{"id":102453,"date":"2026-03-03T16:30:48","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T21:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?p=102453"},"modified":"2026-03-03T16:30:48","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T21:30:48","slug":"polar-plunge-raises-over-18k-for-special-olympics-manitoba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/03\/polar-plunge-raises-over-18k-for-special-olympics-manitoba\/","title":{"rendered":"Polar Plunge raises over 18k for Special Olympics Manitoba"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Renee Lilley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Portage Graphic Leader A record-breaking number of participants braved the icy waters at Stride Place in recent days, raising thousands of dollars to help local athletes reach the national stage. The eighth annual Portage la Prairie Polar Plunge, held Feb. 28, saw 48 &#8220;plungers&#8221; leap into a customized dive tank. The event raised $18,500 for Special Olympics Manitoba, marking the highest participation rate in the event\u2019s local history. &#8220;Special Olympics is an amazing cause that gets athletes involved in sport,&#8221; said Kristen Tompsett, staff sergeant with the Manitoba First Nations Police Service and a longtime event organizer. &#8220;This year is particularly important because the national games are in Alberta this August. We want to ensure as many athletes can go as possible.&#8221; The&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription &#8211; Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2026%2F03%2F03%2Fpolar-plunge-raises-over-18k-for-special-olympics-manitoba%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Renee Lilley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Portage Graphic Leader A record-breaking number of participants braved the icy waters at Stride Place in recent days, raising thousands of dollars to help local athletes reach the national stage. The eighth annual Portage la Prairie Polar Plunge, held Feb. 28, saw 48 &#8220;plungers&#8221; leap into a customized dive tank. The event raised $18,500 for Special Olympics Manitoba, marking the highest participation rate in the event\u2019s local history. &#8220;Special Olympics is an amazing cause that gets athletes involved in sport,&#8221; said Kristen Tompsett, staff sergeant with the Manitoba First Nations Police Service and a longtime event organizer. &#8220;This year is particularly important because the national games are in Alberta this August. We want to ensure as many athletes can go as possible.&#8221; The... <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\"><div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\"><div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription - Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div><div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2026%2F03%2F03%2Fpolar-plunge-raises-over-18k-for-special-olympics-manitoba%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":101363,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","category-ticker","pmpro-level-required","pmpro-level-3","pmpro-level-2","pmpro-level-5","pmpro-level-4","pmpro-level-6","pmpro-level-7","pmpro-no-access"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Polar Plunge raises over 18k for Special Olympics Manitoba - The Turtle Island News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/03\/polar-plunge-raises-over-18k-for-special-olympics-manitoba\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Polar Plunge raises over 18k for Special Olympics Manitoba - The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Renee Lilley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Portage Graphic Leader A record-breaking number of participants braved the icy waters at Stride Place in recent days, raising thousands of dollars to help local athletes reach the national stage. The eighth annual Portage la Prairie Polar Plunge, held Feb. 28, saw 48 &#8220;plungers&#8221; leap into a customized dive tank. The event raised $18,500 for Special Olympics Manitoba, marking the highest participation rate in the event\u2019s local history. &#8220;Special Olympics is an amazing cause that gets athletes involved in sport,&#8221; said Kristen Tompsett, staff sergeant with the Manitoba First Nations Police Service and a longtime event organizer. &#8220;This year is particularly important because the national games are in Alberta this August. 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