Candace Derksen

Hundreds of Indigenous students in the province now have some help paying for post-secondary schooling, thanks to the Business Council of Manitoba.    
    
This year, the Council doled out 400 Indigenous Education Awards worth $3,000 each, for a total of $1.2 million. That's twice what was handed out in 2023/24. Half of the total, about $600,000, was raised by Council members and boosted by an increase in support from the Government of Manitoba with a dollar-for-dollar matching commitment.

After a one-year hiatus, Altona's popular Community Christmas Day Dinner is making a return this season.

Margarita moved to the community from Toronto two years ago and has taken over coordinating the over-30-year-old tradition.

It all started with a conversation during a volunteer shift at the Rhineland and Area Foodbank.

A homeowner in Plum Coulee got an unexpected wake-up call very early Friday morning.
    
According to the Altona Police Service, a man was banging on the caller's door at 4:30 a.m. and, when the homeowner answered, found the man in emotional distress and complaining of chest pains. The man also told the homeowner that he'd walked to Plum Coulee from Boundary Trails Health Centre, located between Winkler and Morden. 
    
Altona police and paramedics responded to the situation, and medics returned the man to hospital.

The numbers are in, and the Morris and Altona Tim Hortons Holiday Smile Cookie campaign raised tens of thousands of dollars for the respective communities.
    
According to Rupesh Patel, owner of the Morris and Altona Tim Hortons locations, indicated in Altona, 12,131 cookies were sold during the week, raising $18,196. 8,161 cookies were sold in Morris, raising $12,196.

Manitoba Hydro says some of its customers will start to receive automated calls or texts about billing.

A pair of Manitobans are set to appear in Kenora bail court tomorrow, five days after they were arrested by Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) near Dryden. 
    
This includes Samantha McElroy, a 31-year-old woman from Morris, who has been charged with 9 offences for her role in a two-day crime spree that sent police on a regional manhunt.
    
38-year-old, Nathan Schroeder of Winnipeg, has been charged with 21 offences related to the incident.
    

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says his government's new public safety strategy is about crime prevention, holding people accountable, and ensuring police have the necessary resources.

Earlier this month, the Manitoba government unveiled the new Safer Neighbourhoods, Safer Downtowns Public Safety Strategy, which Justice Minister Matt Wiebe says will create a roadmap for a safer Manitoba across all regions

Included is a two per cent increase in funding for municipal law enforcement, providing stable and consistent funding for more boots on the ground.

The Town of Altona is taking further steps to prevent vandalism in frequently hit public spaces in the community.

Mayor Harv Schroeder says officials, in consultation with the Altona Police Service, have already installed CCTV cameras at the Centennial Park and Millenium Exhibition Centre. 

"We've noticed that they've helped already. They are doing what they were went to," he said. 

Municipality of Rhineland Council is asking the Province to take urgent action and make the intersection of PR201 and PTH306 safer.
    
The call comes after last weekend's fatal crash at the site that killed a 35-year-old mom and her 8-year-old daughter, from the Municipality.

Thousands of smiles were brought to the faces of Altona residents on Wednesday evening, thanks to a simple cookie. 
    
About 50 volunteers set out in blustery conditions to deliver a free Tim Horton's Holiday Smile Cookie to each resident in town, courtesy The Community Exhange (TCE) and a raft of sponsors.