Pam Fedack

The Winkler and District Chamber of Commerce is looking for ways to address a city-wide labour shortage.
     
Keith Gislason, President of the Winkler and District Chamber of Commerce said he doesn't recall a time like this when it seems like everyone is hiring. "We're hearing almost across the board that everybody is looking for people...it's a really difficult situation for some businesses."

After six years, Chris Harms will be moving on from the role of executive director at the Pembina Valley Bible Camp.
    
Larry Schroeder, Pembina Valley Camp Board Chair, said 'feeling a calling to move on,' Chris has taken on a position in Plum Coulee at the Harvest Church as a Family Life Pastor, however, will remain at the camp through the summer.

"We're grateful that he's staying in the ministry, that's where he should be, however, that left a vacancy at our bible camp," said Schroeder. 

The Winkler Aquatic Centre handed out 50 swimming badges Thursday to a group of young swimmers and a handful of adults.
    
Lani Enns, Winkler Aquatic Centre Programmer says thanks to a $2,500 grant from the Manitoba Coalition for Safer Waters, she was able to partner with Regional Connections to offer a program for kids new to Canada to learn how to be safe around water, and learn basic swimming skills. Although it was aimed toward kids, the program was open to adults as well.

The Superintendent of the Western School Division (WSD) anticipates enrolment in the division to soon get back to where it was pre-COVID.
    
Stephen Ross says they saw a lot of families move into the area this past spring, which he says was a bit of a backlog of people moving in through immigration.
    

Fifteen years ago, Armin Enns, the chair of the Eden Foundation at the time, came up with the idea of a vintage tractor trek through area villages as a fundraiser.
      
The fifteen-year milestone of the event happened this past Saturday.
      
Director of Development with Eden Foundation, Jayme Giesbrecht says 54 tractors were registered for the trek this year, which is higher than they've seen in a number of years.

A number of summer projects are underway in the Western School Division this summer.
      
Some of those projects are bigger projects that have been ongoing, like the new addition for the Pipe Trades Program at the welding shop, and the new classroom addition at Morden Collegiate.

There are also schools being refreshed with paint, a gym floor in the middle school has been stripped and will be re-finished, and a $1.7 million boiler replacement project is underway at Maple Leaf School.

When Southern Health-Santé Sud (SH-SS) launched a new fundraising initiative just under 18 months ago, it didn't take long to see it was a huge success. Noticing how the concept had worked well elsewhere, Shannon Samatte-Folkett, Executive Director of the Boundary Trails Health Centre Foundation pitched the idea for a 'payroll 50/50.'

Despite some ups and downs with the weather, Lake Minnewasta Campground Manager Brian Thiessen says activity at the beach has been good.
    
Thiessen says there have been days where the beach has been packed, and after going through a year of extreme drought conditions they have been 'blessed with more water in the lake.'
    

Trends over the last number of months and the outlook for the future have representatives of the Many Hands Resource Centre planning accordingly.
    
Along with a number of other community and referral services, Morden's food bank runs out of the resource centre.