Portage

Over 200 residents gathered Tuesday night at the Prairie Fusion Arts and Entertainment Centre to support a crucial healthcare initiative spearheaded by Portage la Prairie MLA Jeff Bereza. The event, which drew a crowd eager to advocate for an MRI unit in the new Portage District General Hospital, highlighted the community's pressing need for improved medical services.

In an emotional address, Bereza emphasized the importance of community-driven healthcare. 

"It's the people here tonight and the 24,000 waiting for an MRI that motivates me." 

The Portage la Prairie District & Chamber of Commerce hosted Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and Minster of Housing Addictions and Homelessness, Bernadette Smith on Tuesday at the Canad Inns.

Attendees listened to the state of the province and there was a question-and-answer period where the Premier listened to questions and concerns regarding many issues Manitobans are facing. Those who attended expressed optimism about the government's responsiveness to local needs.

A Portage la Prairie RCMP officer had minor injuries following an altercation that transpired with a man last week.

According to the Central Plains Weekly Report, the incident happened on October 19 at 7:31 p.m. when Mounties received a call of a disturbance at an address on Highway 227 in the RM of Portage.

Police arrived and located the suspect, who was advised he was under arrest for mischief. The suspect refused to comply with the officers and struck one officer in the face.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has resisted calls for his resignation for more than a year now but in recent weeks those calls have grown louder and in some cases more public.

The Liberal caucus meets Wednesday and Trudeau is expected to be confronted by a group of MPs who have banded together to try and finally convince him to go.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of this meeting. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will face down his own caucus members in a hotly anticipated meeting this morning, as several of them plan to try to convince him to step aside.

Rumours have circulated for weeks about an undisclosed number of Liberal MPs who have signed on to the effort to oust the prime minister in the hopes of improving the party's chances in the next election. 

That promises to make the regular weekly caucus meeting on Parliament Hill extra tense, as Trudeau has showed no signs of stepping down from the top job.

Tuesday, October 22nd

Zone 4 High School Hockey League
Carman 7 Garden Valley 2

MJHL
Selkirk 5 Neepawa 2

A wild scene unfolded on Saturday night when the Steinbach Pistons and Portage Terriers faced off at Stride Place. The first meeting of the two teams saw Portage pull out a close 4-2 victory in the game, but also saw something Terriers fans haven't seen in some time.

Harvest is wrapping up with corn, some canola and sunflowers left to go.  Fieldwork is in full swing with farmers getting as much done as possible in these warmer than seasonal temperatures before the traditional cold, wet October shows itself.

Applied Research Specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, Scott Chalmers, says they had some surprises in their field test plots near Melita, specifically with the corn that dried down rather quickly.

Ottawa marked the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack on Parliament Hill Tuesday, but for the family of the reservist who was killed that day the memory is still raw.

"I can't believe it's been 10 years. It felt like it was yesterday," said Ephraim Cirillo after a private family ceremony held at the National War Memorial Tuesday morning.

An escape attempt during a stop in Portage la Prairie led to an arrest on a pair of warrants.

On October 20, just before 11:00 p.m., a Portage la Prairie RCMP officer observed two bicycles riding on 5th Avenue NW which did not have any lights on them. 

The officer stopped and spoke to the two riders. As the officer was asking some questions, the woman rider ran off. The officer was able to catch the rider and place her under arrest for Obstructing a Police Officer. 

Once officers learned her identity, it was found that she had two outstanding Arrest Warrants.