With the 2010s into their final days and hours, yesterday I made the first of a two-part post looking back on the top ten topics of the past ten years. You can see that post, which featured topics 6-10, at this link.
Today we now look at the top five, which each in their own way were responsible for changes to life in Brandon as we knew it….
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5. The flood of the century, the sequel (2014)
One decade. Two 1 in 300 year floods. What are the odds? Just three years after an historically rare “high water event” tested the city, another that essentially matched it would pass through the city’s stretch of the Assiniboine River. With the experience of the recent flood still fresh in minds and with dykes constructed in a hurry to meet 2011’s rising waters still in place the city was ultimately better-prepared to weather the storm.
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4. Westjet launches Brandon air service (2013)
When it was announced in 2013 that airline Westjet would carry out daily flights between Brandon and Calgary with its new ‘Encore’ service, it was a true game-changer for Brandon both economically and in terms of quality of life.
The years that followed saw the construction and opening of a modernized airport terminal and the experimenting with additional flights to and from Brandon as the city and its residents embraced being able to reduce trips to-and-fro Winnipeg for their air travel needs.
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3. 2012 City of Brandon budget (2011/2012)
Faced with a climate of perpetually rising property taxes, a proposed City of Brandon budget was released for the 2012 year that would see many homes face a year-on-year municipal property tax increase in the double digits. As the public became aware of impacts to their own property and paid a higher than normal level of attention of expenses that were to contribute to that rise, a form of opposition swelled culminating with a packed city hall information session that featured about as emotionally charged of an exchange as you might ever see between citizenry and its representation. In the end the final budget was to receive many amendments to lower the would-be tax impact on residents and one could argue that eight years later the experience still has a meaningful impact on decision-making and budgeting in the city.
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2. Massive fire engulfs downtown buildings (2018)
A massive fire breaks out on a particularly windy day in a dry spring in downtown Brandon, spreading to and claiming several long-time local buildings including Christie’s Office Plus and Massey Manor.
After a temporary relocation to The Town Centre, Christie’s officially moved into their new Richmond Avenue East location earlier this month. At last report Massey Manor, which had been home to about 150 people at the time of the blaze, was undergoing significant renovations to repair fire and water damage and may soon re-open to families.
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1. The Flood of the Century (2011)
Having seen regular coverage of national disasters on Canadian and international media, there may have been for many a feeling that Westman is fairly insulated from the kinds of serious events that put life into perspective. That changed in a hurry in the spring of 2011 with the rise of the Assiniboine River and the accompanying mandatory evacuations of the low lying “flats” section of Brandon including the prominent Corral Centre property. For those that lived in the city during that period, the images of dykes, super sandbags and a community united by volunteer spirit will not soon be forgotten and the lessons learned in fighting mother nature’s plan will be beneficial in the years ahead with climate change expected to bring more polarizing weather events including floods.
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That’s all she wrote! For a site that’s been online long enough to amass nearly 15 years of topics that have defined life in Brandon and Westman there aren’t many firsts left, but having the chance to reflect back on an entire decade was just that. I’d like to thank everyone that’s played a part in making the site a valuable stop for local folks over those ten years and look forward to what's ahead!