Steinbach city councillors voted unanimously to purchase a parcel of land on Hanover Road East, east of the city landfill.

The motion saw councillors approve the purchase of the 6.7-acre lot complete with a 5,400 sq. ft. shop for $450,000. Steinbach already owns land on two sides of the lot.

Coun. Michael Zwaagstra made the motion, saying it creates opportunities for future uses in regard to the landfill.

“While it would not immediately be used for landfill purposes, it does make sense for the city to acquire it,” he said.

As a new year of programming at the Steinbach Arts Council begins, we like to take a moment to pause. It’s an opportunity to set goals for the months ahead, but also to look back and take note of what we’ve accomplished together.

Over the past year, the Steinbach Arts Council saw continued growth in participation, partnerships, and community impact. More than 160 programs, concerts, and exhibits brought people of all ages together — from preschool participants to free concerts for seniors. What stood out most wasn’t just the number of activities and events, but the way arts and culture continued to connect people across communities throughout the Southeast.

In our corner of the province, arts programming plays an important role. It creates opportunities for young people to build confidence and skills, supports local artists and educators, and brings people together in shared spaces — whether that’s a class, a concert, or a gallery opening. This past year, we focused on expanding outreach beyond our centre, partnering with schools, care homes, and community organizations to make it easier for people to engage and to offer even more opportunities to learn and connect.

We also saw strong demand for youth and after-school programs, sold-out performances in our concert series, and increased collaboration with local artists. These experiences contribute to a healthy community and help position our region as a place where creativity and quality of life go hand in hand.

Throughout my time in politics, I have been supportive of political parties working together on issues that should rise above the usual partisan bickering that happens in every legislature. When political parties do work across partisan lines, it is usually through the respective house leaders of each party and more often than not it is done quietly and without much fanfare.

Sometimes however, there are issues that are big or pressing enough where a more formal structure is needed. This often takes the form of an all-party committee or task force. In Manitoba, there is a history of these all-party committees having some positive results. There have been all-party efforts related to constitutional issues, regarding community safety and regarding proposed legislation, such as banning smoking in indoor public places. What has been common in these past efforts is that a committee is formed that has representation from all political parties, there is usually some public consultation and then a report or recommendation is made from the committee in a unanimous or consensus way. This ensure that there is buy-in from all sides.

It was imagined that this was the intention when Premier Wab Kinew announced that there would be an all-party committee formed to make recommendations on public funding going to local news organizations in Manitoba. To be sure, this is an important issue. Local news plays a critical role in our province and communities. Whether or how support is provided is something that is of interest to the public and worth examining.

Perhaps the fact that the NDP premier did not actually consult with other political parties before making the announcement should have been an early warning sign about where this was headed, but Manitoba’s official opposition, the PC Party of Manitoba, agreed to participate by having two of its members on the committee.

In Quebec, a new provincial regulation states that students must address their teachers as “vous” rather than “tu.”

It’s a significant change when you realize that the pronoun vous is a more formal way of addressing a person. Not only that, but Quebec students will also be required to refer to their teachers by titles such as “Mr.” or “Ms.”

In other words, teachers and students won’t be on a first name basis in Quebec schools. Students will use formal titles in addressing teachers. After all, teachers are authority figures in school, not their students’ buddies. Formalizing the language is an important step in creating the respectful environment needed for education to take place.

Other provinces, including Manitoba, would do well to take this topic seriously. While most Manitoba schools currently expect students to refer to their teachers by title and last name, this practice isn’t universally followed. Being on a first name basis with students sends the unfortunate message that there’s no difference between the roles of teacher and student.

The start of the new year is always a joyous time.

The snow seems brighter, the air feels cleaner, and the excitement of fresh beginnings shows in everyone’s smile. It marks the opening of a new chapter, but it also invites us to reflect on the previous year, on our struggles, our triumphs, and everything we’ve learned along the way. For many, the new year is the beginning of new habits and growth.

Much of this joy stems from Christmas, which passed only a short time ago. Christmas is, for many, a season of celebration, of family gathered together, of giving and receiving gifts, of sharing quiet moments in each other’s company. Watching my granddaughter open gifts in front of the Christmas tree is truly a special moment. Above all, Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on this earth.

Christmas holds a special place in our hearts, but it is only one part of what made the past year meaningful. As we look back, we can also remember the many parades, hockey games, graduations, and celebrations that filled our days. These moments, both festive and familiar, are what bring our community together and remind us of the joy we share throughout the year.

Manitobans can now access their health card digitally, along with the previous plastic or paper options.

The province launched its first digital health card on Jan. 12. The new card allows people to store their health card on a mobile device and show it to health care providers.

When signing up, Manitobans can ask for the plastic card options, a digital card or both. The MB Wallet app, the government app which stores the digital card, is free for users to download from the Apple App Store or Google Play. Once the digital card is downloaded, the app stores the information and is accessible offline.

To apply and find more information, Manitobans can go to https://gov.mb.ca/health/mhsip/digitalhealthcard.html

Given the crazy events of the past week, I now think I should get some awards.

When the late legendary Vic Peters won the Brier in 1991, our 2 Sports Guys show was a huge supporter of Vic. We were proud a fellow Steinbacher was the best curler in the country, and we cheered him on like crazy; we were even in Regina to watch Vic’s rink win the Brier. Given my enthusiastic cheerleading, I think I’ll ask Vic’s wife or daughter if they will give me Vic’s Brier medal.

Twelve or so years before that, my teammate Darcy Gryba beat out future NHL Hall of Famer Brett Hull as the MVP of a huge midget hockey tournament in Calgary. Yes, it’s true I stick-handled like the puck was a hand grenade and my coach said my slapshot “wouldn’t disturb a pail of water,” but I worked like a dog that tournament. I worked so hard I’m now going to ask Darcy if he will give me his trophy (which is still the biggest trophy I’ve ever seen. I think it was nearly as tall as Darcy was.) So what if he scored a ton of goals and I didn’t — I now think I deserve his trophy.

And before that, when I was a pip-squeak kid in grade 10 with a mullet, I was a huge cheerleader for Paul Reimer, who was easily the best volleyball player in the province. Nobody, and I mean nobody, was a bigger supporter of Paul than I was. So I’m going to ask Paul if he’ll give me his award. He earned it, but now I think he should give it to me.