Workers at Brandon’s Maple Leaf Foods have ratified a new contract. The 7-year deal includes a 23% bump in wages – a 30% increase in shift premiums and other benefits. Maple Leaf has 2,000 employees in the city.
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The Progressive Conservatives are ringing the alarm over a shortage of paramedics in western Manitoba. They say it’s reached a crisis point in several communities including Virden, Erickson, Shoal Lake, and Russell. One solution, they say, would be to reinstate a rural paramedic training program that was previously offered in Brandon.
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The number of highly contagious norovirus cases are on the rise in Canada with children and the elderly most at risk. Also known as the stomach flu, it can spread through direct contact with contaminated food, water and surfaces. There is no treatment for norovirus, but if you’re experiencing serious fluid loss – you’re advised to seek medical care.
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A 30-year-old Portage la Prairie man has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder. Preston Whitford was arrested by RCMP in connection with the deaths of a 42-year-old man and 37-year-old woman in Portage on December 1st.
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Brandon police are looking for a male suspect they believe set fires at the Eastview Landfill that closed the facility last weekend. They describe him as someone who regularly attends the landfill in the middle of the night wearing a headlamp while riding a bike and pulling a trailer.
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A group of Grade 12 students from Crocus Plains in Brandon has been awarded ‘beamtime’ at the University of Saskatchewan to study microplastics and heavy metals in the Assiniboine River. They’ll use the university’s
Canadian Light Source Synchrotron and its electron microscope to analyze the water’s effects on plant samples. Their findings could influence agricultural irrigation methods, and improve food safety.
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It appears the Bank of Canada’s rapid interest rate cuts have not helped Manitobans feel any better about their finances. MNP has found that half of those polled now feel they’re $200 or less away from being unable to pay their monthly bills. Also, fewer of us feel our personal debt situation will improve a year from now.
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Country music star Carrie Underwood will perform ‘America the Beautiful’ at Donald Trump’s inauguration next week – and 1970’s disco group ‘Village People’ will perform at two events There are four days of events centered around Trump’s January 20th swearing-in ceremony as America’s 47th president.
