Portage

SUNDAY, JUNE 1ST

Manitoba Junior Baseball League
Elmwood Giants 5 Pembina Valley Orioles 3
Elmwood Giants 11 Pembina Valley Orioles 4
St. Boniface Legionaires 7 Altona Bisons 4

American Association Baseball
Winnipeg Goldeyes 4 Lake Country DockHounds 3

As emergency officials work to find hotel space for wildfire evacuees on the Prairies, a Manitoba Indigenous group says it has welcomed residents from the Pimicikamak Cree Nation at a hotel in Niagara Falls, Ont.

The organization, which represents Indigenous peoples in Manitoba, said in a social media post that the first of the evacuees from Pimicikamak were greeted Sunday at the airport in Hamilton with snacks and drinks before being loaded onto a bus for the last portion of their trip.

Canada's premiers are heading into to a meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney in Saskatoon Monday armed with their wish lists for major "nation-building" projects that could buttress the economy in the face of a U.S. trade war.

Carney asked the premiers to each pass on five suggestions for national infrastructure projects, and Monday's meeting will aim to identify the ones that will make the final cut to be fast tracked using legislation Ottawa may introduce as early as this week.

Portage la Prairie’s graduating class of 1975 is turning back the clock.

A dedicated committee of seniors is actively planning their landmark 50th reunion, set for Saturday, September 6th, 2025, at their alma mater, Portage Collegiate Institute (PCI). Fueled by half a century of memories and a desire to reconnect, the group gathers regularly to map out the celebration.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Plains is teeing up for a busy summer of fundraising, with two major events aimed at supporting its youth mentoring programs.

The organization, which relies on fundraising, grants and donations for approximately 80 per cent of its annual budget, is bringing back its Ultimate 90-Hole Golf Marathon on June 19 at the Portage Golf Club. Executive Director Dawn Froese notes that the event's popularity has led to its return.

Canada Post has rejected a request from the union representing about 55,000 of its workers to send their ongoing labour dispute to binding arbitration.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers made the request in a statement Saturday, saying it was inviting Canada Post to a fair, final and binding arbitration process to resolve negotiations that have dragged on for months without producing a new collective agreement. 

As smoke damage from wildfires begins to impact homes and businesses across Manitoba, WINMAR Property Restoration Specialists are stepping up to help communities weather the storm – and much more. If you need help with smoke damage from wildfires, we are already up in the area! 

The City of Portage la Prairie is encouraging residents to lock up and light up as part of a new community safety effort.

The city has launched the 9 P.M. Routine, an initiative aimed at reducing property crime by reminding people to take a few basic steps each night.

Councillor Faron Nicholls says these habits are easy to adopt but can have a real impact.

Fire crews in northern Manitoba have so far been able to contain an encroaching wildfire that forced thousands from their homes, while more residents in Saskatchewan have been told to leave due to a fast-moving blaze. 

The Saskatchewan government has issued an evacuation alert for the dozens of residents that live in the small northern hamlet of Timber Bay.

Residents have been asked to make their way to a hotel in Regina. 

Residents across Portage la Prairie may notice inspectors surveying neighbourhoods this month, as the Province of Manitoba begins its annual monitoring for Dutch elm disease and emerald ash borer.

Province leads the inspection program

According to Paul Ziesmann, Superintendent of Public Works for the City of Portage la Prairie, the monitoring work is being led by the province.

“It actually just kicked off last week,” says Ziesmann. “It is not so much the City of Portage, but the province of Manitoba has forest health inspectors in town.”