The new Chief Administrative Officer for the Rural Municipality of Hanover will take over the position in the coming days.

Reeve Jim Funk says Mike Primeau is scheduled to start during the first week of January. Funk says getting to this point has been a long process, which started in May when the municipality parted ways with longtime CAO Luc Lahaie. 

In looking back at the last 12 months, Funk says 2025 has been a year of challenges and highlights. He notes the challenges really started early in the year, specifically with the state of roads in spring. The weight restrictions placed on some roads also created a challenge for some contractors. 

He notes another challenge involved the ongoing attempt to rezone land north of Steinbach. Bluestem Development, on behalf of its clients, proposed rezoning property west of Highway 12 and south of Road 39N. The request was to rezone the land from Agriculture Limited Zone (AL) to Rural Industrial Zone (RI). Council for the Rural Municipality of Hanover was in favour of the rezoning, while Council for the City of Steinbach was opposed. In the end, the municipal board ruled in Hanover's favour.

"We were very happy with the outcome of it," says Funk. 

In terms of highlights, Funk says 2025 has been a remarkable year for building activity. Though final numbers are not yet in, Funk says building permit totals have been exceeding average levels for most of this year. 

Funk says the municipality has acquired some new equipment in 2025, including one grader, three tractors, and two mowers. 

Also, several road infrastructure projects were completed, including rebuilding and paving Westland Drive, next to the municipal office. Crews also completed asphalt overlay work along Road 42N, running east of Highway 12, northeast of Blumenort. They also reconstructed sections of roads 31E, 32E and 35N. 

Funk says another highlight of 2025 has been the significant progress in fundraising towards the Grunthal arena upgrade. The multi-million dollar project could include a new lobby, new seating and concession area, constructing four new dressing rooms, upgrading electrical systems, adding storage, making the building more accessible, building a tractor shed, adding a new electric ice resurfacer (commonly referred to as a Zamboni), improving insulation in the existing building, and adding a new ammonia ice plant.

Also on the recreation side, Funk says they have had programs running in each of their communities this year, with nearly 2,000 participants taking part in things like swimming lessons, summer camps, recreation hockey, babysitting courses, flag football, and girls' baseball. 

Funk adds there have also been several capital projects completed, including a refresh to the outdoor rink in Kleefeld, a renovation to the recreation centre in Blumenort and new playgrounds in Mitchell and New Bothwell. 

"The Rural Municipality of Hanover has experienced a very successful year in 2025," adds Funk. 

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