Audette and Kidd honoured by MASRC at banquet

A current and a now retired hockey player from the region who are Red River Métis were recognized for their acheivements last week.

St Adolphe’s Taylor Audette was named as one of the 2025 Maniotba Indigenious athletes of the year and Trevor Kidd was inducted into the Manitoba Indigenous Sports and Hall of Fame.

Audette, who is from St Adolphe, scored 42 points in 35 games for the Silvertips in the Manitoba Women’s Junior Hockey League in the 25/26 season. She also races dirt-track and plays softball.

Kidd, who was born in Dugald and played on one of the first Eastman Selects teams when the program was founded in the 1987/1988 season, would go on to play nearly 400 NHL games.

1946 to 2026 Watching Steinbach Grow: Facelifts and complete makeovers on the ever-changing face of Main

The old-timers who were lounging in the lobby of the Tourist Hotel, back in 1954, watching television and swapping tales about the tremendous changes in the world they had observed over their past 50 years, have been replaced decades later by the coffee-shop crowd at Main Bread and Butter, who remember every store they went to with their parents as kids and how they skated on the creek, and played hockey outdoors.

But as much as the world of Steinbach has changed during the past 80 years it has been its own decision maker and tax collector, there are still some things that remain the same.

Steinbach still has its fair share of automobile dealers, though they don’t sell tractors as they did back in the 1950s. There are still a few old buildings along Main Street that have undergone a number of facelifts over the years and many others that have been replaced by multi-storied buildings in the ever-growing City of Steinbach.

It may not be long before the final traces of what used to be called the “Million Dollar Mile” will disappear altogether, replaced by what may well be termed the “Multi-Billion Dollar Mile.”

Students get hands-on learning at Manitoba Envirothon

Owen Edmonds pored over a soil bag with four of his classmates, exchanging tips and scientific instruments.

The 17-year-old Collège Churchill High School student, located in Winnipeg, was racing against the clock to scribble down results from the team’s experiment on April 23 during the Manitoba Envirothon’s east regional competition at the Tourond Creek Discovery Centre. It’s the second year his team has entered the competition. It’s a rare opportunity where students can take lessons from the environment back to their classroom studies, Edmonds said.

“It’s good that we can spread word to other people about the importance of preserving land and making sure that the environment is staying healthy,” he said.

The discovery centre, located in the RM of Hanover, hosted the Manitoba Association of Watershed’s competition for the second year.

Steinbach job fair makes connections

More than 200 job seekers connected with 37 local employers as part of the Steinbach Job Fair, organized by the Steinbach Chamber of Commerce on April 23.

In a news release the chamber described the event as energetic and productive.

“Businesses reported strong interest from candidates and meaningful conversations that could lead to future hires,” the news release stated. “One employer noted they connected with two promising leads for specialized skilled labour positions.”

Steinbach Chamber of Commerce executive director Tessa Massi said they were pleased with the results.

Niverville gets first group home, will service disabled adults

The Town of Niverville will be getting its first group home after council approved the application during a council meeting last Tuesday.

Simaril, a Winnipeg non-profit that houses people with physical and intellectual disabilities and addiction issues, was approved to house up to four people with severe physical disabilities to live in a home located at 225 Third Street North.

“From a council perspective, we have the logo, Where you belong, and we really want everyone to feel that they can belong here. That’s our goal. So, whether they are, however they are, from their physical means to their neurodivergent means to their emotional and mental means, we understand that as the community grows, we’re looking to provide additional services so that all people can believe that this is a place where they also belong,” said Mayor Myron Dyck during the public hearing on the matter.

The meeting had about six residents who live on the street come to voice their concern that the home will be used to house those recovering from addictions.

SPORTS FLASHBACK 1989: Ringette players set for Asian junket

A group of nine southeastern Manitoba ringette players are about to embark on a trip of a lifetime, as they take their ringette skills on a tour of Hong Kong and Japan during Christmas break.

The girls are part of a group of 30 ringette players from across the province, taking part in the Far East Ringette Tour. The girls range in age from 11-16 years old.

Coach of the team is long-time ringette coach Barry Mattern of Winnipeg, who will be conducting his tenth goodwill exhibition tour. This will be the second time he has taken a team to Japan, receiving an invitation to return following a similar tour four years ago.

The team will leave Winnipeg, December 26, and return on January 10.

1946 -2026 Watching Steinbach Grow: Steinbach Hatchery earns splendid reputation

SEPTEMBER 25, 1959—Go into just about any district where people keep high-grade laying hens between the Ontario boundary and the Red River and chances are you will find a good percentage of the poultry originated at the Steinbach Hatchery.

The Steinbach Hatchery was the first in rural Manitoba to install a mill for the manufacturing of the new highly popular pellet feeds. The company is the holder of the third highest award for Honegger franchise hatcheries in the world, and has the distinction of being, by many years, the first hatchery established in this part of Manitoba.

To get the full story on the Steinbach Hatchery, one must talk to the firm’s manager, Peter F. Barkman, whose interest in chickens and layers goes back to his youth, when he kept a small flock as a hobby.

As a young, married man, Barkman was leader of the area’s poultry club, which was sponsored by the extension branch of the Department of Agriculture, and could be described as a forerunner to present day 4-H Clubs.

DANKOCHIK’S DRAFTINGS: Niverville Nighthawks are deserving Turnbull Cup champions

When I walked into the Niverville Resource and Rec Centre to take in a scrimmage last September, my eyes nearly jumped out of my skull.

Not necessarily by the play on the ice, although that was pretty good, but just by looking at the roster cards. The Nighthawks were bringing back so many quality, experienced players I had no idea how other teams in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League would be able to handle them.

A full season later, and it turns out the MJHL had as little a clue as I did that first day in September. The Nighthawks dominated the MJHL this season, scoring the most goals, giving up the fewest, losing just seven regular season games and going 16-1 in the playoffs.

Their sweep in the finals definitely taught me a lesson. When asked to predict the finals, even though I wanted to say “oh Niverville is going to sweep Virden,” I chickened out and picked them in five, even though I was convinced they held a decisive edge all over the ice surface.

AS I SEE IT COLUMN: Recapping 2 feel-good and 2 feel-bad hockey stories

Sport can inspire and it can enrage. It can cause healing and it can cause hurt. Here are two positive hockey stories and two that will (likely) infuriate you.

BIG-TIME CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NIVERVILLE NIGHTHAWKSKudos to all the players, coaches, managers, parents, billets, fans, sponsors and volunteers with the Nighthawks for winning the Turnbull Cup as the best team in the MJHL.

That the Nighthawks have won a league championship in only their fourth year in existence speaks volumes about their entire organization and everyone working in it.

With a balanced attack consisting of four lines that can do a lot of damage while they wear down the opposition, the Nighthawks convincingly defeated Virden in four games.

Steinbach left with more questions than answers on province’s disaster relief denial: mayor

Steinbach councillors say they’re left with more questions than answers after the province responded to council’s request to clarify its denial of disaster relief funding for last year’s flood.

The city saw wide-spread flooding in September 2025 after 134.6 millimetres of rain fell overnight, flooding homes and businesses. City administration applied to the province for disaster relief assistance (DFA) program funding, but were denied. The province also denied a previous request after flooding hit Steinbach in 2024.

Mayor Earl Funk called the criteria for how the relief funding is granted “vague”.

“It leads me to believe that there’s probably not that much policy and that this actually ends up being a political question or answer every time, and obviously we were just on the wrong side of politics,” he said on April 21 after a council meeting.

Larocque’s Charge outlast Kirk’s Sceptres to make PWHL playoffs

The Professional Women’s Hockey League playoffs were sure to have a Ste Anne flavour to them, but it took until the final day of the regular season to see which of the town’s two players would advance.

In the end, it was Jocelyne Larocque’s Ottawa Charge defeating Raygan Kirk’s Toronto Sceptres 3-0 to nab the fourth and final playoff spot.

Larocque, who is 37-years-old, scored a key goal for Ottawa against New York last week, tallying the game-winner in a critical 5-1 win over the Sirens to put her team on the brink of the playoffs.

“This will be one that I’ll remember for a while. The energy in the building when we were getting close to closing it out was amazing,” Charge captain Brianne Jenner said in a post-game media scrum following the game against the Sceptres.

Volunteer fair pitches roles for all

The first volunteer fair hosted by the Mennonite Heritage Village on April 18 gave attendees a look at the possibilities of helping out nearly a dozen local non-profits.

Perhaps the most well known was MCC, and general manager Dave Thiessen kicked off the event with a keynote of sorts, explaining the importance of volunteers to their organization.

The Steinbach MCC Thrift Store opened in 1972 in Steinbach and was one of the original thrift stores, a title that includes Winkler, Altona and Winnipeg.

Currently there are 45 MCC thrift stores in Canada and another 45 in the U.S.

12 Angry Jurors entertains Steinbach audience

Attendees at 12 Angry Jurors hosted by Storytellers Entertainment at the Pat Porter Active Living Centre on April 24 and 25 saw tensions rise and anger flare as the cast of 15 took them back in time to a 1960s court room. Jurors battled as they considered the life of a young man charged with killing his father in the play adapted by Sherman L. Sergel and directed by Andrew Doerksen. Upcoming events for Storytellers Entertainment include One Upon a Crime: The Trial of Goldilocks which takes the stage on May 22 and 23 at the Pat Porter Active Living Centre.