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From the Country
Its not a well-known fact, though suspected, that the percentage of rural residents in Manitoba has dropped. In fact, it has dropped to 33 per cent from 56 per cent during the past 60 years. While that appears to be a long time for this to happen, it isnt.
What is alarming is that shift tilts the economic and political power in the province from the country to Winnipeg. As a result, rural ridings have fewer voters and fewer taxpayers to impose their will on their environment.
Country residents have many different issues to deal with than their urban counterparts. Its hard to balance what is best for the province as a whole including all the regions - when the majority of the decision-makers are focused on Winnipeg and its problems.
But there are exceptions.
Having visited Brandon, Steinbach, Dauphin, Winkler/Morden, Stonewall, Portage la Prairie, and Carmen, I found that they are fine alternatives - if you can find or create a job there.
Their civic leaders and townspeople are committed to the advancement of these smaller cities. For this edition, journalist Bob Armstrong visited Steinbach and shares with us the latest economic news from that rural city.
I visited Dauphin and found a great deal of satisfaction among the people who make it their home.
Dauphin has a Wal-Mart, Tim Hortons, McDonalds, A & W, Boston Pizza, a mall and a Super 8. My favorite was the Dari-Dip, a clean well-lighted restaurant on Main Street, which serves top-rated sandwiches, soups, desserts and high-end coffees. In summer, of course, it is ice cream central.
Every town in rural Manitoba, if it's large enough, has its favorite place and its special people.
Getting out of the city with your family in winter can be a good thing, and you dont have to be a snowmobiler or a skier to do it. Just getting away, to somewhere like Riding Mountain in the northwest or to Falcon Lake in the east, and taking in the scenery by walking can brighten up the long winter.
For me, visiting a small town means a chance to chat up the locals to find out whats going on in town. In Dauphin, I wandered from store to store letting curiosity be my guide. I talked to people in retail stores about how the market was going and what they did in their spare time. I had a beer with the locals at the Community Hotel.
Not everyone feels the lure of the city, but for those that do its for employment. Our rural correspondent Angela Lovell explores many angles of why and how people who are really committed to their rural roots stay home in the country.
Were pretty friendly here in Winnipeg, and welcome our neighbours. So, we hope they come and visit us often. And well return the compliment.
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