Taste of Steinbach returns after successful year

Last year, Steinbach Chamber of Commerce tried something different to showcase local food, by creating Taste of Steinbach. That event proved to be so popular that they have brought it back this year with the intention of growing it.

“Last year, we had 380 people. This year, we’re having just under 500. We’re growing it. Last year we had a really good response,” said chamber executive director Tessa Masi. “People were very excited to have that unique experience where basically it’s like a block party with way more people than you would normally have, in a unique location, where it’s fancy but casual at the same time, showcasing local food. We got tremendous reviews last year just the amount of fun people we had and how it was different than anything they had been to before. Also the food was really good.”

Organizers plan to have a new location every year for Taste of Steinbach. Last year the colonnade of tables and chairs were placed on Elmdale Street and this year it will be along the taxiway of the Steinbach Airport.

“We chose the airport because we thought it would be something unique that most people don’t usually have an opportunity to set up a table on a taxi way at an airport and have that dining experience. The same thing last year when we set up on Elmdale street,” said Masi. “We just want to give people an experience that is a really unique experience that shows something new and different about Steinbach….We’re having planes do aerobatics at the event. It’s going to be really fun.”

Ste Anne’s Larocque strikes gold with Canada again

The weight of medals hanging around Jocelyne Laroque’s neck just keeps getting heavier and heavier.

The Ste Anne defender picked up yet another gold medal, winning the Women’s World Hockey Championship April 14 in Utica, New York.

Larocque was on the ice as Canada won the tournament in dramatic fashion. Danielle Serdachny potted the game-winning goal five minutes into overtime to beat the host United States 6-5.

The U.S. beat Canada in pool play earlier in the tournament 1-0, also in overtime.

Event centre completion expected for fall 2024

Steinbach city council were told a good winter for construction has kept the Southeast Event Centre construction on schedule with completion expected for fall or early winter, as corporate services manager Adam Thiessen walked them through a presentation on Tuesday.

A series of photos and short videos showed the progress being made, highlighting that the steel structure for the arena bowl is almost completed, and steel structure and framing of the gymnasium and beams for the lobby are getting close to being installed.

The new ice plant condenser is on the lot waiting for installation, roofing work is well underway on the main arena portion and exterior insulation and weather proofing is in progress. Soon the exterior metal sheeting will begin to go up as well.

Foundations for the final building footprint have also been built.

Cancellation of robot games leads to schools organizing themselves

Every year, kids from across Manitoba compete in the Manitoba Robot Games smashing and pushing their robots in the arena to see who will be the victor. This year due to a death on the organizing committee, the games were cancelled. But the cancellation didn’t stop some schools from putting on their own games.

Crystal Springs School and 11 other Hutterite schools organized themselves to have their own robot games last Saturday in Carberry with Crystal Springs coming home with a number of trophies.

“The games saw just over 100 students competing with 135 robots in seven different categories,” said principal Karl Kleinsasser. “The Crystal Springs School team came home with four first place finishes, two second places, and three third places, sweeping the podium in two categories, Mini Sumo 2 and Mini Sumo 3.”

Crystal Springs has been making robots and competing for about 20 years. This year there are 22 students competing in the Hutterite games.

Winkler has Steinbach on the ropes in MJHL finals

The Steinbach Pistons certainly aren't getting the hometown bounces inside the Niverville Rec Centre, as a bouncing overtime goal in game three of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League Finals has Steinbach down 3-0.

Winkler's own Lucas Ens was the lucky man, knocking a puck that appeared to rest at the side of the net off goalie Cole Plowman's skate and into the back of the net to give his Winkler Flyers a dominant series lead.

It was a back and forth affair in game three, with no shortage of controversy. After Steinbach captain Leo Chambers gave his team a 1-0 lead in the first period, Ile des Chenes own Brody Beauchemin was able to respond for the visitors.

Trey Sauder appeared to have restored the Steinbach lead, only for a referee to wave off the goal, ruling the net had come off the pegs before the puck entered the net.

MHV executive director resigns

A difference in vision and approach to leadership was cited by Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV) executive director Gary Dyck who resigned from the position effective April 19.

The announcement was made through an email from MHV board of directors president Willie Peters on Monday.

In it he states that the board “regretfully announces the resignation of Executive Director Gary Dyck”.

“MHV appreciates the passion Dyck brought to the museum during the past five years,” Peters stated. “His heart for Mennonite history was evident in the numerous projects he initiated, and he successfully guided the organization through the difficult time of the pandemic.”

Provencher MP hopes for election after ‘very socialist budget’

The federal government released a budget Tuesday with a $39.8-billion deficit and plenty of new spending in areas of housing, research and development, pharmacare, child nutrition, and dental care, among others.

There is no plan to balance the budget in the next five years, with a projected deficit of $20 billion in 2028-29. The shrinking of the deficit is contingent on economic growth and increasing the portion of capital gains being taxed bringing government revenue up.

Provencher MP Ted Falk does not like the Liberal government’s approach.

“Just the overall theme of this year’s budget which is again massively increasing and adding social programs.”

Dodgeball players earn trip to nationals in Niverville

The most elusive and hardest-throwing dodgeball players in the province were gathered in Niverville April 13 and 14, as the Riel Cup returned to town.

The provincial dodgeball qualifiers were hosted inside the Niverville Resource and Rec Centre’s AMF field-house, with three courts active throughout the day.

Five men’s teams and four women’s teams qualified for the national championships at the tournament.

The men’s side was taken by New Era, who defeated Zeal in the finals. On the women’s side, Rainbow Thunder took down Rogue.

Hitting all the right notes

Steinbach and area youth had the opportunity to demonstrate their skills and acquire valuable feedback as part of the Southeastern Manitoba Festival. Musical talent was on display in several disciplines beginning in February and running through March. Young people took to local stages to show their skills in vocal, piano (junior and senior), choral, and musical theatre. Many took home special awards for their dedication.

RM of Ste Anne raises taxes, hopes for daycare, land for businesses

The RM of Ste Anne is hoping provincial money for a new Richer daycare and land becomes available to make room for new businesses after it passed first reading of its budget.

The public presentation of the proposed $7.5-million budget is scheduled for April 24 in-person and online, and it is available now on the RM’s website.

There is a 3.9 percent overall municipal tax increase, bringing in over $250,000 more in municipal taxes.

“The increase is basically with the cost of living. We could not get away with not having an increase because we look at fire (protection), everything went up so much,” said Reeve Richard Pelletier.

History of Manitoba one food truck recipe at a time

What memories are recalled when we think of or cook Grandma’s perogies, the family’s chicken adobo, or Kjielkje and schmauntfat? These dishes are the foods that built the Southeast. Now in a new book, Mmm…Manitoba: The Stories Behind the Foods We Eat, two historians in a food truck take the reader through the food history of Manitoba, including the Southeast.

Co-authors Janis Thiessen and Kimberley Moore conducted 70 interviews with Manitobans around the province in their Manitoba Food History Truck as part of the Manitoba Food History Project, an ongoing history project at the University of Winnipeg.

“I had written a book called Snacks and discovered food history was a thing and we all got to get to know each other – Kenton (Davies), Kim, and I – here at the University of Winnipeg and we thought, ‘You know what might be fun and interesting? Interviewing people about the food they think is memorable.’ And I think as a joke someone suggested we get a food truck and we thought, ‘Yeah! we can make that happen, and we did,” said Thiessen.

Mmm…Manitoba takes readers through the cities and towns of Winnipeg, Churchill, Steinbach, Carman, Altona, and Dauphin to name a few. Seventeen people cooked on the food truck. Some of the questions asked during the tour were: What are your earliest memories of eating the recipe you are preparing for us on the Food History Truck? And, in what ways is the recipe you are preparing for us on the Food History Truck distinctly Manitoban? To what extent does that matter to you?