Those who participated in some of the local festivals this summer may have noticed a new parade entry. The Municipality of Rhineland debuted its new float at Plum Coulee's Plum Fest in August.

Reeve Don Wiebe says having a float is a first for the municipality. Prior to amalgamation the towns of Plum Coulee and Gretna had their own individual floats that travelled across southern Manitoba. Wiebe says this was an exciting new thing for
Council to be a part of, noting this float features all aspects of the new municipality.

"We have the three LUDs; Plum Coulee, Rosenfeld and Gretna highlighted, and all the villages are recognized on that float. This is what Rhineland looks like and hopefully that created a message of the extent and what's involved in our new municipality."

Meantime, work has begun to repair the Plum Coulee Community Hall following a devastating fire last spring.

"The roof is being repaired, some of the walls are being insulated and we're putting in a temporary heating system so to keep the building and keep the project going," explained Wiebe.

As for the adjoining arena, he says Council is still waiting to hear on the status of a few grant applications before work gets underway.

"Hopefully very soon we have some information on the grants that are available and we can start planning...we don't want to waste a lot of time."

Because of how the timeline is unfolding, the Plum Coulee Arena will not be open this season.