Vol. 128 No.

46 Friday, January 28, 2011 Minnedosa, Manitoba Canada R0J 1E0 90 cents + tax

New Ag Barn taking shape

T he brand new show
barn being built by the
Town of Minnedosa for the
Minnedosa Agricultural So-
ciety is taking shape. The
new barn, measuring 80 by
200 feet, is being construct-
ed on the west side of the
current fairgrounds, as part
of the deal the Town made
with the Ag. Society to use a
large portion of the current
ag grounds for the develop-
ment of the Minnedosa Re-
gional Events Centre.
The new show barn is
being built by McMunn and
Yates from Dauphin who
were selected by Council
with a quote of $167,020.22,
plus tax. This quote was the
lowest of four received. The
Town will cover the cost of
initial construction with
interior finishing being the
responsibility of the Ag. So-
ciety.
Construction began
last Wednesday and if
all continues on sched-
ule, the roof and siding is
expected to be completed
within ten days. Photo by Kathleen Ledwith

Minnedosa “not a $100 a night community”

Local accommodation owners to Town Council
By DARRYL HOLYK in the community. Pat Gra- ing, staffed tourist infor- enjoyed their stay and told some attention. require attention in the
ham served as the delega- mation centre. The accom- the owner they would refer “We think some of the community were singled

A delegation of local
business owners, in-
cluding Darrell and Pat
Graham of Tilson Place
Bed and Breakfast, Terry
Green of the Gateway Mo-
tel and Don and Charlene
Chevalier of Valley Motor
Lodge appeared before
Town Council Tuesday
evening to express their
concerns regarding the
Town investigating the
prospect of attracting a ho-
telier to build a new hotel
tion’s spokesperson.
“For some reason this
Council seems to think a
new hotel is going to boost
tourism in the commu-
nity. That somehow tour-
ism is lacking because of
the quantity and quality of
the rooms available in this
community,” stated Pat.
The delegation ex-
pressed its concerns re-
garding tourism efforts in
Minnedosa, including the
lack of a proper, free stand-
modation owners are also
upset that their businesses
are getting a bad rap for
poor quality from residents
right here in the commu-
nity. Pat shared a story of
a customer who stayed
overnight at one of the lo-
cal motels who had been
told by a local resident that
there were no good rooms
available in Minnedosa
and that they would be
best to stay overnight in
Brandon. These customers
the business to others.
“Our own town isn’t
even referring our own
businesses. You are not
standing up for what you
have in your own commu-
nity,” said Pat.
As they feel fingers
have been pointed at them
to clean up their business-
es, the delegation turned
the tables and pointed
fingers at the Town and
pointed out a number
of areas they feel need
attractions in this commu-
nity, especially the Town
owned ones, are in desper-
ate need of repair,” stated
Pat. “We can do all the
advertising we want and
can get the people here.
We can provide them with
good rooms, but if there is
nothing for them to do, or
if the quality of the attrac-
tions is poor they are not
going to come back.”
Some of the areas in
which the delegation feels
out.
“The lake is in need of
a big overhaul, the Pavilion
is literally crumbling, the
tennis courts at the beach
are not completed and not
very good, the horseshoe
pits out there are a dis-
grace, the pocket parks that
were so lovingly placed are
not being tended to. They
were a great idea but they
look like an eyesore.”
Continued on Page 7