Winnipeg, Manitoba – Premier Brian Pallister and members of the Progressive Conservative government welcomed Iceland’s Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir to Manitoba Friday. The Premier was joined by MLAs Len Isleifson (Brandon East) and Derek Johnson (Interlake), both of Icelandic descent, and Municipal Relations Minister Jeff Wharton, who represents Gimli, the town with the world’s greatest concentration of people of Icelandic descent outside of Iceland. “Manitoba and Iceland have a real and special connection,” said Pallister. “Icelanders immigrated here, first to the shores of Lake Winnipeg to found New Iceland, beginning in 1875, and have contributed greatly to the cultural life and economic prosperity of our province since then.” Manitoba boasts both the highest number and greatest concentration of people of Icelandic descent in Canada, comprising more than two per cent of the province’s total population. Prime Minister Jakobsdottir was touring of Manitoba and North Dakota, and will be visiting the Icelandic Festival in Gimli this weekend as part of her trip. The two leaders discussed the close bond between Iceland and Manitoba as well as current issues of common interest, including climate change and challenges to international trade. The Prime Minister renewed an invitation for Pallister to visit Iceland. The connections between Iceland and Manitoba were made obvious leading up to the 2018 FIFA World Cup when MLA Isleifson discovered he was related to almost the entire Icelandic national soccer team. “Families like mine are very proud of our Icelandic heritage and our contribution to Manitoba,” said Isleifson. “We retain much of our culture and traditions and it was a thrill for me to meet the prime minister of my family’s ancestral home.”

Source:  Brandon Police Service Media Release At 01:40 AM this morning, Police attended to a residence in the 2300 block Brandon Avenue for a possible overdose by a 32 year-old female. Prior to arrival, ambulance dispatch advised the female had left the residence. Members located the female at the 7-11 Store on Willowdale Crescent with BFES personnel. As Police approached the female, she threw a Slurpee on the ground and began running around the store knocking over everything in her path. She eventually ran into the bathroom and locked the door. Officers used the key to open the door and the suspect began kicking, which caused the door to break. She was taken into custody, transported to the hospital and, when medically cleared, lodged at Brandon Correctional Centre. She will be released this morning and is to appear in court at a later date, facing one count of mischief to property under $5000

The City of Brandon wishes to advise the public of the following long weekend hours of operation: Brandon City Hall (410-9th Street), the City of Brandon Civic Services Complex (900 Richmond Avenue East), the A.R. McDiarmid Civic Complex (638 Princess Avenue), and the City of Brandon Parks Office/Cemetery Office will all be closed on Monday, August 6th in observance of Terry Fox Day, and will re-open for regular business hours on Tuesday, August 7th. Brandon Transit will operate on an hourly schedule between the hours of 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Monday, August 6th, though the Transit Information Centre on Rosser Avenue will be CLOSED. More information about Brandon Transit’s routes, schedules and hours of operation can be found at http://www.brandontransit.ca/. The Eastview Landfill and City of Brandon Materials Recovery Facility will operate on normal summer hours on Saturday, August 4th and Sunday, August 5th, but will be CLOSED on Monday, August 6th. A full list of seasonal hours of operation can be found at http://www.brandon.ca/sanitation/landfill/landfill-overview. Brandon’s Community Sportsplex, the Wheat City Golf Course and the community’s spray parks, outdoor pools and paddle pool will all maintain hours of operations through the long weekend: Brandon’s Community Sportsplex hours of operation https://mycommunity.brandon.ca/ Wheat City Golf Course hours of operation http://wheatcitygolfcourse.ca/ Brandon spray parks, outdoor pools and paddle pool hours of operation http://www.brandon.ca/recreation-parks/spray-parks-paddle-pools For any after-hours public works emergencies, call the City of Brandon Public Works After-Hours Line at 204-729-2285.

Tonight, in Ebb and Flow First Nation, 15 dogs will rest their heads in their own doghouses, custom-built by 30 Carpentry & Woodworking students at Assiniboine Community College. In summer, a doghouse provides shade. Come winter, these doghouses will provide insulated warmth to help protect dogs from the wind and cold. Building houses for dogs in First Nations communities is the brainchild and the passion of Brandon real estate agent Zach Munn. Last year, Munn approached Kevin Poirier, chair of Construction Trades at Assiniboine, to get some help building the doghouses. Assiniboine students would provide the labour; Munn would pay for the materials, with the help of donations. “We get lots of requests. The questions we ask are: Is it feasible? Does it fit in our curriculum?” Poirier said. The college modified Munn’s original plans to make the carpentry work more challenging for the students. “We agreed on the plans. Then we built them. It’s a good project for our students because they can practise their skills in building roof systems,” Poirier said. Students were allowed to customize their doghouses with features such as extra trim, curtained doors and even the crescent moon that traditionally adorns outdoor biffies. “Thanks to Assiniboine for all their help. The doghouses were tremendous. They’re really well-built. Kevin and the staff and students at Assiniboine were very supportive to undertake the task they did. I think it’s great to implement trades programs to help charitable causes,” Munn said. The materials cost $2,857.35, Poirier said. Munn has raised all but $342 through appeals on his Facebook page. He pays for his own food, hotel and gas for all the trips. Ebb and Flow was the third First Nations community to receive doghouses from Munn, after he first made similar trips to Peguis First Nation and Sapotaweyak Cree Nation. Munn has built dozens of doghouses himself and other groups and individuals have also built doghouses to support the project. Munn has “always had a soft spot for animals. I was trying to think last winter, ‘What could I do, what could I do?’ So I thought, why not build doghouses?” Munn got permission from the chief and council for his visits. He was accompanied by someone who knew the community and could identify the dog owners who could use the doghouses. “A lot of people said they would like the doghouses when we did our sign-up list. We were very well-received in every community we went to. A lot of people were very kind to us and appreciative of the doghouses,” offering gifts of fish or invitations to a traditional sweat in return. Caring about animals runs in the family. Munn’s aunt, Tracy Munn, is the Shelter Manager/Director at the Brandon Humane Society and his sister, Farran LeBlanc, has started a mobile spay and neuter clinic, known as Pawsitive Communities. Munn and his family are in the process of moving into a new house. Once they’re settled, he’s going to approach Assiniboine for help with another round of doghouses. “Assiniboine offered to build again next year. Likely in the fall, I’ll start building again myself and then I’ll fund-raise for another trip and organize the help,” Munn said.  

Source:  Brandon Police Service Media Release On Thursday morning at approximately 1:09am, 911 advised BPS, the back porch of a residence in the 1600 block of Victoria Avenue was on fire. Police members evacuated the residents and BFES extinguished the fire that appeared to have started at the Bar-B- Que. The Office of the Fire Commissioner attended and determined the fire to be accidental.