Rural Roundup – Nov. 20, 2025

NEEPAWA

The local Neepawa TV station is coming up on its annual general meeting, and highlighting the need for volunteers to help cover the community.

Neepawa Access Community Television, local to the town, will have its meeting at 7 p.m. on Nov. 24 at the Neepawa Library.

The meeting will allow community feedback about programming, allow an opportunity to adopt revised bylaws and allow community members to get involved in the TV station.

There are a lot of opportunities for people who would like to volunteer, said programming manager Liway Cabrera. This can include filming and commentating on youth hockey, and creating programs like talk shows and cooking shows.

“It’s been a rough few months with only two staff at the station, and we are still hoping that people can volunteer their time to help us out,” Cabrera added. “I hope that people will see the value of our local TV station and that people will step up to help in any way they can.”

The TV station has been in Neepawa for over 40 years. Many original volunteers have aged out or passed away, said general manager Ken Waddell.

» Neepawa Banner & Press

MINTO-ODANAH

A former councillor has lost an election in the RM of Minto-Odanah after resigning from the council position, then running in the election to regain his seat.

Former councillor Brion Pollon explained in a letter in the Neepawa Banner & Press that he felt ambushed by an August meeting, which led him to resign, and he sought election again in the belief he needed to be a councillor to have the issue properly investigated.

Pollon said that he was called to attend an urgent meeting, where the reeve and RM staff informed him of a complaint that had been lodged against him a week earlier.

“When I asked who submitted the complaint I was told that they didn’t have to tell me, I then asked to see the complaint and was told that they didn’t have to show it to me,” Pollon wrote in his public letter that ran this month in the local community newspaper.

“Without the ability to read the complaint or defend myself I was then told that I was considered to be in violation of the (municipality’s code of conduct) and would be sanctioned.”

Pollon said he was removed as finance chairman and barred from entering the office except on council days. He said that if he had any business to conduct at the office it would have to be done in the parking lot. He said a member of the personnel committee made unprofessional and disrespectful remarks, and that everyone had arrived in advance of that meeting before he got there.

Pollon said he resigned at the regular council meeting days later, out of protest for how he was treated, and doubt that the situation was going to be handled properly.

In the weeks that followed, Pollon said he had second thoughts about resigning. He realized that the proceedings were unfair, he said, and that he would have to return to the council table to have the matter investigated properly. He submitted his nomination papers to return to council at that point, he said.

Pollon said that he had a right to see the complaint that was withheld from him in August.

Pollon lost the resulting October election in a two horse race to Kevin Boyd, 52 votes to 104.

» Neepawa Banner & Press

VIRDEN

A second-hand store is reopening in Virden after being displaced by structural damage to its former building.

The store, New to You, was set to move to a new location at Unit 3, 585 Seventh Avenue South for Nov. 12, and host a grand opening.

The old location at 267 Nelson Street West was closed in September following a rainstorm that caused structural damage.

The store has traditionally sold a broad range of gently used items, from housewares to clothing, books, decor and more, which had been donated by the public. The prices are kept low as part of the business model.

The thrift store is a fundraiser for the Association for Community Living, which is run with employees hired from its programs and volunteers. The association provides supports for those with disabilities in the area.

» Virden Empire Advance

DAUPHIN

Dauphin RCMP said they interrupted two men as they tried to steal copper from a city building last month.

Mounties said they responded on Oct. 23 to a break and enter in progress at a vacant home on Third Avenue Southeast. The residence was being renovated at the time.

They said the back door was broken, allowing enough room to get inside.

When police called for the occupants to exit the residence, they wouldn’t comply and officers could hear movement inside.

They then arrested a man as he tried to crawl out a side window, and a second was caught leaving through a back door with a backpack.

Damage was found at the property, including numourous large holes in the drywall, police said. They also found two hockey bags full of copper wire and piping.

Two Dauphin men, aged 36 and 47, have been charged.

» Dauphin Herald

MINNEDOSA

A Grade 11 student in Minnedosa placed second in a national Remembrance Day contest by drawing a poster of a soldier holding a poppy.

The student, Signe Erven, placed second in the Legions’ Youth Remembrance Contest this year. Her poster won at the local branch and provincial levels before placing second in the ‘senior’ category across Canada.

It was Erven’s first time placing nationally, she said.

More than 100,000 students take part in the contest each year in visual art, writing and video categories. Erven submitted an entry of original art. She said it was important to show respect for those who served, and remember what they did to protect Canada.

“My winning entry of a veteran holding a poppy in his hand was drawn to symbolize remembrance and honour for those who served,” she said.

The contests are held to encourage youth to support remembrance, said Barry Brooking, a member of the Legion in Minnedosa.

» Minnedosa Tribune