Manitoba businesses, municipality relieved as Hwy.10 reopens after flood

Small businesses and residents are relieved a major connector route between two communities in the Swan Valley region devastated by flooding has reopened after sections of it washed out nearly nine weeks ago.

Highway 10 between Minitonas and Swan River, about 350 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, was first damaged during flash flooding in early June.

Crews were in the process of repairing the washouts when a second flood event at the end of that month forced them to start over, leaving people in Minitonas few options other than driving nearly an hour for health care, supplies and work in Swan River. The two communities are roughly 15 kilometres apart.

"To have the highway open again, it's huge," said Lynda Parsons, the Municipality of Minitonas-Bowsman's chief administrative officer.

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"It means that all that big truck traffic isn't on our municipal roads. There's been a lot of damage done, unfortunately, from the extra traffic ... and obvious safety concerns" linked to access to emergency services, she said.

The highway fully reopened on July 31, Parsons said, after an eastern part of the highway closer to Minitonas was fixed. A western portion reopened days earlier.

It came as a relief to Valley Meat Packers, a butcher shop located just off the highway, between Minitonas and Swan River.

In early June, when the first flood washed out sections of the highway on both sides of the business, customers lost nearly all access to the store, except through a zigzagging back gravel road, co-owner Corina Tripp said.

An area off a repaired section of the highway that washed out in June. (Submitted by Bill Gade)

She estimates the store lost about 90 per cent of its business during the closure, while expenses remained the same.

June and July are among the store's busiest months, Tripp added. The Swan Valley region usually attracts tourists visiting the nearby provincial parks and local rodeo, which was cancelled this year.

"It's just obviously a huge financial impact," she said.

"(It was) pretty stressful there for a bit."

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Tripp feels fortunate the property did not flood, adding, "There are a lot of people (in Minitonas) that were way worse off than us."

The business has appealed to the provincial government for help and contacted its insurance, but Tripp doesn't know if it will be covered for anything. Manitoba's disaster financial assistance program generally covers uninsurable losses, not lost income or revenue.

She says business picked up instantly when the highway reopened and the store is now on the mend.

"Life goes on. Business will be back."

The highway closure was also hard on Barefoot Farms, a farm and hydroponic greenhouse.

Valley Meat Packers was cut off from most of its customers for weeks due to highway washouts. (Submitted by Corina Tripp)

"The biggest damage to my business, my prosperity, was the access caused by the highways," owner Dale Mohr said.

He's disappointed the road wasn't fixed sooner but was pleasantly surprised when customers began rolling up to his farm saying Highway 10 had reopened.

Mohr said he also lost about 90 per cent in sales but felt lucky his farm only experienced a bit of flooding. His other farmland didn't fare as well.

"You clean up, and you carry on," Mohr said.

The municipality continues to deal with damaged municipal infrastructure, Parsons said, and has identified 105 sites requiring repairs.

She commended two humanitarian organizations that, until recently, had been helping Minitonas residents with recovery work.

Christian Aid Ministries, which arrived within 24 hours of the first flood, left July 31, and Samaritan's Purse left Wednesday, Parsons said. Between 168 and 180 households signed up to have the non-profit organizations help with cleaning and restoration.

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"It's really tough to see them go. They've been amazing," Parsons said.

Next, the municipality will welcome a group from Mennonite Disaster Service to help those most in need rebuild their basements.

"I'm scared to use the word normal, but it really feels like we're just getting back to normal here, and I think for the most part, people are in a good space," Parsons said.

"The highway was a huge win. Like, [it] really needed to happen because that was kind of the last piece," she said.

"I'm very proud of where we are as a community. Everybody really stepped up and helped their neighbour."

This article, originally published by CBC News on August 10, 2026, was written by Rosanna Hempel.