Westman

Former Member of Parliament Robert "Bob" Sopuck was known as a tireless advocate for rural communities and a valued friend and mentor. he passed away on Wednesday, October 23, at his residence near Sandy Lake. 

Sopuck served as MP for Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa from 2010 to 2019, in representation of rural Manitobans with dedication and 

Portage-Lisgar MP Branden Leslie was given the privilege Monday in the House of Commons to honour the man whom he called his former boss, mentor, and friend. 

The Manitoba Habitat Conservancy (MHC) is celebrating a partnership that truly demonstrates the benefits of farm to table connections, and how those can lead to improved environmental outcomes.

It started with a $72,300 contribution from Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries (MBLL) to the Conservancy's Grassland Stewardship Agreements project. That helped cover the infrastructure costs of several miles of fencing for Souris area Ritchie Bison Owner-Operators Jim and Bridie Ritchie and neighbour Brian Powell.

The Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) wrapped up their inaugural cow-calf survey and is sharing some of the results with people around the country.

The BCRC, funded thanks to check-offs from cattle sales in Canada, put on the survey to find how producers are working with their cattle and what practices could be adopted in the future.

2024 and 2025 marked the 150th anniversaries of Mennonite communities in Manitoba and in this season of Still Speaking, host Conrad Stoesz from the Mennonite Heritage Archives is sharing true historical stories around this theme.

Funeral For:  Helen Klassen 
Funeral Date: November 2, 2024 
Helen Klassen, 89, of Steinbach passed away Saturday, October 26th at Bethesda Regional Health Centre. She is survived by her husband John, 1 daughter, 3 sons, 3 sisters, 2 brothers and their families. She was predeceased by 1 sister, 1 sister-in-law, and 2 brothers-in-law. 
The funeral service for Helen Klassen will be held Saturday, November 2nd at 11am at Birchwood Funeral Chapel with burial at Heritage Cemetery. 

Funeral For:  Margaret Graefer
Funeral Date: October 30, 2024 
Margaret Graefer, 95, of Portage La Prairie formerly of Winkler, passed away Friday, October 25th at Douglas Campbell Lodge. She is survived by many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by 3 brothers. 
A memorial service for Margaret Graefer will be held Wednesday, October 30th at 1pm at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Winkler with burial prior to the service.  
Donations may be made to Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church. 
Arrangements by Wiebe Funeral Home, Winkler.  

The 2024 golf season is over. Golf Manitoba executive director Jared Ladobruk will join Clayton Dreger on Off the Tee which airs Tuesdays at 5:15 p.m. on CJRB Radio 1220.

Josephine Sindani’s first memory of using a food bank is a happy one. 

She was eight years old and still adjusting to the shock of an Ottawa winter after recently moving from Halifax, where she and her mom arrived in Canada from Sudan about two years earlier. One day she saw her pregnant mother approaching their home, trudging through snow and carrying a “big bag of toys.”

Golf Manitoba's Annual General Meeting and Awards Reception will be held tonight at the St. Charles Country Club in Winnipeg. The finalists for the 2024 Female Amateur Golfer of the Year award are Charmaine Hayden, Addison Kartusch, Jeri Lafleche and Rhonda Orr. The Male finalists are Zostrianos Giordani-Gross, Braxton Kuntz, Allan McDonald and Marco Trstenjak.

Premier Scott Moe and the Saskatchewan Party won a fifth consecutive majority government Monday, losing in the big cities but retaining its iron grip on rural areas to secure victory.

Moe’s party was shut out by Carla Beck’s NDP in Regina and lost all but two seats in Saskatoon.

But it found enough support everywhere else to be elected in 35 seats in the 61-seat legislature, compared with 26 for the NDP.

"Thank you once again, Saskatchewan for placing your trust in our party, the Saskatchewan Party," Moe said as supporters in Shellbrook clapped and whooped.