An Agricore grain elevator in Waskada, Manitoba – southwest of Brandon near the U.S. border – was gutted by fire this morning. Reports say the blaze began at around 5:00 am. Fire crews from the Waskada, Deloraine and Melita departments responded. The cause is not yet known.
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The cause of a garage fire in Brandon’s downtown is being investigated. The blaze in the 200 block of 11th Street Sunday night destroyed the building and damaged a nearby house. This is the second garage fire in three weeks
in the downtown. On April 15th, a fire burned down a garage on 5th Street.
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The Rural Municipality of Whitehead, which includes the town of Alexander, has issued a burn ban. The City of Winnipeg has also issued a fire ban due to dry conditions. It’s barring the use of charcoal or wood-burning barbecues, fireworks and backyard fire pits. So far, there’s no fire ban in place for Brandon.
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A state of emergency has been declared due to wildfires threatening First Nations in Manitoba’s Interlake region, where homes have been lost. Further north, near OCN and The Pas, people are on high alert.
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Canada will test its emergency alert system on Wednesday. In Brandon, you’ll hear the alert tone on the radio, your TV and wireless devices like smartphones. The test will happen at 1:55 pm. The system warns about tornadoes, floods and other natural disasters.
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Carberry, just east of Brandon, set a heat record on Sunday – one of eight Manitoba communities that saw decades-old records fall. The Grand Rapids area saw the biggest jump in temperature hitting 30.2 degrees. The previous record was 24 set in 1987. Flin Flon, Gillam, and Fisher Branch also posted new highs.
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You’re being invited to come out and help clean-up Brandon on Wednesday during the city’s annual Spring Downtown Community Clean-Up Day. Each volunteer gets a safety vest, gloves, garbage bags, garbage pickers and containers for any sharps they see on the ground. There will also be prizes for the best-dressed team, most garbage collected and best photo.
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The province is providing $350,000 to the families of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people search for their loved ones, attend legal proceedings, and pursue healing opportunities. Five organizations representing First Nations, Métis, Inuit and urban Indigenous populations will distribute the funds.
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BC MP Don Davies has been chosen as the federal NDP’s interim leader. Former leader Jagmeet Singh resigned after he lost his seat in the April 28th election. Davies led the NDP negotiations with the Liberal government to advance dental care and pharmacare legislation during the last session of Parliament.
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Prime Minister Mark Carney and U-S President Donald Trump will have their first in-person meeting at the White House today. Carney says it’ll mark the beginning of a larger economic and security agreement between Canada and the United States. Trump said Monday he guessed Carney wants to make a deal.
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The inaugural Departure Festival, formerly known as Canadian Music Week, gets underway today in Toronto. It once catered solely to the music industry, but now includes elements of standup comedy, fashion and technology. There will be appearances by Bryan Adams, Tegan and Sara, Arkells frontman Max Kerman and Shaggy – and also comedians Pete Holmes and Dave Chappelle.
