Robyn Wiebe

With a provincial election less than three weeks away, candidate nominations are finalized for the constituencies and Morden-Winkler will see three names on the ballot. Winnipeg's Mattison Froese the Liberal Party Candidate, Winkler's Carrie Hiebert the Progressive Conservative Candidate and Morden's Ken Friesen for the New Democratic Party. 

Friesen is very familiar with this area. 

A show of support took place on Sunday at the Winkler Bible Camp for the first Cruz for Kids event, where several cars travelled around Manitoba for Sunday morning before coming back to a car show at the camp to raise money to send kids to camp next year. 

Organizer of the event Chomper (Bob) Giesbrecht explained where the idea came from. 

Morden Police Constable Jeff Forster will take on a new role for the next few months, as Community Resource Officer working with Western School Division and other community organizations. Forster said presentations and work in the past has been done but it was inconsistent and fragmented, along with other shortcomings.   

Forster added another reason for trying the program.  

A year after the owner of Pembina Air and Mountain City Aviation passed away,  Morden's Jim (or Jimmy) Peters, a community gathered to make a difference and honour his life. 

His wife Carla explained. 

"Jim passed away last August in a plane crash. It was really hard for us, and shocking, and we are here now, a year later, trying to bring some good out of the impossible."  

It was a bittersweet good-bye as Morden's Youth Council Member, Maja Piekarska handed out thank you gifts to her fellow council members around the Morden City Council table on the last day of August. 

This year the Manitoba Government gave out close to $40 million in 2023/24 Rural Strategic Infrastructure Basket Funding for 2023/24 to 137 municipalities across the province. Based on 2021 census data, Morden came in with a population of 9,929.  

Mayor Brandon Burley explained what this means for the community. 

Tuesday morning, Spenst Bros. Premium Meats held a grand opening celebration for a new building expansion. The family run business was born out of the BSE crisis (Bovine spongiform encephalopathy also known as "mad cow disease") in 2003 when cattle prices dropped to as little as $7 a head. Garry Spenst had to do something to survive the bleak future posed to the grain and cattle farm. 

All the chairs in the public gallery were filled with business owners and community members regarding the pilot project announced this year to close 8th Street just south of the Stephen Street intersection, the only one controlled by lights. Council held a special meeting in May to close the section between the intersection and the back alley north of the Post Office from May 17 - Sept 17th as a trial for the public to gather during the day and evening, with the ability to book the space for parties, concerts, fundraisers and other gatherings.  

When Winkler's Brenda Fehr made a heartfelt plea on Pembina Valley Online for her ill-husband's E-bike to be returned after it was stolen, Pembina Valley Online received a few calls from people wanting to help. The first call came from a business who had experienced its own hardship and didn't want Frank to go another day without a bike and offered to donate a new E-bike to him. Over the weekend, Frank got his taste of freedom back. 

Former Winkler resident Melanie Friesen and her husband Jason have been living in West Kelowna for 19 years. Melanie was born and raised in Winkler, her parents are Ken and Carol Neufeld and her brother is local musician Link Neufeld from Link and the Moustaches. While Forest Fire season is somewhat normal, even to be ready for evacuation during that time can be as well, Friesen said this is the worst she has ever seen it because it is so close to home.