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COLUMN: Tales from the Gravel Ridge – Memories of mountains
4 minute read 3:59 PM CDTWe had mountains in our community. In the conventional sense of the word they were not really mountains, but when the snowplough first made its way down the gravel ridge in Rosengard many decades ago, it looked for all the world as if they were mountains. The snowfall must have been exceptionally heavy that year, back in the 1950s, and to the eyes of Rosengard’s children those enormous mounds of snow must surely have taken on the features of mountains.
If truth be told we all knew that longer hours of spring sunshine would, in due time cause our imaginary mountains to vanish, leaving us instead with our wonderful natural gravel ridge formed so long ago by the receding waters of ancient Lake Agassiz.
Even then however, we could claim something akin to a small mountain. We called it “the hill” formed by the slight incline of the roadway now known as Blatz Road where it approached the gravel ridge. All that, of course, is in the distant past, and much as all of us have changed during those many decades since my childhood, so too has the lay of the land in our community of Rosengard.
In the meantime, I have had occasion to experience mountainous landscapes in various guises and locations. In due time several members of my family decided to make their homes in British Columbia. So too our widowed mother, Katarina Falk when she married Henry Enns, formerly also a Rosengarder, and now a widower himself.
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Country Classic Car Show at MHV returns to thrill car enthusiasts
5 minute read Preview 3:31 PM CDT
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Carillon Sports Second Shots: July 23rd edition
1 minute read Preview Yesterday at 12:00 PM CDTLocal
PHOTO GALLERY: Dawson Trek returns for second year
0 minute read Preview Yesterday at 11:35 AM CDTLocal
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: The decline of the liberal arts
4 minute read Yesterday at 8:07 AM CDTAt his trial for impiety and corrupting youth, the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates defended himself by justifying his life’s work, famously maintaining that “the unexamined life is not worth living.” Lamentably, he was found guilty of the charges and ironically sentenced to death via drinking poison hemlock. Yet human life is undeniably worth examining. So how do we best do so?
The liberal arts curriculum in Western post-secondary education – liberal as in “to be free” and art as in “learned skill” – has historically been perhaps the primary means of examining the human condition and experience, in contrast to vocational, professional, or technical fields of study in universities. Today they are comprised of the humanities, such as history, philosophy, and literature, as well as the social sciences, such as anthropology, sociology, and political science, with psychology bridging onto the natural sciences.
Focused on the study of people, the liberal arts more than any other field of study develop the “soft skills” of critical thinking, cultural awareness, empathy, problem-solving, creativity, communication, teamwork, leadership, and integrity.
According to philosopher Angel Pinillos, “We teach a set of skills that you cannot get anywhere else, that AI has made more rather than less valuable, and that matter not only at work but in every domain of life where careful thought and careful expression have consequences … We have just built machines that produce fluent, confident, plausible text by the ocean — and in doing so we have made the ability to tell good reasoning from bad, true claims from merely well-phrased ones, the single most valuable cognitive skill a person can have.”
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COLUMN: On Parliament Hill – Skating on thin ice: What did Canada give away on the Gordie Howe Bridge?
5 minute read Tuesday, Jul. 28, 2026Imagine going into business with your neighbour where you fund the entire project and take all the risk, understanding that all revenues will go to you until your original investment is fully repaid. But just as the business is about to launch, your neighbour decides they want all the revenues shared 50-50 with no consideration to your original deal—and you agree!
That seems to be just what has happened with the Gordie Howe Bridge. As reported in Stephanie Ha’s article for CTV News, Canada agreed to assume the cost of constructing the bridge back in 2012, which has now totalled $6.4 billion. Canada was to collect the toll revenue to pay operating costs and interest, and any remaining net profit would then be used to pay down the cost of construction. Only once the construction costs were reimbursed in full would revenues begin to be split between the two countries.
Now, voices from the U.S. are arguing against that agreement saying, “(Canada) will get that money back in time,” suggesting Canada was just financing the bridge.
Then, as referenced by multiple news outlets, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick posted on the weekend, “The USA struck a great deal with respect to the Gordie Howe Bridge. Before this deal we got NOTHING. Now, the U.S. gets 50 percent of net revenues until 2041 and a say in setting the tolls. Our share is before interest and principal.” Lutnick ends his post by referencing U.S. President Donald Trump’s book, “This is the Art of the Deal in action.”
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Three minors injured in ATV crash near St Malo
2 minute read Tuesday, Jul. 28, 2026Three youth suffered what police call minor and non-life-threatening injuries after they flipped a side-by-side while going around a corner near St Malo.
St. Pierre-Joly RCMP responded to the single vehicle accident on Gosselin Road, near Foret Road off Highway 59 on July 18 at approximately 5:20 p.m.
Officers arrived to find that a 13-year-old female had been driving the side-by-side along with two other youths – a 15-year-old female and nine-year-old male. The driver attempted to turn when the side-by-side flipped, ejecting the two passengers from the vehicle.
All three youths from the RM of De Salaberry were transported to a Winnipeg hospital with minor non-life-threatening injuries.
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COLUMN: Village News – Pioneer Days – A celebration of Mennonite history
4 minute read Preview Tuesday, Jul. 28, 2026Local
Ste Anne Hospital re-opens after cooling system breakdown
1 minute read Preview Tuesday, Jul. 28, 2026Local
COLUMN: Grey Matters – The power of music
4 minute read Monday, Jul. 27, 2026“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.” —Plato
Music is powerful.
There are truths that can be explained through sermons, books, and conversations. Yet sometimes a song can communicate those same truths more deeply and more gently than dry prose ever could. Poetry and music have a unique way of entering the human psyche, slipping past our defenses, and touching places deep within the heart. In that sacred space, God’s presence, perspective, peace, and power can begin their work.
I have always loved the old hymns. Over the years, serving in a hospital and personal care home has only strengthened my appreciation for the way music ministers to people.
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COLUMN: View from the Legislature – Finding democratic civility
3 minute read Monday, Jul. 27, 2026Earlier this month I had the opportunity to attend the regional meeting of the Canadian Parliamentary Association (CPA) together with other Canadian elected representatives from across the country. It was a meeting that had a variety of topics related to current policy issues. But one of the topics that took up the most time and garnered the most discussion on the agenda was that of parliamentary decorum. Essentially, the way in which elected representatives act toward each other.
I have been fairly outspoken about my perspective on how political civility has gone down both steadily and considerably over the past two decades. While the debates have always been rough and tumble, the level of personal toxicity has increased considerably. This used to be confined mostly to the daily drama of question period, but it has now not only leaked into other parts of the legislative day, it extends beyond into the world of social media.
For those attending the CPA meeting, this was of significant concern. Many relayed stories of personal attacks they endured from other elected officials and the impact it had on themselves and on their families. And, they expressed how these attacks were often picked up by some in the general public which magnified their impact.
As to the reason why it was widely felt that decorum and civility among elected politicians had declined, there were a number of factors given. One was that it was a reflection of what was being seen in society more generally. Another was that it was behaviour that was not being discouraged (and often encouraged) by political party leaders. Of course, social media, and the anonymity it provides, was a more general factor for the overall decline in public debate both in elected houses and the public in general.
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