have to contend with rust this year, a disease that can significantly impact crop yields.

Dr. Kelly Turkington, a research scientist in plant pathology with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at Lacombe, explains that rust spores typically originate from the Pacific Northwest and the Texas-to-Nebraska corridor in the U.S. These spores, which include stripe rust, leaf rust, stem rust, and crown rust in oats, are carried by the wind and usually start appearing in the prairies in June.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says thousands more evacuees are expected and the city of Flin Flon is virtually deserted as wildfires continue to rage in his province.

Kinew told a Friday news conference that the mayor, councillors, health-care staff, and other officials have had to depart Flin Flon.

"The only folks remaining on the ground are firefighters and folks in the office of the fire commissioner and RCMP, who are there to battle the blaze," Kinew said.

"We do expect some very, very challenging conditions in Flin Flon and in the surrounding community."

Almost no rain has fallen since April 1 in Nipawin and Prince Albert 

Rain has become a rarity in Nipawin, Sask.

In the 30 days of April, Nipawin received one millimetre of precipitation. In the first 27 days of May, the Environment Canada weather station in Nipawin recorded 1.5 mm of rain and snow.

It’s a similar story across the northern agricultural region of Saskatchewan. There’s been almost no rain this spring in Hudson Bay, Carrot River and Prince Albert.

The department says producer engagement, field demonstrations and making data available online are expected of its researchers

Agriculture Canada employs about 380 scientists at its 20 research centres across the country.

Their job?

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This week has seen significant fluctuations in the commodity markets, particularly in wheat and canola prices. Following the U.S. Memorial Day long weekend, wheat prices dropped sharply on Tuesday, falling by $10 to $15 per tonne.

Farmers have been making good progress in the field; so far 88 per cent of the provincial crop in the ground. 

According to Saskatchewan's weekly crop report seeding is most advanced in the southwest at 95 per cent, followed by the west-central region at 94 per cent, the northwest at 93, the northeast at 92, the east central at 81, and the southeast at 80 per cent seeded.