Westman

Funeral For:  Maria Mary Wiebe 
Funeral Date: August 11, 2025 
Maria Mary Wiebe, 103, of Grunthal formerly of Niverville, passed away Monday, August 4th at Menno Home. She is survived by 2 brothers, many nieces and nephews and friends. 
The funeral service for Maria Mary Wiebe will be held Monday, August 11th at 11am at Birchwood Funeral Chapel with burial at Hespeler Cemetery, Nivervile. 
Viewing will be at the chapel prior to the service.  
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Faith Mission. 

Administrators say federal government needs to build more trust into the Advance Payment Program

Administrators of the Advance Payments Program say Ottawa should stop treating farmers as if they are going to default on repayments.

They said the application process should be streamlined and the program made simpler and more consistent.

Dave Gallant, vice-president of finance and APP operations at the Canadian Canola Growers Association, said the CCGA administers about $2.5 billion in advances each year on behalf of the federal government.

The Killarney-Turtle Mountain Arts Council (KTMAC) is hosting a special exhibition this month of August that will feature the works of their own members, and the Opening Reception for that is this evening!  All are welcome to attend the meet and greet and enjoy an evening at the Heritage Home for the Arts gallery.

The Riverbank Discovery Centre is hosting their first Seniors Days event this Friday and Saturday, bringing special speakers who will be sharing on their experiences that will be most interesting to participants.

Members of the Brandon Garden Club will be on site, Westman Naturalists will be sharing on birding, and sculptor Peter Sawatzky will be sharing on his beautiful bronze sculptures that are on display in the sculpture garden.  As well, local artist Wheming Zhao will be sharing his story on his passion for painting.  But there are more - please see the posters below!

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service says it's dealing with a growing number of immigration security screening requests — and immigration lawyers say their clients are coping with long delays as a result.

The intelligence agency says in its latest annual report it received over 538,000 screening requests from immigration and border officials in 2024. The agency began to see a significant increase in requests in 2023, when it received over 493,200 requests. Before that, CSIS received roughly 300,000 security screening requests annually over the previous five years.

The sport of pickleball has become a sensation for all ages, and the President of Pickleball Manitoba, Ted Fardoe, couldn't be happier with where they are, or more excited for where the sport is going. 

About a month ago, in Carman, four special seed packets with a rich background found their way to MCC’s plant sale. 

The tomatoes were called Tundra, Chinook, Cowboy, and Ruby Slippers, and the mindfully written descriptions of the unique breeds ranged from “meaty” and “rich and smooth” to “rusty brown” and “old school.”  

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew accused a group of Republicans of throwing a "timber tantrum" and playing "political games" after they called out Canada over wildfires sending smoke billowing across the international border into their states.

"These are attention-seekers who can't come up with a good idea on health care or on making life more affordable," Kinew told The Canadian Press. "So they're playing games with something that's very serious."

With harvest approaching, farmers will want to start thinking about pre-harvest intervals (PHI) before applying any pesticides and or fungicides to the crop.

The PHI refers to the minimum number of days between a pesticide application and swathing or straight combining of a crop and reflects the time required for pesticides to break down after being applied.

The Manitoba Canola Growers Association are looking for producer input to help shape the organization's future.

Since 1982, the organization has been farmer-funded and farmer-focused.

Over the years, MCGA has evolved to meet the changing needs of the industry and farmers.

Farmers are being asked to share their thoughts as the organization looks to the future.

When producers log onto the survey, there is a video to watch with an update on programming and the financial realities they are facing.

The survey closes August 11th.