Realizing rural greatness

By Vern May
Minnedosa & Area Community Development Corporation

It felt like it was just beyond my reach. Arm outstretched, straining with all my might, I fumbled to grasp it, nudging it with a fingertip but unable to snatch it and declare a decisive and triumphant victory. No, if I was going to get this I needed a better vantage point and that meant a big move. I was convinced that success required one to be known, and to be known you had to be seen. To be seen you had to go where the action was because nobody would seek you out in a small town, but it was more than that. Not only was it not feasible to be successful in a small town, one’s credibility required that their name was attached to a map dot with a reputation for progress and growth. For most of my 20-year wrestling career, I identified my hometown as Brandon. I felt that no matter where I appeared in Canada, it was a city most could find on a map, and that attachment to a recognized regional urban hub somehow created legitimacy in my field, but still unique. I wasn’t just a naïve farm boy from the sticks.But the longer I worked and lived in that environment of professional sport, I grew to see the flaw in my logic. Everybody was creating an aura based on something they were not. Wrestlers from rural Alberta attached themselves to Calgary, Winnipeggers were billed from Toronto, born and bred Newfoundlanders cast themselves from any city they could that created an image that they were from “away.”

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An old idea about to be re-visited

Ken Waddell
Right in the Centre

There has been some very preliminary discussion about Social Impact Bonds. The PC party of Manitoba, under the leadership of Brian Pallister, is stating that socially progressive projects should be financed by way of private money through Social Impact Bonds. Social Impact Bonds (SIBs)are an idea that has started to emerge in Great Britain and apparently one project has developed in Saskatchewan. It’s a way of allowing private money to flow into projects and programs that meet a social need within the province.

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Where do we grow from here?

By Vern May

Minnedosa & Area Community Development Corporation

The mission itself is simple and clear: Create growth, encourage residents, business and industry to relocate to town, expanding our tax base and creating more jobs and opportunities for future generations. Seems straight forward enough, right?But before we can commit pen to paper on a marketing plan, we first need to identify the inventory of what we’re physically selling. If there’s no opportunity, how do we sell that?

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Herbs for Health - Probiotics: the 'friendly" bacteria

By Janet Husak and Karen Burton

Herbs for Health

Do you suffer from digestive or stomach ailments such as lactose intolerance, gas, bloating, heartburn, constipation, diarrhea or yeast infections? Then a probiotic may be what you need. A common interchangeable term is probiotic and acidophilus.  

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Homebodies - The church of my childhood

By Rita Friesen

The Neepawa Banner

Several weeks ago I took the opportunity to attend a Sunday morning worship service in the church of my childhood. My sister knew of my plans to be present but no other family members were aware of my coming. 

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