Staff, students, and volunteers will help bring the UCN’s annual haunted Harvest to the community this weekend.

The event takes place at the gymnasium in the UCN tomorrow from 1-3 pm to help bring the Halloween spirit to kids in the community.

The event is hosted by the UCN’s faculty of education and ECE staff and students; the UCN hosts Bachelor of Education, and early childhood education, as well as more.

The Gymnasium will be set up with games, activities, and a bounce house, and there will be lots of treats for the kids.

Admission is free, and the event will run from 1-3 pm. Costumes are encouraged.

As Halloween approaches, local officials are reminding families to prioritize safety while celebrating.

When choosing costumes, opt for bright colours and reflective materials to enhance visibility.

Masks should fit well, but using face paint is a safer alternative to avoid obscuring vision.

For trick-or-treating, parents should accompany younger children, while older kids can team up with friends.

Stick to well-lit areas and avoid shortcuts in dark alleys. Flashlights or glow sticks can help light the way.

Safety on the roads is crucial. Always use crosswalks and look both ways before crossing the street. Before indulging in candy, parents should inspect all treats for safety.

Keep pets away from the front door to prevent escapes, and ensure any anxious animals are kept at a distance.

When decorating, consider using battery-operated candles instead of real flames to reduce fire risks, and keep pathways clear of decorations to prevent trips. Arctic Radio wishes everyone a safe and fun Halloween celebration!

It's almost collection week for Operation Christmas Child in The Pas.
 

Each holiday season, Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan's Purse, helps to create shoebox gifts for children in need across the world.

Participants fill shoeboxes with toys, school supplies, and essentials collected during a special week in November.

That week is coming up, and collections will take place at the alliance church from November 3rd to 9th.

Boxes are then sent out with a message of hope; those filling a box are encouraged to include personal notes and pictures.

Boxes can still be picked up at the Northern Lights Dollar Store for anyone interested in filling a box.

The Beatrice Wilson Health Center will be active at the Otineka Mall for Halloween, with family events.

Tomorrow, a zombie walk will run from 10 am to 2 pm at the mall, and the public is encouraged to dress up in costumes.

There will be treats for the kids.

A special Halloween sensory booth will be set up for children on the spectrum and with special needs, ensuring everyone can be included in the Halloween celebrations.

There will be a chance for children to win Halloween gift bundles.

University College of the North will play host to a former astronaut, Dr. Roberta Bondar's Travelling Exhibit on Bird Migration and Conservation.

The Pas Guest List Inc. has partnered with the UCN to bring the former astronaut and photographer's Exhibit to Northern Manitoba.

The Exhibit focuses on migratory birds from three perspectives: space, aerial, and surface.

The public is welcome to attend the grand opening of the Exhibit and hear from Dr. Bondar and learn more about her unique perspective on birds.

The Exhibit will officially open on November 27th at the UCN with Dr. Bondar's collection of high-resolution images from her project "Space for Birds".

The Exhibit at the UCN in The Pas will run until March 14th.

A drive-through Halloween event will be taking place in Moose Park over the next few days.

Costumed creatures and Halloween decorations have spilled into the park, and starting tomorrow night and running Thursday as well, spooky themes and Halloween music will fill the air.

DJ Derek 4 real will play host to the music.

The 2-day only event will run from 6 to 9 pm both nights, and you’ll be able to stay in your vehicles as you’re slowly guided through the Halloween Alley. The park will be open free to the public to attend.

The Dauphin Country Fest made a big announcement last Friday with an upcoming lineup for the 2026 show, including Jelly Roll, Nate Smith, Tyler Hubbard, Florida Georgia Line, and so much more.

The Dauphin Country Fest is one of the country's longest-running and largest country music festivals, and with the A-list performers set to take the stage next July, tickets are expected to sell out quickly.

The event also hosts a business fair in April, and lots of local food and drink vendors during the festival.

Tickets will be available to the general public starting on Thursday; early-bird tickets are available to Dauphin Country Fest Members.

You can learn more at countryfest.ca.

Feeding picky children can be a challenge, but there are several strategies you can try to encourage healthier eating habits.

They can range from involving them in meal prep to offering choices or coming up with healthy alternatives like making smoothies.

The Northern Health Region is promoting healthy eating habits in children by hosting an online workshop later this month.

The virtual course will be held on October 30th using MS Teams from 1:30 to 3:30 pm and is free for the public to attend.

You will learn more about how setting routines, rewarding positivity, and creating an enjoyable environment can help open up your children to new foods.

It's important to be patient while children develop their tastes, as it can take time, creativity, and consistency to help expand their food preferences.

The OCN is putting a call out for board members to sit on boards for health, Infrastructure, housing, child and family services, education, care homes, PBDC, social development, and government services.

The Chief and Council have decided it would be pertinent to have two existing board members continue in their positions in each department to help with the transition period.

Applications can be submitted by OCN members who are 18 or older and committed to OCN's strong community values.

Anyone with relevant experience in any field related to the board would be considered an asset.

To apply, you can send letters of intent and resumes outlining qualifications to the council offices before November 5th at 4:30.

The Opaskwayak Cree Nation hosted a ceremony in Winnipeg last Friday on the development of a six-story mixed-income housing facility at 366 Marion Street in the city.

The large-scale project will have 127 new homes, 52 of which will be deeply affordable units.

At the ground level, there will be co-working and lounge spaces, commercial units, and underground parking.

The OCN is undertaking the indigenous-led project in partnership with Freedhome Development Inc., the federal and provincial governments, and construction is expected to be complete in the fall of next year.

The Goal is to help indigenous community members survive and thrive in the city setting.

The project launched last year and is well underway in making this happen.

Northland Ford Scares Hunger is happening again this month.

The program is aimed at feeding Children and families locally.

Donations will be going to food bank programs with the Friendship Center and breakfast programs with the various schools in the community.

Northland Ford in The Pas has continued the program.

Non-perishable food items, toiletries, water, School supplies and other essential goods can be dropped off.

Community groups, local Businesses and individuals can call Northland Ford to have larger donations picked up; the number is 204-623-4350.

Parks Manitoba is gearing up for fun events through fall and early winter at Clearwater Lake Provincial Park.

Starting this weekend, two activities will be taking place.

Saturday Moon Madness, a guided moonlit hike, will take place at Campers Cove, showcasing the beauty of fall in the evening.

The hike is 3 kilometres long and will explore some of the science involved with the moon and how it influences life on Earth.

Sunday afternoon, Curious Cave Creatures will take place starting at the cave head trail, and will explore the caves and cliffs at the park, interacting with the animals with microscopes and more.

Later in November and December, guided snowshoe tours and winter trekking activities will be offered.

The programs are free to attend, and an adult must accompany children under 12.

You can contact the parks office at 431-355-0223 for more information.

The government of Manitoba is allocating over $4.5 million for Indigenous language initiatives at two universities.

The funding will support a degree in Ojibwa language immersion at the University of Winnipeg, while the University College of the North will provide a comparable program in Cree.

Both programs are set to launch in January with the aim of helping students achieve fluency in these languages to enable them to teach.

Premier Wab Kinew emphasizes that Indigenous youth's well-being will improve if they are able to communicate in their community's traditional languages.

Maintenance work is starting today on the front door of St. Anthony’s Hospital in The Pas.

The work is expected to take about 3 days and will start at 3 pm this afternoon and should be completed by Wednesday morning.

During this period, the main entrance will not be accessible.

The secondary entrance on the North side of the building is located next to emergency will be used during this time.

Film Training Manitoba is expanding north with a series of Master Classes that will be held in northern and rural communities in the province.

The Northern Diverse Creators Program was specifically designed to support and provide access to smaller communities.

Adam Smoluk, executive director for film training in Manitoba, says they often offer online classes and programs, along with in-person training in Winnipeg and Brandon, but this new program is designed to give small communities access to these opportunities.

Kevin Nikkle, a filmmaker and teacher from Brandon, will host a class in town that focuses on skill development, industry insights, and the steps to bringing your own documentary project to life.

The Class runs at the Wescana on October 30th from 10 am to 12:30 pm and is free for everyone to attend.

Now’s the time to get your flu shot.

Upcoming flu clinics in The Pas will run this coming Thursday, October 23rd, at the Legion from 10 am to 6 pm.

On October 27th and November 3rd at the Roy H Johnston from 1 to 6 pm both days.

And on November 15th at the Primary Health Care Center from 10 to 4 pm.

Parents with children aged 4 to 6 can also book appointments through Primary Health at 204-623-6950.

Flu clinics in the OCN were supposed to start today, but have been postponed.

Rescheduled dates should be coming soon.

The Beatrice Wilson Health Center has noted that the Jordan’s Principle van is available to OCN Families living in the Tri-Community. It will be operating between 4:30 and 6:30 pm.

A big concert event is going on this weekend at the Wescana.

Owen Abraham, Local Musician with Madlack, has event details on tomorrow night’s show.

"The doors will open at 6, the show starts at 7, bring 15 bucks to the door, there's no tickets, just bring the door fee. All ages can attend. We're going to have us, Madlack, The Fixer from Ontario, as well as Teknosis from Ontario, that's going to be their first time being here, and they're more of a death metal kind of band. So I think that's going to be the heaviest band that we've had here, and Persona, who is a local rap artist, is going to open up the show."

Madlack was nominated for the Manitoba Loud Music awards, which took place last weekend; unfortunately, they did not take home any awards.

Doors will open at the Wescana at 6 tomorrow night with bands taking to the stage at 7.

We are back on the air! You can tune into our AM and FM feeds! Bingo is still cancelled for tonight, but it will be back next week.

We thank you for your patience while this situation was being solved.

OCN Thursday Night Bingo has been cancelled tonight due to our transmitter not having any power. You can take your cards back to the Bingo Hut for reimbursement, or keep them for next week's OCN Thursday Night Bingo.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

It's been a busy week in the community, with clean-ups needed due to fallen trees and branches, and power outages still affecting the area.

More than 76 outages were reported in The Pas, OCN and surrounding communities.

Outages heavily affected the OCN, and during this time, 345 volunteers and staff members assisted.

Forcing school closures and more, pushing the OCN into a lockdown that was lifted on Tuesday.

The Town extended the waste removal project until the end of the week to allow residents the extra time needed to remove debris from the storm.

Pick-up will continue today and tomorrow.

During this time, Manitoba Hydro has been working diligently to repair lines, but has noted that damage across the province has slowed progress.

Last Sunday, Officers in Moose Lake got a report of two females held against their will and an assault that occurred at a nearby residence.

When officers met with the victims, it was disclosed that they were accused of stealing from the occupant’s home where they were then held, searched and assaulted prior to being allowed to leave.

A search of the residence led to the discovery of multiple edged weapons, cash, ammunition, and drug paraphernalia.

Inside the home, 9 adults were located and arrested; five of them were later released.

RCMP have charged Rebecca Campbell, 28, and Tiffany Campbell, 31, with Forcible confinement and Assault in relation to this incident.

Billy Campbell, 33, was arrested on several outstanding warrants and also charged with resisting arrest.

The three accused were remanded into custody.

A 40-year-old male was charged with Possession of property obtained by crime and released on an Undertaking for a future court appearance.

Moose Lake RCMP continue to investigate.

Due to rolling nationwide postal strikes, mail is once again flowing through Canada Post, but there may be delays.

The stoppage first occurred on September 25th and was changed to a rotating strike over the weekend. Rotating service resumed yesterday across the country.

Delays may be causing issues for homeowners looking for their 2026 assessments. You can visit Manitoba Assessment Online to view assessments.

You can also create a MyPropertyMB Account online for additional information.

Municipalities will issue public notices about the assessment availability and appeal deadlines.

Commercial mail is once again being accepted starting today, but Canada Post has said it will take time to clear the large amount of trapped mail and parcels.

The town and council are encouraging citizens to clean up their properties and the surrounding areas.

It was recently announced that the Town of The Pas will be helping by removing yard waste from the town starting today and running till Thursday.

It is recommended that you have your waste bagged, bundled, and out before 8 am for removal.

They will be picking up yard waste that has been placed in disposable paper containers. Plastic will not be accepted, and branches must be bundled in packages weighing no more than 25 pounds and measuring 4 feet in length.

Anything larger than this can be removed by contacting the town offices, which will cost the homeowner.

It's noted that ashes, sod, dog waste, and material from dismantled structures will not be picked up and that this will not affect regular garbage pick-up.

Today, waste removal will be done for those on garbage days 1 and 2. Tomorrow, those on garbage days 3 and 4 will be handled, and on the 17th, removal will be done for those on garbage day 5.

The town also offers a bulky item removal, and can help deal with derelict vehicles by calling 627 1125.

ID clinics are running at the Pas Friendship Centre today, helping individuals obtain status cards, SIN numbers, and discussing dental care and disability tax credits that are now available.

Service Canada will be on hand from 11 am to 1 pm, assisting with SIN numbers. You must have a birth certificate to be able to receive a SIN number.

From 9 to Noon, the Swampy Cree Tribal Council will be on hand assisting with status cards. A valid photo ID is required, as well as a secondary piece of ID.

And starting next Tuesday, the Friendship Centre will be hosting after-school programming from 4 to 6:30.

The free after-school program is designed for children 6 to 11, and spots are limited, so contact the Friendship Centre to register. Activities will run from Monday to Friday, starting after Thanksgiving.

The Manitoba government launched the 2025 Wildfire Disaster Financial Assistance program to help communities and municipalities recover from this year’s unprecedented wildfire season.

The program provided funding to offset costs related to emergency response, recovery efforts, and long-term wildfire mitigation.

The deadline to apply is fast approaching on November 30th, and those affected are encouraged to apply.

Areas that may be supported include pre-emergency preparation efforts, Emergency response operations, Recovery and restoration activities, Relief and recovery support, and Long-term wildfire mitigation strategies.

Learn more about the DFA Program and apply at gov.mb.ca

An emerging band from Dauphin is being acknowledged for their music contributions by the Manitoba Country Music Association.

Kates Outlaw, an indigenous group, has been nominated for seven awards, including emerging artist, song of the year, and others.

Kates Outlaw’s new single is out now on various streaming platforms.

It’s the 50th anniversary at the Otineka mall, and big draws are happening to celebrate.

The top prize is currently on display at the mall.

There will also be daily draws from October 27th to the 31st, offering $ 500 in mall bucks and other prizes from a collection of mall merchants.

To enter, you must take receipts from mall locations with a purchase of $ 25 or more, sign them, and include your phone number on them. Then, please place them in the draw drum near the center court.

The main draw takes place on November 1st at 4:00 p.m., and participants must be 16 years of age or older and in attendance.

The Fans in the Door fundraiser for the OCN storm that took place yesterday raised over 20,000 dollars to help bring fans in the doors for the 2025-26 season.

The Storm opened up their season against the Cross Lake Islanders on the road over the weekend with a loss and a win, and with ice issues at the GLMC, the boys won’t have a home opener until next month.

The Organization is hoping the final donations will roll in to make seats free all season long.

Last-minute payments can be made by emailing officialocnstormhockey@gmail.com.

Home games in the OCN will start on November 8^th.

The Hockey Season is here, and so is the Pas Skate Club with a brand new session to help give young skaters their ice legs.

Learn-to-skate programs will kick off the season.

Can Skate runs tomorrow from 5:15 to 6, and the Parent and Me program runs on Monday, October 20^th.

You can register for sessions at skatethepas.com.

Today is the final day to get your drafts in for the annual Arctic radio NHL Hockey Draft taking place across the north in The Pas, Thompson, and Flin Flon.

Last year’s Stanley Cup Champion, the Florida Panthers, will open up the season tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Penguins and Rangers hit the ice at 7, and the Avalanche host the Kings in the late game.

Canadian Teams will not be in action until tomorrow.

Draft Entry Forms must be picked up from sponsor locations and can be dropped off before 4:30 pm.

Late entries will not be accepted.

Drafts can also be dropped off at Arctic Radio locations in The Pas, Thompson, and Flin Flon.

A 54-year-old male is dead following a stabbing that took place in Northern Manitoba Last Wednesday afternoon.

RCMP in South Indian Lake got the report of a possible stabbing at a home in the community, and found the man with life-threatening injuries.

His death is being treated as a homicide.

A 53-year-old woman was arrested on the scene and remains in police custody as investigations continue.

Last Week, Joël Lightbound, the federal minister responsible for Canada Post, announced the government's plan to reform the postal service.

This would include ending home delivery for more than 4 million Canadians. However, what will affect Northern Manitoba the most is the lifting of a moratorium that prevents the closure of thousands of rural post offices.

Mark Armitage with Canada Post in the Pas says the move was a shock, and the union strike was unplanned.

 The closure of rural post offices could mean drives of an hour or more for some rural residents who need to pick up mail at other post offices.

Grand Chief Kyra Wilson stated that this could pose an additional hurdle for First Nations communities, which are already facing barriers to accessing essential services.

Canada Post stated in a release that it is disappointed in the union's decision to strike, noting that it would only exacerbate the situation.