Portage

As harvest operations begin across the prairies, CN Rail is monitoring the impact of weather on the harvest and working with customers as it prepares to ramp up grain movement. 

David Przednowek,Vice President of Grain for CN Rail says with the seasonal decline that they usually see in shipping, they move some of the hopper car fleet into long-term storage, and it's time to bring them back out and get them ready to roll.

The search for a 69-year-old man, who had been missing since mid-July, has come to a tragic end.

On August 30, a cat crate bearing Stewart Campbell’s last name was found in a wooded area of a field roughly three kilometres southwest of Springstein, Manitoba. The discovery prompted renewed search efforts by the Stonewall RCMP’s Search and Rescue team, alongside volunteers from Winnipeg Search and Rescue.

Two days later, on September 1, Campbell was found deceased in the area.

Portage la Prairie residents are in for a cool, unsettled stretch of weather this week, just as students prepare to head back to class on Thursday.

Environment Canada meteorologist Crawford Luke says showers and cooler temperatures will continue through the week, following Monday’s line of thunderstorms.

Thunderstorms bring scattered rain

Luke notes the thunderstorms that rolled through on Monday evening were mostly light for Portage.

Chris Leckie, fire chief in the Rural Municipality of North Norfolk, says firefighters recently took part in an emergency exercise involving anhydrous ammonia, a hazardous farm fertilizer widely used in the region. The scenario was organized with Portage Agri Sales and Agrium, both of which wanted to ensure crews were ready for a potential incident.

“Portage Agri Sales wanted to do an exercise with anhydrous ammonia, so they asked us if we could be involved,” notes Leckie. “We are the closest response unit for this area, and they would like us to be part of it.”

Auditor General Tyson Shtykalo has released a report examining allegations of wrongdoing in several Manitoba municipalities along with the province’s oversight of local operations.

Shtykalo notes that municipalities rely heavily on provincial funding to maintain governance, infrastructure, and services.

You can call in to ask host Carla Hrycyna all of your gardening questions live every Saturday morning starting at 9:15am: 1-800-374-3315

Portage la Prairie families turned out in full force this past Saturday, August 30, for the 10th annual Fun with Family Festival at Our Farm Greenhouse. The milestone event packed the grounds with activities, music, and plenty of food.

Festival coordinator Bhryden Doherty reflected on the decade-long tradition and said the day was designed with families in mind.

A new report released as students across the country return to school finds bullying, poverty and mental illness are on the rise among Canadian youth and urges action from policy-makers to improve the lives of children. 

The Raising Canada report says more than 70 per cent of Canadian youth between the ages of 12 and 17 experienced bullying in the last year, and more than 13 per cent of children were living in poverty by the end of 2024.

A Portage la Prairie fire truck responded to Canadian Tire just before 7 a.m. Tuesday.

Firefighters were on scene for only a few minutes before leaving.

Officials note the call was the result of a false alarm.

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In what may be some of the final severe thunderstorm warnings of the season, parts of Southern Manitoba saw stormy weather late Monday afternoon and into the evening on Labour Day.

CMOS Accredited Weathercaster Chris Sumner says Environment Canada had warnings in place for about half a dozen municipalities at one point.