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During the recent Association of Manitoba Municipalities' Fall Convention, Premier Wab Kinew unveiled a new fund aimed at providing extra support to programs and services offered by municipalities in the province.
A total of $62 million is being made available over the next five years to Municipalities through the new One Manitoba Growth Revenue Fund.
Money will be dispersed to municipalities on a per capita basis, with Dauphin's share of that expected to be in the neighbourhood of $75,000 a year over the next five years.
City officials say no decisions have been made yet as to what that money will be used for.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
Dauphin residents will be paying a little more for water services in 2025.
The Public Utilities Board has approved a rate increase that goes into effect as of next Wednesday.
The minimum quarterly charge for standard household connections will go to $89.59 from its current level of $82.63
That minimum will rise to $92.96 on July 1, and to $95.39 on January 1, 2026.
Additionally, water and sewer use over the minimum will be billed at $3.44 per cubic metre as of January 1st.
Those rates will also increase to $3.59 and $3.67 per cubic metre on July 1 and January 1, 2026, respectively.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
Dauphin came oh-so-close on Wednesday to breaking a 105-year-old weather record.
Yesterday's abnormally warm Christmas saw the temperature max out at 6.2 degrees.
The warmest December 25th on record in Dauphin was back in 1919 when we hit 7 degrees.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
As most businesses will be closed for Christmas Day, many will be open again for Boxing Day:
Co-op Main Street Gas Bar
December 26th - Open from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Co-op Mountain Road Gas Bar
December 26th - Open from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Co-op Food Store
December 26th - closed
Dauphin Liquor Mart
December 26th - Open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Fusion Credit Union
December 26th - Closed
The Dauphin Marketplace Mall
December 26th - Open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Walmart
December 26th - Open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Safeway
December 26th - Open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
No Frills
December 26th - Open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
City of Dauphin
December 26th - Closed
Dauphin Rec Services
December 26th - 7 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Dauphin Clinic Pharmacy
December 26th - Open from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Super Thrifty Pharmacy
December 26th - Open 12 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Call 204-638-3702 between those times for assistance.
Dauphin Vet Clinic
December 26th - Closed
When the clinic is closed, a vet is on call for emergencies at 204-638-3208.
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- Contributed by Michael Brossart
Making sure our roads are safer while protecting those who make winter travel possible is the focus of a campaign by SAFE Roads Manitoba.
They are reminding motorists to be cautious when driving near snow-clearing equipment by keeping three key tips in mind.
They include being patient and keeping a safe distance away from snow-clearing equipment, as well as giving the workers the space they need to do their work.
They add it is also a good idea to consider taking alternate routes when snow removal is taking place.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
More money is coming to our province in 2025 in the form of equalization payments from Ottawa, although the increase is not as much as it was this fiscal year.
The total of more than $4.6 billion, an increase of $337 million, or a 7.7 per cent increase over this year's level.
It follows a 24 per cent jump last year.
Equalization is a federally-funded program that gives money to poorer provinces so that they can offer similar services to richer provinces at comparable tax rates.
The program is based on a complex calculation of each province's ability to raise its own revenues, and Manitoba is the only western province that receives equalization.
Manitoba Finance Minister Adrien Sala says he will look at the federal funding as he prepares the next provincial budget.
Equalization payments from Ottawa account for more than 15 per cent of the Manitoba government's revenues.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
A super shopper, sniper fire, an unknown animal, a phantom driver, and a deer in the shape of a pole were the top five cases of suspected fraud that Manitoba Public Insurance’s Special Investigations Unit investigated over the past year.
MPI released the list of unique fraud cases uncovered by their SIU team, as part of efforts that saved Manitoba ratepayers $15 million dollars in attempted auto frauds this year.
MPI reported closing 3,548 investigations in 2024.
Anyone with information about auto insurance fraud is encouraged to call the MPI TIPS Line at 1-877-985-8477, or submit information online at mpi.mb.ca.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
A Christmas tradition that's nearly 70 years old has once again opened its phone lines and website.
Major Jennie Derenzis with the Royal Canadian Air Force says NORAD's Santa Tracker all started with a child calling a wrong number.
"The Airforce Colonel who answered that call realized the confusion but was capable of answering the question due to what they were doing, their mission, thinking 'Hey, I have the capacity to answer this' so he had his staff confirm where Santa was, and it began the magical santa NORAD connection all these years."
Since then, you can call 1877 HI NORAD every Christmas Eve to find Santa's real-time location.
You can also go to noradsanta.org to find the real-time tracker, as well as a history of the program, online activities, and details of the Christmas celebrations around the world.
NORAD's radar and satellite arrays help them track the big man in red and secure air and sea borders 365 days a year.
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- Contributed by Michael Brossart
Applications for Manitoba's new plastic health cards will have to wait for the new year.
After delays from the postal strike, the latest timeline has health card applications delayed to mid-January.
In previous statements on social media, Premier Wab Kinew stated that these new health cards will feature artwork of the northern lights, a QR code for easy scanning and access, and a digital copy that can be saved on phones.
While the total cost is unclear, current estimates are $1.67 per card, similar to the COVID-19 cards.
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- Contributed by Michael Brossart
The province has released its Multi-year Infrastructure Investment strategy.
The report outlines planned capital investments for highway, airport, water-related and general infrastructure over the next five years.
Among the projects in the report are improvements to the intersection of Highway 5 and the Trans Canada Highway, which will see work continue on an investigation to evaluate road safety and engineering characteristics of the intersection, with a view towards designing and reconstructing it to improve safety.
17 seniors from the Dauphin area were killed and 8 others were injured at that intersection when their bus collided with a semi-truck in June of 2023.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
Assiniboine College is set to present its 2025 Parkland Campus Alumni Awards on February 4th.
A total of four people will be recognized that night, including Elder Phyllis Racette as the Distinguished Alumni Award winner.
The One to Watch Alumni Award will have two recipients this year - Bryn Thiele and Blessing Chukwunonso, while current Parkland Campus Learning Strategist Kristy DeSender will receive the Excellence in Education award.
A special event to recognize the winners will be held at the Watson Arts Centre.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
