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By Kate Jackman-Atkinson, Editor, myWestman.ca
After close to six months of work, last week, the Neepawa Tourism committee launched the community’s new brand. I’m excited to see this greater focus on tourism and I’m not alone, judging from the strong turnout at the unveiling.
Neepawa is part of a larger trend, as many communities, like Clear Lake, have recently completed a branding process and others, like Minnedosa, are looking into it.
By Kate Jackman-Atkinson, Neepawa Banner & Press
NEEPAWA, Man. — Depopulation is a serious issue facing many rural communities. Over the last hundred years, Canadians have become increasingly urban and this shift has created challenges in many smaller towns and cities. They’ve seen their youth leave for education or career opportunities and not come back.
As local economies have rebounded following the great recession, many communities find themselves in a tough spot — they have jobs, but not workers and if companies can’t find the needed workers, they’re likely to move where they can. A look at the help wanted pages show that there are lots of jobs available locally, but there aren’t always workers available to fill them.
By Kate Jackman-Atkinson, Neepawa Banner & Press
Across rural Manitoba, residents are concerned about safety. They’re concerned about the ability of the RCMP and local police forces to effectively tackle issues such as property crimes and illegal drugs, in the face of stretched budgets and competing demands on their time. They’re looking for support from the government. The provincial government has introduced new legislation aimed a keeping us safe, but not in the way that many Manitobans, especially those in rural areas, are looking for. Last week, Bill 17 received a first reading.
By Kate Jackman-Atkinson, Neepawa Banner & Press
NEEPAWA, Man. — What do a tractor and Microsoft Word have in common? A lot, if equipment manufacturers get their way. For close to a decade, automobile manufacturers have been governed by Right to Repair legislation. In Canada, this voluntary agreement came into effect in 2009 and requires manufacturers to make key software and training available to independent garages, which allows someone other than the dealership to access a vehicle’s software in order to diagnose and repair problems. Given the increasing level of computer control on modern vehicles, such access is required for almost all repairs. Automobile owners can also take it one step further, all vehicles must use the same data port, meaning owners can purchase inexpensive scanners to do their own diagnostics.
By Kate Jackman-Atkinson, Neepawa Banner & Press
NEEPAWA, Man. — The province’s agricultural industry faces a major challenge when it comes to succession — the high cost of entry. Few other jobs require such a high upfront investment; you don’t need to own a hospital to become a doctor or a school to become a teacher, but you need a farm to be a farmer. The cost of land, equipment, livestock, seed and other inputs is high and only rising. At their recent annual general meeting, Keystone Agricultural Producers, Manitoba’s general farm policy organization, passed a resolution to help combat two problems, with one simple solution. The high cost of entry for young farmers is one problem, while the other is the purchase of farmland as an investment vehicle.
The resolution passed by KAP members last week authorized the organization to lobby the provincial government to look at a five percent levy on farmland sales to any investor who hasn’t been actively farming within the last three years. KAP would like to see the money raised by the levy used to enhance Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation’s Young Farmer Rebate program, which offers reduced interest rates on farm-related loans to borrowers under 40 years of age.
By Kate Jackman-Atkinson, myWestman
NEEPAWA, Man. — “Sorry.” While we may not claim total ownership of the word, as we can with “eh,” it’s as Canadian a word as you will find. On any street, in any Canadian town or city, you will find someone unnecessarily apologizing for bumping into an inanimate object. Almost as Canadian an image as skating on a frozen lake is the Canadian apologizing for being bumped into in a grocery store.
So ingrained in the Canadian psyche is politeness, that when Canadian Geographic and The Walrus joined forces to put together “The Story of Canada in 150 Objects,” “politeness” was ranked number one.
By Kate Jackman-Atkinson, Neepawa Banner & Press
Neepawa is in an enviable position, it has been experiencing a housing shortage for much of the last decade. While this shortage has added value to the town’s housing stock, it has also created challenges, as new residents struggle to find places to live.
When I moved to the Neepawa area in 2006, it wasn’t unusual to find single family homes for sale around $60,000. Those sorts of prices don’t exist anymore and good luck finding a detached home for less than twice that price.
By Kate Jackman-Atkinson, Neepawa Banner & Press
NEEPAWA, Man. — Christmas is upon us, which means that so too is the season of sweets and baking. Last week’s Neepawa Banner & Press had a collection of seasonal recipes and no matter your taste — sweet or savoury, simple or extravagant— there’s a recipe out there. From cookies to truffles, mincemeat to bars and sausage rolls to cakes, everyone has their favourite Christmas treat.
Almost a decade ago, I shared a confession about my favourite holiday-related food, the much reviled and ridiculed Christmas cake.
By Kate Jackman-Atkinson, Neepawa Banner & Press
NEEPAWA, Man. — Have you dreamed of looking into the Mona Lisa’s eyes, sitting on the beach in Barcelona, or standing in St. Mark’s Square in Venice? Across the globe, many people are now making their travel dreams a reality and it’s creating unexpected problems, especially in historically popular destinations.
As ever-growing numbers of people rush to those popular destinations, both residents and tourists alike are experiencing what has been termed “over-tourism.” The unrestricted crowds of people swarming to a mostly fixed number of destinations have created resentment among both locals, who see their communities taken over by tourists and the souvenir shops and multinational businesses that have popped up to serve them, and vacationers, who complain of large crowds and poor visitor experiences.
By Kate Jackman-Atkinson, Neepawa Banner & Press
NEEPAWA, Man. — It’s been a little over a year since provincial Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler announced an ambitious goal to grow the province’s beef cattle herd from about 400,000 animals, to pre-BSE levels, about 750,000 animals, by 2026. For those in the industry, the vocal show of support was welcome news, but making that dream a reality is easier said than done.
