Westman

Funeral For:  George Penner 
Funeral Date: None 
George Penner, 94, of Winnipeg formerly of Grunthal, passed away Wednesday, March 12th at Donwood Manor. He is survived by 3 daughters, 2 sons, 6 sisters, 2 brothers, and their families. He was predeceased by his wife Susan, 1 sister, 1 brother, and 1 nephew. 
Cremation has taken place. 
Donations may be made to MCC. 
Arrangements by Friends Funeral Service, Winnipeg.  

Funeral For:  Tina Wall 
Funeral Date: March 17, 2025 
Tina Wall, 92, of MacGregor formerly of Austin, passed away Wednesday, March 12th at MacGregor.  
The funeral service for Tina Wall will be held Monday, March 17th at 2pm at MacGregor Sommerfeld Mennonite Church with burial at Austin Sommerfeld Cemetery. 
Viewing will be at Clarke’s Funeral Home, MacGregor Sunday, March 16th from 5 to 7pm and at the church prior to the service. 
Donations may be made to MCC. 
Arrangements by Clarke’s Funeral Home, MacGregor.

The Rotary Club of Brandon is preparing for their spring book sale that comes up in the first week of April, bringing thousands of books to the many tables that line the ballroom at the Victoria Inn in Brandon.  They always coincide their spring book sale with the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair.

"We plan this at the same time as the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair," shares Rotary Club member Marty Snelling. "This is ideal timing for our event. We've traditionally held our book sale during this weekend ever since we started."

Every spring the Manitoba Wildlife Federation hosts their annual Becoming an Outdoors Woman (BOW) where about a hundred women come together to learn outdoor skills and recreation, this through a weekend retreat at Circle Square Ranch.

This year, BOW takes place May 30-June 1, 2025

And on the Saturday evening on the weekend these gals have a live auction to raise money for the BOW program.  

Welcome back to another Made in Manitoba, as we continue our celebration of the Manitoba nominees at this year's Juno Awards coming up at the end of the Month in Vancouver. This weekend, we are taking a turn to the classical, with former Winnipegger Andrew Balfour. The Cree composer and conductor, who now calls Toronto home, has been nominated for the 2025 Juno Award for Classical Album of the Year - Large Ensemble.

The recent funding cuts at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and an extraordinary 90-day halt on its activities has put people living in Sudan and South Sudan, the world’s most vulnerable communities, at even more risk by taking away the security of life-saving food, water, medical care, and shelter during humanitarian crises.

Prime Minister Mark Carney's first move after taking office on Friday was to eliminate the consumer carbon price, undoing Justin Trudeau's signature climate policy.

Carney addressed members of the media after the Friday afternoon cabinet meeting, saying the government is "focused on action."

"We will be eliminating the Canada fuel charge, the consumer fuel charge, immediately, immediately," he said.

The order-in-council Carney signed in front of cabinet ministers and the press actually stipulates that the "the fuel charge be removed as of April 1, 2025."

RCMP has deemed Thursday's early-morning fire at Grace St. John's Anglican Lutheran Church in Carman as suspicious.
    
As part of the investigation, that includes the Office of the Fire Commissioner, Pembina Valley RCMP is asking anyone that may have video footage of the area between the hours of 3:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. that morning to contact them at 204-745-6760.

Pembina Valley RCMP investigate fire of church in Carman

 On March 13, 2025, at approximately 4:15 am, Pembina Valley RCMP were dispatched to a fire inside a church on 2nd Street SW in Carman.

When officers arrived, Carman Fire and Emergency Medical Services were already on scene. Firefighters were not able to enter the building as the floor had already collapsed into the basement.

There was no one inside the building at the time, and there were no injuries.

The little red barn that sat on the property across from the Janzen dealership in Winkler at Highway 428 and Highway 14 has vanished.  

Did you notice?  

A new purpose 

Luckily, Dale Wiebe of Winkler Bible Camp can solve the mystery of where it went.