The 2017 Manitoba Summer Fair is over for another year with 101300 visits over the five days. “We had a great week for Canada 150 and our 135th celebrations.” Said Ron Kristjansson, general manager at the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba. “The RCMP Musical Ride and Alberta Miniature Chuckwagon racers brought out a lot of visitors that hadn’t been to the fair in a long time and they had very positive comments about the changes we continue to make to our fair; the weather on Friday slowed us down a bit and had us rearranging some schedules, but Saturday saw the strongest single day attendance in several years.” The annual citizenship ceremony held on Wednesday, June 7 set a record for the largest ceremony officiant Dwight MacAulay had presided over with 153 citizens taking their oath of citizenship. The fair organizers made efforts this year to make the fair more accessible and will continue to work on those improvements for next year. The musical acts were probably the strongest line-up in years and it paid off with over 1000 guests for Saturday night’s Road Hammers concert. The Sunday morning pancake breakfast brought in close to 1100 hungry fair goers and the stands were full for the annual Demo derby. New features of the derby included a Little Tykes version and the much-anticipated return of the combine crunch. On the agriculture side, organizers were pleased with the turn out for the horse show and the cattle show, both areas that they plan to grow in future years. Next up for the Provincial Ex is Manitoba AG EX, home of the Manitoba Finals Rodeo October 25 – 28. Visit the website for more details at www.provincialexhibition.com

Collection of photos of the damage caused by Friday's storm that left as many as 4,600 people losing power.  Manitoba Hydro is saying that as of 2 hours ago "All customers restored in Killarney/Westman as of 7 p.m. with exemption of several customers in Rock Lake area."

A 24-year old Brandon woman allegedly kicked a Brandon Police Officer during an arrest on Friday evening.  Police say they received a report of an intoxicated person walking in front of vehicles in the 1100 block of Braecrest Dr, located the woman, and in the process of being arrested the suspect became combative kicking one of the arresting officers.  The officer did not sustain any injuries in the incident.  The suspect was already under a condition to abstain from the consumption of alcohol and was detained overnight for a court appearance today.

Construction was well underway this week to convert a former parking lot at 6th Street and Princess Avenue into a multipurpose green space for downtown. The space is located on the east side of the A.R. McDiarmid Civic Complex, just outside the City of Brandon’s Youth Centre. The completed project will have a community garden, an area to socialize and a recreational area including an outdoor basketball court.

MGEU Release Yesterday, members of Westman Lab - Local 351, who provide vital diagnostic work in the Brandon region, voted to ratify the employer’s final offer — but only because the government’s Bill 28 left them with little choice. The final offer includes wage increases of 0%, 0%, .75% and 1%, and no other monetary increases. “After more than three years without a new contract, these members feel betrayed by their employer and by their government,” said MGEU President Michelle Gawronsky. “They were offered about five percent less than all other diagnostic employees in the province due to the government’s recent wage restraint legislation. They call it the Public Services Sustainability Act, but this move will do nothing but harm diagnostic services in the region.” Unlike other Diagnostic Services of Manitoba employees in the last few years, members of Local 351 will also see no increase in their shift premiums. Local 351 members are deeply concerned that such disparities in compensation will make it more difficult than ever to find qualified staff willing to work at Westman Lab. “The reality is, recruiting and retaining skilled and experienced lab technologists in Brandon just got infinitely harder,” Gawronsky said. “For more than twenty years, our Regional Health Authorities have been working to standardize compensation in our labs to prevent this very problem. People should be paid the same wage for the same work. This is a big step backwards.” Along with other Manitoba unions, the MGEU will be launching a constitutional challenge of Bill 28. Overturning this heavy-handed legislation would be a critical step in our ongoing fight for wage parity at Westman Lab. “This government ran on a commitment to protect and invest in public services and the workers who provide them,” Gawronsky said. “By not treating these 120 members with respect and fairness, they are putting a vital service at risk in Westman.”