2025 in Review: Looking back at the year that was

January

The City of Steinbach and the RM of Hanover are at odds over Hanover’s rezoning of land on the west side of Highway 12, south of Provincial Road 311, from Agriculture Limited to Rural Industrial. The parcel has three agricultural businesses already on it. The city claimed Hanover didn’t follow the provisions of the RM of Hanover development plan, provincial land use policies, and the joint Steinbach/Hanover annexation agreement. The RM disagreed saying the businesses are compliant with the Agriculture Limited zone and operate under conditional use orders and that the change to Rural Industrial better represents the existing land use, which is in a transitional zone between the RM and the city.

Premier Wab Kinew announced a permanent 10 percent cut to the provincial fuel tax beginning Jan.1. The 12.5 cent per litre fuel tax rate will be applied to gasoline and diesel across the province. It’s expected the resumption of this tax will bring in $312 million in annual revenue.

Construction has begun on the 95-bed personal care home in Lac du Bonnet. The facility will serve Lac du Bonnet and the surrounding communities, fulfilling one step in the province’s commitment to build more long-term care facilities throughout the province.

An attempt by Hanover School Division trustee Danielle Funk to get board accountability regarding transparency and code of conduct was defeated by seven trustees. Funk’s motion asks for an independent and external reviewer to conduct a comprehensive review of governance practices and the effectiveness of the board’s code of conduct.

HyLife is given the naming rights of the Southeast Event Centre, with the tagline, “Fuelled by Pork”. The Southeast Events Group, raised $25.5 million in private funding, which represents 34 percent of the total cost of the $74 million, 94,000 sq. ft. facility.

Provencher MP Ted Falk calls the resignation of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “disappointing.”

Vita Winter Festival is cancelled this year due to a lack of volunteers and committee members. The festival, which started as an event for dog sledders, has been in operation for five years (excluding the COVID pandemic) with sledders coming all the way from Alaska and Quebec and attracting visitors from the Southeast.

A cyberattack on the student information system provider PowerSchool, which provides services to all four school divisions in the Southeast, affected school data for thousands of students and staff.

Manitoba RCMP have started patrolling the border with a Black Hawk helicopter in order to secure the border and prevent human and drug trafficking. The province also announces conservation officers from Steinbach and Sprague will also start patrolling the boarder with the RCMP, focusing on secondary roads and back country areas.

The Association of Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities hosted the minister for municipal and northern affairs on Jan. 30 where they shared issues that are important to them and their constituents, ranging from public safety to personal care homes to Manitoba Hydro.

February

Personnel from the RCMP, Manitoba Conservation, Canada Border Services, and Manitoba First Nations Police Service joined a couple of agents from the U.S. Border Patrol in a show of security at the Emerson border crossing. Canada’s Public Safety Minister David McGuinty is there on the day when 25 percent tariffs from the U.S. were scheduled to hit Canadians. That was put on hold for 30 days by President Donald Trump, who acknowledged the $1.3 billion border security upgrades Canada announced in December 2024 where a step in the right direction.

A proposed new development got one step closer to realization after Niverville council voted to approve a variance for a builder to build a seven-building complex located between Krahn Road and Mulberry Avenue across Highway 311. Estimates are that it will take about five years for the build to be completed as it will be done in phases.

Southeast Cancer Support Services will offer the first ever art therapy support group. Called Heartstrings: Creating Connections Through Art and Therapy, the program will offer an interactive creative way for children of a variety of ages to process the loss of a parent, grandparent or close family member.

Ste Anne residents have mixed opinions at an open house held by Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure regarding the remaking of the intersection at Highway 12 and Provincial Road 210. MIT is proposing the partial closure of the intersection where left hand turns onto Highway 12 from PR 210 would no longer be allowed. Instead cars will have to make right hand turns or drive further up the road and make a U-turn to drive south on Highway 12.

School divisions across the country are adding cameras to the outside of buses, to warn drivers of outside dangers next to their vehicle.

Steinbach Bible College launched the beginning of their new campus on Loewen Boulevard, celebrating the start of the $15 million project that will utilize parts of the former Steinbach Family Medical building.

The new location for the Jolys Regional Library that serves everyone in St Pierre and De Salaberry, is established in the Village of St Pierre. It is located at the former St Pierre-Jolys Professional Centre at 479 Turenne Street.

Leadership candidates for the PC Party took to the stage at the La Verendrye PC Association AGM in Grunthal, sharing their views on a variety of topics including Sio Silica, MPI, controversial books in schools, hunting rights, COVID, homelessness and how best to get elected. Though Obby Khan and Wally Daudrich agreed on many points, they differed on exactly how to get elected.

Manitoba Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Chuck Davidson is in Steinbach to discuss with local businesses the impacts of and solutions for a 25 percent tariff on Canadian goods anticipated for March 4.

March

Thirty-four Southeast residents receive the King Charles III Coronation Medal.

About 70 people came to Rosa to hear the Manitoba Wildlife Federation share their concerns over Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas being formed in the province. Manitoba has offered up crown land for this project, but the federation is concerned that Manitoba hunters and anglers will be prevented from using crown lands.

The Town of Altona has approved a comprehensive recreation and active transportation master plan, outlining a long-term vision to enhance accessibility and inclusivity in recreational opportunities for the next two decades.

The $235-million Red-Seine Rat Wastewater Cooperative project approaches tender this spring and start of construction this fall.

About 158 people attend Agape House’s Purple Gala raising $20,000, the most from any gala prior. Agape saw a 30 percent increase in bed stays from the year before with 1,636 adult bed nights and 1,603 child bed nights. The women’s shelter also had 1,222 calls to its crisis line. Agape House is one of 10 women’s shelters in the province.

Steinbach Credit Union is boasting the strongest year yet as it announced $10 billion in assets during its annual general meeting.

Steinbach Arts Council celebrates 45 years of its commitment to promoting the arts in the Southeast.

The INN (Initiative for Neighbourly Nights), Steinbach’s first low-barrier transitional housing facility, held its Homelessness in the Southeast event where 200 people came to get answers on the facility that is being built at 447 Main Street. It will house a maximum of 30 people, will offer 24/7 staffing, and will help connect guests to other resources in the community.

The province released this year’s budget of $25 billion with $3.7 billion in capital projects, which included funding to farmers to deal with tariffs from the U.S., funding for municipalities with gas tax revenue, and building of new schools. The budget announced a $100 million contingency fund for farmers if the U.S. imposes a 25 percent levy and the current 100 percent tax from China on those same products.

The race is on for the position of MP for the riding of Provencher.

Education Minister Tracy Schmidt confirmed that the new Ste Anne regional high school, which will have vocational programming, will begin construction in 2027 with an opening date of September 2028.

April

Steinbach council approved first and second reading of the official community plan and zoning bylaw addition that would require emergency shelters to have a conditional use in order to operate. This would affect the building plans of The INN, a proposed transitional home.

Hanover School Division is being sued by a former student who claims the school division didn’t take the necessary steps to protect him when he was eight years old at Green Valley School in Grunthal from an employee who was a pedophile. The sexual abuse and assault took place over a three-year period between 2000 and 2002.

Doctors Manitoba visits the Southeast on a tour to hear directly from doctors as to what the main issues are in healthcare.

The ribbon is cut at Jette Studios in Niverville, a 25,000-sq.-ft. film studio and soundstage. Other long-term plans include outbuildings to house production offices, a carpentry mill, an online post-production facility with sound and video editing bays, and a 50-seat finishing theatre.

Eden Housing and Steinbach Community Outreach plan to build two apartment blocks on a 5.3-acre property along Thresher Road in Steinbach’s Langill Farm development at an estimated cost of $22 million.

The Steinbach Chamber of Commerce was ranked as the second fastest growing chamber in Canada by the Chamber of Commerce Executives of Canada.

The permit for the new Taché Community Centre has been issued and the $29.5-million project is expected to be completed in 2026. The new centre replaces the 60-year-old Lorette Community Centre, which will be torn down after construction.

The Grunthal arena renewal project has raised around $1.2 million of a $2 million target. It will cost $4.5 million to upgrade the arena with $2 million coming from the community and the rest coming from local and provincial governments. The arena will expand by 9,300 sq.ft.

The Town of Altona is taking a fresh and inclusive look at its past with a new multi-phase history project. A document will be created to tell the story of Altona from the 1870s to the present. The project will highlight key themes including Indigenous history, land, immigration, religion, economics, sports, and recreation.

The RMs of Ritchot and Hanover have received funding from the province to install electric vehicle charging stations in their municipalities. Ritchot received $141,100 while Hanover received $8,900.

A crowd of 450 people attended the first ever Hope in Heels Fashion Gala hosted by Southeast Cancer Support Services. It’s estimated the event raised $48,000.

RM of Ste Anne and the Manitoba Water Services Board ordered a feasibility study on wastewater services in Richer. The study recommends a second lagoon treatment facility that would serve a new Richer sewer system and service rural areas on the east side of the RM. The estimated construction cost is less than $20 million.

Construction of the more than $60-million expansion at Bethesda Regional Health Centre is on schedule to be open to the public by spring 2026.

May

RM of Hanover longtime CAO Luc Lahaie has been fired from his position with the municipality. Lahaie had been the CAO in Hanover for 13 years.

Gordon Kornelson, 80, was sentenced to four years for sexually assaulting his granddaughter over a period of eight years starting when she was four years old.

Defence attorney Jonathan Pinx asked for a custodial sentence to be served with house arrest while the Crown prosecutor asked for an eight-year prison term.

Nineteen Steinbach churches and 860 people spread out over Steinbach on May 3 to clean up the community as part of the annual pick up and walk event. Martin Gunter, an organizer from Southland Church, said they collected almost six tons this year. That’s down from the usual nine to 10 tons, but Gunter explained that is because of the dry spring, reducing the amount of waterlogged trash.

A state of emergency has been declared for the RM of Piney as fires rage in the Badger-Carrick and St. Labre areas.

A public transit system for Steinbach would include an on-demand model, operate four vehicles and offer rides at an estimated $2.50 per one-way trip. Called Link Transit, the proposal was made by the South East Equity Coalition to city council at their strategic priorities committee meeting.

The days of festival headliners may be coming to an end according to Summer in the City board members who spoke with Steinbach city council at a strategic priorities committee meeting. With the festival running a close to $30,000 deficit in each of the last two years, board members told council they are looking for ways to save money.

Southland Church is thanking fire crews for saving their Bible camp in Bird River. In a statement, the church said NASA satellite imagery showed the camp was surrounded by the fire which passed by.

The province announced $24 million in improvements to Highway 12 north of Steinbach from Park Road to the Seine River diversion.

Close to 900 gathered at K.R. Barkman Park in Steinbach May 25, sharing their passion in support of the pro-life movement as part of Walk for Life.

Taste of Steinbach was held at the Southeast Event Centre for the first time in its third year with 624 people attending the sold-out event.

Don Plett retired from the Senate after turning 75 on May 14.

June

Around 1,300 athletes registered to compete in the Manitoba 2025 55+ Games from June 3 to 5. Steinbach has hosted the games in 1993, 2011, and now 2025.

Hanover School Board votes unanimously to sanction trustee Danielle Funk for allegedly breaching their governance policies.

La Coulee resident Meagan Pedneault is named one of three ambassadors for Manitoba Possible, an organization that advocates for people with disabilities.

Providence University College is opening the door to a post-secondary education for students raised in Manitoba’s Child and Family Services care through a new program that waives tuition and gives personal support.

An unknown female who promised to fight hospital staff at Bethesda Regional Health Centre so that police would have to “clean up after her”, forces the facility into lockdown for about two hours.. RCMP say they made contact with the caller, determining there was no credible imminent threat to staff or the hospital and the lockdown was lifted.

A Manitoba PC MLA is celebrating as the province honours the first ever Men’s Mental Health Awareness Week. Running from June 9 to June 15 (Father’s Day), the week is meant to shine light on a major issue, reduce stigma and show men and boys they don’t have to suffer in silence according to Dawson Trail MLA Bob Lagasse, who introduced the bill in May 2024.

Steinbach city council directs administration to explore the hiring of a private security firm saying that it is needed to fill gaps left by the RCMP. Despite increases in the complement of RCMP assigned to Steinbach, currently set at 18, the city has only seen a high of 15.41 in 2022/23 and a low of 13.89 in 2024/25. This year shows 14.42 actual members assigned.

With the base blessed with holy water, oil from Loreto, Italy poured in, and the scapular baring the visage of Jesus Christ, it was time to finally put the fourth cross of Taché back in its place beside Dawson Road in Lorette.

The first Transformation Tractor Ride in Randolph saw about 46 riders raise close to $50,000 for Adult & Teen Challenge.

Ste Anne opened their first Clearview Co-op food store in the community where the cooperative began 94 years ago.

A two-vehicle collision on June 27 at about 12:45 p.m. on St Labre Road, near the community of St Labre, has led to the death of a 39-year-old woman and an 11-year-old girl.

July

Two student pilots are dead after a pair of planes crashed in the morning near the Steinbach South Airport. At 8:45 a.m., on Tuesday, Steinbach RCMP and the Hanover Fire Department located the two single-engine planes in the RM of Hanover.

Those who knew former Provencher MP Jake Epp say it’s his kindness, faith and love for his family they’ll miss most of all. Arthur Jacob (Jake) Epp died July 5 at the age of 85. Epp was a high school history teacher, city councillor and deputy mayor, and MP for Provencher from 1972 to 1993.

The idea of public transit received plenty of local support in a survey hosted by the South East Equity Coalition at a booth at Summer in the City. Over 1,250 people filled out a two-question survey with 99 percent in support of public transit.

Kindale Industries is closing their doors on July 18 due to a lesser demand for services. It began in 1956 as a school for children with intellectual and became a sheltered work environment for those same people.

The Town of Niverville celebrated a part of its past with the opening of the Station Lands Heritage Park on July 18 and the well that is located there.The well was used by Canadian Pacific Railway to fill their steam engines.

A former Ste Anne resident and the first Franco-Manitoban woman in the Canadian Senate was honoured with the Order of Manitoba. Announced July 17, Maria Chaput was one of 12 Manitobans to earn the honour. She had received the Order of Canada in 2022. Chaput served 13 years as a senator, appointed by Prime Minister Jean Chretien in 2002 and stepping down in February 2016.

The Jolys Regional Library opened its doors on July 22 with people coming and going at its new location on 479 Turenne Street. The new location shelves about 30,000 books featuring French, Christian, and childrens’ books.

The annual release of critically endangered adult Poweshiek skipperlings into the Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve in southeastern Manitoba is being hailed as a success by the Assiniboine Park Conservancy (APC) and Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC).

This year 175 were released at the preserve and a further 1,500 eggs collected.

August

Residents and local officials in a southern Manitoba rural municipality are demanding transparency and answers, following the province’s reopening of the Piney water fill station after it was shut down. More than 50 residents from Piney and surrounding communities gathered at the semi-public fill station to voice their concerns about the province closing down the water and worries that more communities would be next.

A 70-year-old man from Ontario drowned at Reynolds Ponds on Aug. 2, one of two swimmers who died in Manitoba bodies of water that day.

The ending of a five-year pilot project that saw the City of Steinbach support the Steinbach Economic Development Corp. (SEDC) will not threaten the organization. Council voted unanimously to end their $65,000 annual support to SEDC, at the end of 2025, the conclusion of the five-year pilot project.

The Springfield Police Service has shut down its office after its acting chief and only constable resigned to join the RCMP.

Steinbach city council approves a plan that would extend the school zone to Kroeker Ave. near Southwood School as part of three recommendations intended to address safety concerns posed by the school. The decision, unanimously supported, was in response to a March 26 letter submitted by the Hanover School Division Operations Committee.

The Steinbach Chamber of Commerce has created new safety measures for next year’s Pioneer Days Parade. The new measures include capping the age for children walking along vehicles or throwing candy at 10-years-old and above, not allowing candy to be thrown on the road and only given behind the parade barriers and adding 30 volunteers to monitor safety and barricades.

City of Steinbach councillors voted against having a cannabis plebiscite. In his letter to Mayor Earl Funk, TobaGrown founder Jesse Lavoie requested that council pass a resolution to hold a plebiscite to open retail cannabis stores in the city.

The Winnipeg Humane Society was kicked out of the Hanover Ag Fair after it set up gestation crates to show people what pigs experience on farms. Hanover Ag say they were granting the vendor space in good faith expecting them to promote their pet adoption programs.

Downtown Steinbach was buzzing Aug. 21, as the $75 million Southeast Event Centre (SEC) officially opened to the public. Around 450 people were in attendance to celebrate the largest project in the town’s history, after more than 30 years in the making.

RCMP officers made the rare decision to burn a vacant building in the RM of Reynolds to remove old dynamite found inside. Officers from the RCMP’s explosive disposal unit were called to Rennie when nearly 40-year-old dynamite was found in an abandoned shed.

September

The Manitoba government will pay for half of the costs for a $7.3 million forcemain twinning project and upgrades to Lift Station 1 at Park Road West in the City of Steinbach.

Steinbach’s Calvary Church purchased a new building on 179 Chapel Drive, which is the former home of Springs Church and Full Gospel Church. The church cited its growing congregation as the reason for buying the new space.

Hanover School Division trustee Dallas Wiebe was voted to take the board’s chairperson after winning the position over fellow trustees Brad Unger and Ron Falk. Jeff Friesen, the incumbent board chair, was selected as vice-chair.

A 17-year-old Steinbach resident was sentenced to two years of supervised probation after phoning in bomb threats and “causing panic” to Steinbach Regional Secondary School in January.

Historic rainfall during a Sept. 11 storm saw two-months worth of rain dumped overnight, flooding Steinbach roads, ditches and basements.

Providence University College and Theological Seminary sold its Winnipeg building and slashed courses following the federal government’s cutbacks to international student permits.

A new $234-million wastewater treatment plant in southeastern Manitoba will begin construction by spring 2026, after tenders closed in September. Once completed, the plant will allow 13 communities to double their population and potentially attract more industries to the region. The Red-Seine-Rat Wastewater Cooperative includes six municipalities: Niverville, Hanover, Tache, De Salaberry, La Broquerie and Richot. The facility is expect to be fully operational by 2028.

The Sprague and District Historical Museum opened an Indigenous building on Sept. 20 to celebrate the history of the First Nations and Metis people in the area.

HyLife held its annual HyLife Fun Days and gave a cheque for $35,000 to Steinbach Community Outreach.

Steinbach Pride was cancelled on Sept. 13 after threats of violence were made against the community event. The threat was made after the death of U.S. conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a Utah rally on Sept. 10. Kirk was against LGBTQ rights. Steinbach RCMP investigated the threat and no charges were laid.

Ottawa announced $370-million in canola tariff relief measures to help farmers weather Chinese tariffs on Canadian canola imports levied in August. Manitoba farmers had mixed reactions to the measures, citing concerns about rising loans and debt.

The federal government provided a $204,500 wildfire grant to the Rural Municipality of Piney, which helped fund and train 60 volunteer firefighters.

The family of Jake Neufeld, an alleged hospital-room assault victim still in care, is seeking answers after Steinbach RCMP charged a nurse in August. Steinbach RCMP charged 50-year-old Rural Municipality of Hanover resident Tammy Freynet, a nurse at Bethesda Regional Health Centre, with assault with a weapon on Aug. 26.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers announced in September its members won’t deliver or process unaddressed flyers. The ban impacted multiple southeastern Manitoba businesses attempting to advertise their services.

The Manitoba government denied Seine River School Division’s request for 10 new portable classrooms, as the division began classes in two renovated school libraries in September to meet capacity needs.

Hanover School Division’s new Parkhill School opened on Sept. 25.

Canada Post workers launched a national strike on Sept. 25, following federal measures to modernize the Crown corporation.

October

The Steinbach Chamber of Commerce received national accreditation through the Chamber Accreditation Council of Canada.

The province closed the Provincial Road 200 bridge for repairs on Oct. 15 and set up a detour on Provincial Road 210, leading to Highway 75.

An investigation by The Carillon found a provincial advisor to the Hanover School Board produced no reports or records after more than one year on the job.

Steinbach council pushes for a new medical campus in Brandon to address rural doctor shortages and joined nine other cities asking for the program.

Calgary-based mining company Sio Silica applied for a second environmental license to extract silica sand near Vivian on Oct. 28.

Manitoba RCMP opted against laying charges against a Ste Genevive property owner who set up Halloween display depicting dolls labeled with the ward numbers of Rural Municipality of Taché councillors hanging from a gallows. The displayed garnered criticism from municipal officials across the province and Premier Wab Kinew.

Local lawyer Eugene Warwaruk was named Steinbach Chamber of Commerce’s president on Oct. 23.

The first ever Queer Country Fair was held in Steinbach on Oct. 25, following Steinbach Pride’s cancellation due to violent threat.

Niverville opened its Take One, Leave One library on Oct. 27, the first library for the town.

November

Steinbach city council voted to extend its security patrol pilot project, first launched in July, after a new report detailed positive feedback from local businesses and local Mounties.

A Steinbach family learned their five-year-old son, who’s diagnosed with Niemann-Pick disease type C, will receive provincial approval for a necessary drug to treatment the rare disease.

The Rural Municipality of Ritchot approved an affordable housing development in Ste Agathe.

Coun. Michael Zwaagstra was reappointed as deputy mayor, after previously serving in the role for 10 years.

A new RCMP detachment opened in Niverville. Three constables and one corporal from the St-Pierre-Jolys detachment will serve in Niverville.

The Southeast Event Centre hired Melanie Hiebert as its new general manager, taking over for interim general manager Michelle Bezditny.

The province removed the Woodridge fire lookout tower, a landmark in the Rural Municipality of Piney, citing safety concerns. Only 10 towers remain in Manitoba.

The Loewen Boulevard and Highway 12 intersection opened to traffic, after $12 million of upgrades added new lanes. Construction on the project began in June 2024.

Grunthal’s Green Valley School began construction on new additions, including three classrooms, a new gym and changing rooms. The fresh spaces are expected to open by Novemeber 2027.

The Joy Smith Foundation is looking to set up a learning campus near Niverville to help survivors of human trafficking, the first of its kind in Canada. Its estimated to open in four years.

École Saint-Joachim in La Broquerie unveiled a $26.6-million expansion. The Division scolaire franco-manitobaine school project, which launched in 2022, added 16 new classrooms and six specialized spaces.

Steinbach’s Southeast Event Centre has seen rising numbers of homeless people coming to stay warm, renewing advocate calls for a dedicated emergency warming shelter in the city. SEC’s general manager Melanie Hiebert said homeless people come to stay warm on a daily basis. The event centre reported no safety incidents with the spike in homeless people visiting.

December

The Hanover School Division is moving next year’s Grade 9 students in Kleefeld, New Bothwell, and Blumenort to neighbouring high schools due to overpopulation at Steinbach Regional Secondary School. Students will be moved to Green Valley Schools, Niverville High School and Landmark Collegiate.

Roughly 200 people attended Messiah Queered, a rendition of Handel’s Messiah, at Steinbach’s Grace Mennonite Church. The inaugural event marked the first publicly-advertised 2SLGBTQ+ community event in Steinbach since Pride was cancelled in September.

Both Steinbach MLA Kelvin Goertzen and Springfield-Ritchot MLA Ron Schuler announce they won’t run for re-election in the next provincial election. The Progressive Conservative members said making the announcement gives ample time for the party to nominate its candidates.

Winnipeg homeless outreach charity Main Street Project endorsed The INN and its proposal to build Steinbach’s first transitional housing complex.

The Association of Manitoba Municipalities is calling for the approval of federal Bill C-14, which would amend the Criminal Code and add stiffer bail and sentencing laws.

A Niverville resident alerted provincial officials to dozens of dead geese found on a frozen retention pond, following an outbreak of avian influenza.

Four southeastern Manitoba municipalities who helped author a report exploring creating a shared regional library for the area withdrew from the plan, citing concerns over autonomy, lack of bilingual resources and high costs.

Canada’s Governor General Mary Simon awarded Soup’s On founder Joy Neufeld the Meritorious Service Decorations (Civil Division) medal for her work in feeding the hungry in Steinbach.