An RM of Hanover man is facing charges of impaired driving and driving while over .08 after colliding with a parked vehicle.

RCMP said on May 10, the 31-year-old RM of Hanover man was driving on Road 29 North when he drove into another vehicle parked on the side of the road.

There were no life-threatening injuries as a result.

Police also wrote out additional tickets on the weekend including two charges for driving an unregistered vehicle, two charges for driving without a licence, one charge of driving without liability insurance and three warnings for various offences under the Highway Traffic Act.

Dear Money Lady: I am a new investor, and I wanted to know if I should buy mutual funds or ETFs (exchange traded funds) or should I get both? Can you let me know what you think? Darren.

Great question Darren – most people choose mutual funds and ETFs to invest.

Both are considered good investments for the long-haul investor enabling you to trade a basket of stocks, bonds, styles or foreign stocks like a single stock without the risk of single stock ownership. The idea is that if one stock turns out to be a lemon, it doesn’t spoil the whole bunch. Let’s look at an example, if you were holding an ETF that followed the Dow 30 Industrial and one component of this fund fell due to a bad news report, that doesn’t mean the stock price of the fund will necessarily drop. If the other holdings are doing well, they could potentially make up for the bad news that is specific to the poor stock in the fund. Another benefit would be the ability to invest in broader market segments.

Here’s something to keep in mind. Many economists believe in the theory of sector rotation, which means that most of the time, money will move from sector to sector as one loses favour and the other gains popularity. I am not sure myself if I tend to believe this all the time, however it is clear that some sectors perform better at different times than others. Therefore, being able to move your money into a stronger sector and out of a weakening one can be quite advantageous and something easily done using ETFs.

The City of Steinbach raised their fire danger index to Level 2 on May 8, even while the province was advising of extreme fire danger in Southern and Central Manitoba.

For Steinbach residents, a level 2 designation means no controlled burns are permitted, no burn permits will be issued, all current permits are suspended, and no fireworks are permitted.

Fires in enclosed recreational fire pits are still permitted. Gas barbecues and gas fire tables are also still permitted.

Steinbach’s system includes three levels with the third forbidding any fires whatsoever.

It came as a surprise to many that Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre lost his seat on election night.

Normally a kiss of death for a party leader, in this case party loyalty remains strong. The general consensus is that Poilievre’s gain both in seat count and popular vote shows that more Canadians than ever see him as a potential prime minister of a Conservative led government.

That’s proven by the willingness of Battle-River-Crowfoot MP Damien Kurek to resign to allow Poilievre the chance to run in an upcoming byelection.

Meanwhile Andrew Scheer will handle the opposition leader’s duties in the House of Commons.

Does the date, May 14, 2025, mean anything to you? It should. That is when Senator Don Plett turns 75.

Under Canadian law, Senators cannot serve past the age of 75. As a result, Plett must retire from the Senate next week. It will be up to Prime Minister Mark Carney to select his replacement.

The Senate itself was created in 1867. As the so-called Upper House, it is often referred to as the place of “sober second thought.” All legislation passed by the House of Commons must be ratified by the Senate.

Unlike Members of Parliament, senators are appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister. This means that senators don’t have to face the electorate and can tackle issues that extend far beyond the regular electoral cycle. While the Senate sometimes delays House of Commons legislation, it usually, in the end, defers to the elected MPs.

Hanover School Division is looking to go to tender for Green Valley School’s expansion and it is looking to finalize Parkhill and open a new high school by 2031.

The provincial government has given the go ahead for the expansion of Green Valley School once again.

The school had been slated for an expansion of its gym and the addition of classrooms last year but that was put on hold when the new NDP government came into power. Now, the government has given the go ahead and has asked the school division to submit new plans.

“We are waiting for updated drawings so we can go to tender. There have been some code changes since the last time we had the drawings so we have to resubmit to the engineers to update the drawings with the new codes that came in 2025,” said board chair Jeff Friesen, noting it will be harder for the province to deny the expansion once the project awards tender. Last year, the budget for the addition was $12 million.

Dear Money Lady: I am a single mom and wondering how to get started investing. The market right now is really scary with all the U.S. tariffs and the stock market going down. Should I stick with my high interest bank account until things get better? Jan

No Jan, now is the time to invest in the market – everything is “on-sale,” and you could earn a lot more from your investments when the market turns, than keeping your money in a bank account.

More women like Jan, need to be looking at investing for the future but unfortunately the stats on women investing today are quite dismal. Because we are still experiencing a gender wage gap, it makes it all the more necessary for women to invest today. Here’s some facts: women on average earn 20 percent less than men. When broken down by demographic compared to a white man, Asian women earn 13 percent less, white women earn 18 percent less, black women earn 35 percent less and all other women (visible minorities) earn 42 percent less. Over an average women’s working career, it’s estimated she will earn $450,000 less than the average white man will earn over his lifetime. This reality makes it imperative, especially for single women, to invest sooner so they can use the benefit of time to grow their investments, (through dividends and compounding). Women tend to be much more conservative with their investment decisions than men and typically feel intimidated by a financial advisory community of mostly men.

Ladies, start believing you can be smart with money; learn more. You just need to ensure you invest enough of your money to provide for the future you want.

It’s that awkward in-between season — not quite spring, not quite summer. The days are longer, but the mornings still have bite. I find myself wearing a sweater in the morning and regretting it by noon. My entrance looks like it gave up — a confused mix of mittens, sandals, parkas, and sneakers. And yes, I’m still finding pine needles in my living room. How? I have no answers.

This time of year always makes me a little nostalgic. Maybe it’s the smell of thawing dirt or the way the robins seem to throw joyful backyard parties at sunrise, like they’ve just remembered life is worth celebrating. There’s this hum in the air — a sense that something is shifting. Stretching. Beginning again.

And maybe that’s the whole point. Spring is the season of awkward beginnings. Everything is waking up slowly, a little grumpy, blinking into the light after a long winter nap. Including me.

It’s kind of like crawling out of a cave.