Portage

A new building is quickly taking shape at the corner of Saskatchewan Avenue West and Second Street Southwest in downtown Portage la Prairie, just across from the Midtown Motor Inn.

Construction crews have been busy pouring cement and assembling the wooden frame, marking steady progress on the high-traffic site.

While no official announcement has been made about what’s moving in, word around town suggests a popular fast-food chain may be expanding to the downtown core.

The Winnipeg Goldeyes (25-35) suffered their 15th one-run loss of the season Wednesday evening, falling 3-2 to the Sioux Falls Canaries (35-25) at Sioux Falls Stadium. It was Winnipeg’s sixth consecutive defeat.
 
Boxscore
 
Sioux Falls took an early lead in the bottom of the second inning when Trevor Achenbach launched a two-run homer to left field, scoring Jordan Barth to make it 2-0.

Manitoba's ethics commissioner has ruled Mike Moroz, the minister of innovation and new technology, did not break the province's conflict of interest law.

The Opposition Progressive Conservatives had accused Moroz of being in a conflict by answering questions about a 9-1-1 service outage while owning shares in Telus.

The Tories also accused Moroz of using inside information that criticized the phone company for the outage and selling company stock.

The Winnipeg Jets Hockey Club, in partnership with the National Hockey League, has announced its full 82-game schedule for the upcoming 2025-26 regular season.

The Jets begin the season at home, welcoming the Dallas Stars to Canada Life Centre on Thursday, Oct. 9, in a rematch of their second-round series from the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. They will then face the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, Oct. 11, before hitting the road to play the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Monday, Oct. 13.

A Manitoba RCMP officer has been found guilty of failing to drive safely following a high-speed collision while on duty in 2023.

The crash involved Const. Rawanjot Pandher, who was responding to a priority emergency call in Portage la Prairie on the afternoon of June 30, 2023.

The incident occurred as Pandher raced eastbound on Saskatchewan Avenue with emergency lights and siren activated. Traffic had stopped in one lane at a red light, but Pandher continued through the intersection using the median lane at a high speed.

A Manitoba hotel owner accused of exploiting four employees from India has been granted bail following a court appearance in Winnipeg.

Jai Inder Sandhu, 63, who co-owns the Howard Johnson hotel in Portage la Prairie, was arrested in connection with an RCMP investigation into suspected labour trafficking.

He and his co-accused, Satbir Sandhu, face charges including human trafficking, benefiting financially from trafficking, and withholding or destroying identification documents. Jai Inder Sandhu is also charged with uttering threats. 

WEDNESDAY, JULY 16TH

Manitoba Junior Baseball League
Playoffs - Best of 3
Game 3
Pembina Valley Orioles 9 Winnipeg South Junior 2
Pembina Valley wins series 2-1

American Association Baseball
Sioux Falls Canaries 3 Winnipeg Goldeyes 2

THURSDAY, JULY 17TH

A spokesperson for Manitoba Agriculture says it remains to be seen what sort of damage was felt on fields from last week's hail.

Hail was reported in numerous locations across the province, and Oilseed Specialist Sonia Wilson says producers will typically leave those crops for five to seven days, just to see how they rebound, before assessing them for hail damage. 

A group of Manitoba farmers is drawing provincial attention for their role in protecting land and water across the Lake Winnipeg Basin. As part of a multi-partner project involving Simplot and other agriculture and sustainability groups, four farms are demonstrating real-world practices that improve soil health, reduce water waste and support biodiversity. 

The Portage District General Hospital Foundation is preparing to launch a new e-newsletter aimed at strengthening its connection with the local community and keeping donors informed on hospital-related initiatives.