SwiftCurrent

A former city councillor in Swift Current is returning after a four-year hiatus.

Bruce Deg will serve a second term as a councillor thanks to the 1,456 votes cast for him, ranking him fifth in votes out of the ten candidates vying for six openings.

"I sure appreciate it," he said. "What can I say, I'm really happy they elected me."

There are many reasons to celebrate for the Stewart and Caswell families tonight.

Courtney Stewart made the cut in the Swift Current city council election, while her father Ron Caswell is newly elected to the Chinook School Division Board.

"Congrats to my dad. I see he's on the school board," Stewart said. "I guess this means our Friday night hangouts might be kind of boring with us on our laptops. Should be a lot of fun."

Stewart's election is a significant turnaround after she finished 14th in the 2020 council election. 

From underdog to top dog, Ryan Switzer easily returns to the fold as a Swift Current city councillor.

In the last four years, Switzer has risen to the second most votes in the 2024 municipal election for city council, totalling 2,075. In his initial bid for council, Switzer managed to barely get in on the sixth seat, beating Ron Toles with 38 votes for a total of 1,568.

The Town of Herbert has released unofficial results from their municipal election tonight.

"At this time, I will provide our initial count," said Herbert returning officer Michelle Mackow. "The count is too close for me to declare it tonight. A recount will be done in the morning.

"What a great turnout. The voters in the Town of Herbert should be proud with 333 voters."

The majority of voters in Swift Current have re-elected a fixture on Swift Current city council Wednesday night.

Local business owner Ryan Plewis received the most votes for any of the 10 council candidates with 2,223 of the 2,957 ballots cast.

The now fifth-term councillor said waiting for the results this time around compared to his first election in 2009 was vastly different for his emotions.

Acclaimed Swift Current Mayor Al Bridal is looking forward to working alongside a veteran council team for the next four years.
 
Bridal is happy to see the return of Ryan Plewis, Ryan Switzer, Tom Christiansen, and Leanne Tuntland-Wiebe while welcoming Bruce Deg and Courtney Stewart to the table. 
 
For Bridal, he is excited to once again have the chance to work with the familiar faces, while also now getting to know the two new members.
 

Incumbent Swift Current city councillor Leanne Tuntland-Wiebe comfortably held onto her seat Wednesday night in the municipal election.

Tuntland-Wiebe finished in third place overall in the election garnering a total of 1,984 votes.

"I had a few butterflies in my stomach," she shared. "It's an honour to have people elect you to do such an important job and be a voice for their community."

Canada's Public Health Agency has confirmed that a British Columbia teenager hospitalized last Friday is the country's first ever human case of domestically acquired avian flu.

The agency said in a statement Wednesday that testing at Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg confirms the teen did contract the H5N1 avian flu, the same strain related to viruses found in B.C. flocks in an ongoing outbreak at poultry farms.

While a number of southwest Saskatchewan municipalities are holding elections today, Neville's mayor has returned to her seat by acclamation.

Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) is currently hosting its annual 2024 district meetings across Manitoba. They began in Arborg on Tuesday, November 12, and will wrap up in Swan River on Thursday, December 19.  

Jill Verwey, President of KAP says organizing and hosting the meetings is a requirement and part of their grassroots policy.