Winnipeg man drowns in Hanover gravel pit

An 18-year-old Winnipeg man drowned while attempting to swim across a gravel pit located south of Grunthal.

RCMP said they were alerted to the emergency at 9:30 p.m. on July 19.

They said a group of friends were at the well-known location that has been used for swimming for years, when the victim attempted to swim across the pit. The witnesses said the man disappeared under the water about halfway across and did not resurface.

Efforts were made by RCMP and the local fire department to find the swimmer and they requested airborne assistance to aid in the search. STARS flew over the pit with spotlights to assist with efforts to locate the swimmer but without success.

1946 – 2026 Watching Steinbach Grow: Kinsmen and Kinettes service is a lasting legacy

There is an old saying that all good things must come to an end. And so it was with the Steinbach Kinsmen in 1992, when the small group of men, who were making a valiant attempt to keep the club going in Steinbach, decided to call it quits.

In order for a community to grow and expand, and fully get on with the business of life, its people must actively participate in efforts that benefit the whole community. The members of the Steinbach Kinsmen Club proved this a thousand times over, starting in 1951.

The organization of the Steinbach Kinsmen Club was spearheaded by George Derksen, of Derksen Printers, who became the first president of a 16-member club in January of 1951, 30 years after the Canadian service organization had its start in Ontario in 1920.

Hal Rogers, just returned from the trenches of the First World War, took the advice of his father to get together with young men of his own age and that sparked the formation of the Hamilton Kinsmen Club.

Hanover School Division trustee running on student focused platform

A Hanover School Division trustee candidate is running to make sure that all decisions of the board are made with the students’ benefit in mind.

“We all deserve to be respected and supported, and the students to have that learning environment that’s focused on their education so that they can have the best success that they can. And I want to make a positive difference in our community. I want to listen to the families. I want to learn from their experiences. And I want to be part of making decisions that put our students first,” said Tess Doerksen, who is running for Ward 3 Steinbach.

“I am running because I care deeply about our schools. I value our public education system. My kids had great experiences here…And as a parent, I’ve always been involved in my kids’ education. I’ve advocated for them when they need it. I have developed those relationships with the teachers. And I know how important it is for families to have a voice and to be able to be heard. And I believe that our school board can be as strong as the people who are in it.”

Doerksen grew up in the area and has lived in Steinbach for 22 years with her firefighter husband and three boys, two of whom have graduated from high school and one that is entering Grade 10 at Steinbach Regional Secondary School. She also owns her own cleaning business.

Penner running for second term in Hanover; boasts 24 years in politics

RM of Hanover Coun. Ed Penner is looking to secure his second term on council and said he still has the same passion for Ward 4 as he did when he first ran.

“The reason why I want to continue being a councillor is because I have the passion for working for the municipality and I get the further developments done in the areas that I’ve been working with, and local drainage and road improvement,” he said.

The ward covers the areas of Sarto, Friedensfeld, and Pansy.

He finds the people in Ward 4 to be friendly and multicultural. “I have some Ukrainian, Mennonites, French – a multicultural ward, which is fine. To me, it doesn’t matter what culture they are. I’m here to represent everyone,” he said.

1946 – 2026 Watching Steinbach Grow: Vandals give Kinsmen extra work party

JUNE 9, 1966—For two weeks this spring, the Steinbach Kinsmen have been out in force, raking, painting, cleaning, replacing windows, doors, and what have you, in an effort to get their park ready for the season.

During the winter, or early spring, vandals broke all the windows in the change-room building, next to the Kindale pool, and damaged or destroyed the doors as well. Benches were thrown into the pool. Playground equipment was carted to an area nearly a block away. In the kiddies’ wading pool, broken glass from drink bottles, was further evidence of the vandalism.

During the last week in May, Kinsmen volunteers replaced the broken windows and doors. When they returned again with another work party to clean up the rest of the mess, they found the windows had all been broken again. The Kinsmen replaced them again.

During the summer months, a caretaker is hired to look after the park, but the Kinsmen are still responsible for it. Right now, the heaviest part of the work, the annual spring clean-up, is carried out cheerfully by Kinsmen work parties. Members of the organization are contacted to see what evening they are free, and when a suitable time is arranged, they show up, armed with hammers and saws, rakes, paint brushes, and a number of muscles in their backs and arms they didn’t know they had.

Eastman Wildcats dominate U17 AAA provincials

The Eastman Wildcats cruised to a championship at Softball Manitoba’s U17 AAA provincials at Ashley Neufeld Softball Complex in Brandon on the weekend, beating Central Energy 4-0 in the final on Sunday.

Eastman went 6-0 in the round-robin, outscoring their opponents 54-21, then beat Central 10-1 in the 1-vs-2 game on Sunday morning to vault into the final.

The Westman Magic edged the Interlake Phillies 5-3 in the 3-vs.-4 game, earning a semifinal matchup with Central. After the Energy won 3-2 in nine innings, it set up a third meeting of the weekend between Eastman and Central.

Eastman coach Russ Kihn said his club, which went 18-6 in the regular season, had a great game against a tough opponent.

Six-storey seniors facility approved despite neighbourhood opposition

Steinbach city council approved variations that would allow for a six-storey facility described on city documents as “independent assisted living” on Stone Bridge Crossing despite massive neighbourhood opposition without a single person in favour except for the applicant, Bridge Park Manor, represented by Nic Thiessen of Three Way Builders.

Bridge Park Manor requested two variances. Located in the residential medium density zoning, the maximum permitted height is three storeys.

Bridge Park Manor asked for that to be doubled to six.

Because the initial plan calls for 81 suites the facility requires 1.5 parking stalls per residential unit plus 10 percent for guest parking, a total of 134 stalls.

Sultans continuing quest for MJBL 3-peat

The Carillon Sultans have kept their hopes of a Manitoba Junior Baseball League three-peat going all the way to the championship series.

Powered by a pair of outstanding outings on the mound from Cedric Lagasse in games one and four, Carillon cruised past the St Boniface Legionaires 3-1 in the best-of-five league semi-finals.

Lagasse allowed just three hits over 13 innings of work in a pair of shutout wins. Connor Martin had an excellent outing of his own in game three, accounting for 10 of his team’s 15 outs (seven strikeouts and three pickoffs) in a five-inning mercy rule win.

The Legionaires squeaked a 6-5 win over the line in game two, despite trailing heading into the bottom of the sixth.

Carillon Sports Second Shots: July 16th edition

Featuring photos from a Hanover Sting match in Steinbach July 8, a Winnipeg Senior Baseball League game July 9, Wheelchair Rugby at the SEC July 10 and Eastman High Performance Centre hockey camps at the SEC July 13.

‘It will hurt’: Trans Canada Trail funding to end in 2027

Federal funding for Trans Canada Trail will end next year, which could lead to difficulties for the Crow Wing Trail if its funding is not renewed.

The five-year grant will end in 2027 and Justin Fauteux, manager of communications for Trans Canada Trail, said negotiations are underway with the government to renew funding, though what that might look like is unknown.

“What we’re doing right now is really just making sure that everyone is aware that that’s the case. Currently as it stands, we don’t have that commitment (from the government), that renewal in place, so we’re really just working towards firming that up right now,” he said.

It costs Trans Canada Trail $11.4 million to operate annually and since 2022 it has received $55 million through Parks Canada. Funding covers programing to support trail development, community engagement, and long-term sustainability of the trail network. Since 1992, the federal government has invested about $145 million into the organization.

Central Canada Aerobatic Championships held in Steinbach

The Central Canada Aerobatic Championships were held at Steinbach’s North Airport this past weekend, with results from the three carefully scrutinized runs made by competing pilots to be tabulated and posted later this week. The winner of the competition will go on to Alberta this August for the World Championships.

“We had to run things a bit early this year because the World Championships are happening in August. Our pilot that wins here this weekend will be going,” explains competition director Abram Razon.

The weekend-long contest was deliberately kept low profile in comparison to past years, where up to 500 spectators were able to attend. The reason is not strictly due to the accelerated timetable of competitions that the World Championships has imposed on the flight teams.

“We’ve tried to limit publicity and the number of watchers in aerobatic contests like this; we’re just not able to invite the public to come out because the insurance doesn’t allow it. We save a ton of money needed for the setup that way. Plus, if the weather turns bad again, we don’t have to accommodate all those people inside the clubhouse,” said Razon.

1946 – 2026 Watching Steinbach Grow: Easter Seals bring hope to children with disabilities

MARCH 16, 1951—More than two million Easter Seals were mailed out to Manitoba residents early in March, when the Kinsmen Clubs of Manitoba launched their annual Easter Seals Campaign in support of the Society for Crippled Children. (Later renamed the Society for Manitobans with Disabilities and now known as Manitoba Possible).

The Kinsmen Club of Winnipeg held the first Manitoba Easter Seals sale as part of a national Kinsmen fundraising campaign in 1949. In 1950, other Manitoba Kinsmen clubs joined in the campaign, which led to the formation of the Society for Crippled Children.

The 1951 drive for funds was the third Easter Seals Campaign, with all 15 Manitoba Kinsmen Clubs participating, including the new Steinbach Kinsmen Club, which had just received its charter in February.

Since the society began functioning a few short months earlier, 85 cases had been dealt with. Some children needed and received orthopaedic appliances; others had operations, and others received special training provided in such centres as the Nursery Treatment Centre for Cerebral Palsy at Children’s Hospital and the Paraplegic Training Centre at Deer Lodge Hospital, according to the Winnipeg Kinsmen Club’s Easter Seals fundraising chairman.

Southeast Event Centre ice back in arena

Just in time for the blistering heat wave that crushed southern Manitoba, the Southeast Event Centre has installed their ice for the season.

The ice in the main rink at the SEC was removed June 1, with the centre hosting the Manitoba Fire Chiefs conference among other community events, including during Summer in the City.

“While we’ve enjoyed seeing our arenas transformed for conferences, community gatherings, and recreational programming over the past several months, we’re thrilled to be preparing for the return of ice,” SEC director of sport programming Gabriel Brandt said in a news release.

“The excitement is building as we get ready to welcome participants for summer hockey and ringette camps, tournaments, and public skating and of course, the Pistons’ nearer to the end of August.”