Candace Derksen/Chris Sumner

A plan to convert an old cardboard plant into a fire hall and public works building in Plum Coulee has been put on hold. 

"Only one tender was received and both the administration and Council were quite disappointed," explained Don Wiebe, Reeve for the Municipality of Rhineland. "Our engineer deemed the tender to be non-compliant, and the costs were certainly well above our budgeted amount." That budgeted amount is $1.4 million. 

As a result, Council passed a resolution rejecting the tender.

The Town of Morris has heard back from the Province on its request to make an exception to the Disaster Financial Assistance Program for businesses financially impacted by the spring flood.
    
Mayor Scott Crick says local business owners were unable to submit a DFA claim because their businesses didn't physically get damaged by flood waters, but the impacts Crick says they felt also didn't fit the requirements to claim business interruption insurance because the Town's dike never fully closed. 

The Town of Morris has heard back from the Province on its request to make an exception to the Disaster Financial Assistance Program for businesses financially impacted by the spring flood.
    
Mayor Scott Crick says local business owners were unable to submit a DFA claim because their businesses didn't physically get damaged by flood waters, but the impacts Crick says they felt also didn't fit the requirements to claim business interruption insurance because the Town's dike never fully closed. 

Money raised from an 11km walk, run or bike event this Saturday (August 13th) will support families in two communities across the world from each other.
    

After two long years, a new Manitoba Sunflower Festival Queen has been crowned. Halle Hildebrand took home the crown at Saturday evening’s pageant in Altona.

“This is the most amazing accomplishment, other than learning things from my grandpa, like I said in my speech. This is just a really exciting experience for me, and I am so glad I get to represent Altona,” she said moments after being crowned.

Reflecting on her months-long experience of being a part of the pageant, Hildebrand said it was helpful for her to learn to build friendships outside her comfort zone.

The Town of Altona is looking to take a more sustainable approach to its annual town-wide Spring Clean-Up Week.

In 2020, the historical spring clean-up program of week-long curbside collection of bulky items, household waste and large volumes of yard waste was changed to a drop-off waste loop located at the Millennium Exhibition Centre. The only item collected curbside were branches. Now, the Town is looking at making another change.

Mayor Al Friesen says a review of the event included talking to staff and members of the Altona Community Action Network (ACAN).

The Manitoba Sunflower Festival in Altona is still a couple weeks away, happening July 22nd to 24th, which means there’s still time to enter a team into the Altona/Rhineland Emergency Services fire truck pull happening that weekend, Saturday afternoon at 1pm to be exact long 10th Avenue NW, just outside Altona Park's entrance!

The Town of Altona's quest to have its flag named Canada's Best Municipal Flag has come to an end. 

After making it to the semi-finals of the national contest hosted by Municipal World, the local banner was unable to push past the flag of Saint-Maxime-du-Mont-Louis, Quebec into the finals.