The hard work has finally paid off for those committed to making Portage bloom.

Cathie McFarlane and Mari Kozar presented to the City Council on October 23rd, presenting the ratings from this year's Communities in Bloom presentation. The city received a rating of five out of five, marking the first time that the city's reached that milestone.

Portage la Prairie Mayor Sharilyn Knox says she enjoys seeing the judges every year.

"I love when we have people from outside our city come and look, tell us the things that we're doing really well, tell us things that we can improve on," explains Knox. "It also showcases all of the hard work that everybody is doing to make our city a special place."

This year's Communities in Bloom rating was on a provincial level, for municipalities with a population above 5,000. Last year, Portage was judged nationally but only received a rating of three out of five.

"The judges that were here were here in 2019, so they hadn't seen the Causeway completed, so they got to see that project finished," notes Knox. "They got to see the duck pond, they get to see the started skate park, they've even got to see the Saskatchewan Ave. construction. They see so many places that they can really see the vision."

Knox extends a big thank you to anyone who helped keep Portage la Prairie in great shape, ultimately leading to the rating of five blooms out of five.

In response to Canada's Online News Act and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) removing access to local news from their platforms, PortageOnline encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading the PortageOnline app.

Related Stories