The Brandon Sun, Westman Communications Group and the Brandon Chamber of Commerce invite you to attend the MLA Candidates’ Debate on the issues facing Brandon in the upcoming provincial election on Thurs April 14th. The debate will be broadcast live from the Keystone Centre Amphitheatre on WCG-TV and CKLQ Radio.  Kerry Auriat will serve as moderator. The panel will consist of:  Brandon Sun Chief Political Reporter Jillian Austin; CKLQ STAR FM News Director Clay Young; Brandon University Associate Professor - Department of Political Science, Dr. Kell Saunders; and a Brandon Chamber of Commerce representative. Brandon Sun Editor Matt Goerzen will co-ordinate questions from the audience. EVENT DETAILS: Name:             2016 MLA Candidate Debates Date:               Thursday, April 14, 2016  Time:               6:00 PM - 9:00 PM CDT                          6:00 pm Brandon West debate                          7:35 pm Brandon East debate Location:         Keystone Centre Amphitheatre, 1175 - 18th Street

If Comic Con is on your bucket list, but you're not quite ready to tackle THE Comic Con in San Diego, what about giving Palm Springs a try?  For the first time, a version of the famed convention will take place in Palm Springs California this year.   The inaugural event is being held at the end of summer, August 26th through 28th, 2016 and will feature comic book icon Stan Lee.  To travel to Palm Springs, in the winter, it is very convenient to fly out of Brandon (YBR) however, in the summer the flight will connect and delay you overnight in Calgary. Therefore, I'd recommend using an alternate airport, like Winnipeg (YWG) or even Minot (MOT) or Devil's Lake (DVL).  A good price for a Palm Springs flight is $400 or less (Canadian Funds)  The current best price I see, is $361 (US Funds) with United Airlines and out of Minot. It also happens to be the quickest flight at just over 5 hours, with a connection in Denver.  There are no direct flights to Palm Springs (PSP) this time of year.  The host hotel, is the Renaissance. It's just a couple miles from the airport, thought you could say that about anywhere. Palm Springs, is a very compact city, small and well laid out, like Brandon. If you can navigate Brandon, you will do fine to rent a car and drive in Palm Springs.  The Renaissance is a Marriott Hotel. If it's full, or you are looking for a fun, designer boutique hotel in the area, you may wish to try the Triada, or the Riviera. During my last visit to Palm Springs, we stayed at the Riviera and loved their pool area, the rhinestone billiards table and the white grand piano in the lounge.  The Best Western (as shown in the Expedia example) is also very near to the convention and priced well.  As a 5 night package, with flights, hotel and tax it currently shows through Expedia  for under $1000 Canadian per person, of two people sharing a room. 

Oh wonderful, perpetually tardy Spring…it still tends to sneak up on you…especially when shorts, tank top and bikini season is approaching. Spring represents new beginnings, transformations and fresh starts. A mini-New Year’s for resolutions. I believe it’s never too late to start over again. It’s the only way to reach your goals. I have a calendar of motivational quotes and when I flipped it to April it said…”The beginning can happen anywhere along the way…” Something about that made me feel better, made me want to get re-started, re-motivated and re-committed to my goals for 2016. What goals have you let slide since the New Year? There is still time…(trust me, mother nature is taking her sweet ass time) The Zen Zone runs a “6 weeks to May long yoga challenge” every year. It motivates our challengers to get to where they want to be mind, body and spirit by May long weekend.   I am continually inspired by the different challenges that my clients want to accomplish in these 6 weeks. The goals range from quitting drinking alcohol, committing to a daily yoga practice, cutting out soft drinks and refined sugar to starting a regular meditation habit. What a great way to start some healthy habits to take with us through the rest of 2016 and save ourselves a New Year’s resolution for 2017! Longer days, more sunshine and that smell in the air. Let all these signs of spring launch you back into your routines. Get outside, get back in the gym, hit the yoga studio, whatever moves you. Connect to what feels good for your body and let’s get healthy and feeling better for when summer hits! And bottom line…it won’t hurt for when you put on that bathing suit either…

Brandon product and former Wheat King left-winger Brett Kitt, and his Melfort Mustangs teammates won the SJHL championship tonight defeating the Flin Flon Bombers 2-1 in game 6 of the championship final.    The Mustangs take home their second consecutive Canalta Cup Championship with the victory. They now move onto the Western Canada Cup being held this year in Estevan. Other teams in the tournament include: SJHL: Melfort Mustangs Host: Estevan Bruins MJHL: Portage Terriers AJHL: Brooks Bandits BCHL: West-Kelowna Warriors Two teams from the Crescent Point Energy Western Canada Cup will advance to the RBC Cup in Lloydminster. Kitt for his part chipped in with 6 points in 11 games during the playoffs while registering 19 penalty minutes.  He spent parts of two seasons with the Wheat Kings playing in 41 games.   Dakota Boutin, a onetime draft selection of the Brandon Wheat King and Boissevan product Sam Houston are also part of the Mustangs roster.

Sometimes I go for a little drive out in the country, taking pictures.  And tonight's experience is best portrayed in a recap, on a few thoughts from tonight's excursion.  "I should go to the grocery store.....what was I gonna get again?" "I should go for a quick drive first." "Is this actually a road?" "What's that high pitched squealing noise coming from the front end of my car?" "Where'd that moose come from?" A moose.  1 moose.  Moose.  Me.  Beside a shed. In a field.  With a moose.  That came out of a shed. Of all the things I run across....beavers....ducks.....geese.  This has to be the best thrill yet.  When I explore abandoned farmyards and old houses, I watch out for old wells.....barbed wire. Badgers. Zombies.  Axe murderers.  It hadn't occurred to me that I'd turn around and be staring a moose in the face. That just came out of a small shed.  He was having a nap inside a shed. I saw something move as I was walking towards the building and it kind of startled me, I briefly thought it'd be a bird. Nope.  Moose.  Where do you go from there?  Can't top that for a night.  This is a moose, isn't it? Yours truly, Caley