I well remember the first time I met Tom Schmitke. This was some time after he had made his first trip to Niverville back in the spring of 1999. He and his wife Bonnie had come from Oakville, Manitoba to take a look at an opportunity which The Grocery People, the parent company for the Bigway chain, had drawn his attention to.

In December, the RM of Ritchot made several funding requests from the Manitoba Hydro Community Development Initiatives Funding Program. The successful applicants were announced in February, including several from Ritchot totalling $137,000.

Niverville’s new Shell station and Tim Hortons will be holding a grand opening on March 25, from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.

Niverville and the RM of Ritchot are growing by leaps by bounds, according to the first wave of data released from the 2016 census. Statistics Canada shows that this region, which was the fastest growing five years ago, has retained that distinction.

Though the question of GMO (genetically modified organism) food safety is a topic of hot debate, there continues to be growing demand from the Canadian public for food labelling, allowing the consumer to make informed choices about what they eat.

Concern surrounding safety has been growing since a string of thefts, break-ins, and a violent attack shook the Town of Niverville earlier this year. As a result, several new programs have been implemented through the efforts of both town council and private citizens.