Anna Ferensowicz

Amid a prolonged heat wave across the province, the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) said that earlier this week another record was broken.

"We hit a new summer peak record yesterday of 12,219 megawatts (MW). The previous summer record was 12,122 MW set on July 10," AESO tweeted on Thursday.

AESO is encouraging residents to try and reduce their electrical usage between 5 and 9:30 p.m. to reduce strain on the grid. Some electricity conservation tips include:

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said that later today, another pump at the Bearspaw Water Treatment Plant will be turned on, and the next 72 hours may determine if, by the end of this week, water restrictions will be further eased.

According to Stampede officials, the 10-day marquee event in Calgary saw 1,477,953 people, which means that a new all-time attendance record was set this year, beating not only last year's record but also the event's centennial year record in 2021 which saw 1,409,371 people attend. 

And thats a wrap on day 10 of the 2024 Calgary Stampede 🎆🎇 pic.twitter.com/aql7jIJG3I

There's less than a month left to claim a $1,000,000 winning lottery ticket that was drawn last July in Alberta, and with the recent luck of locals winning massive cash prizes, you might want to check your pockets and drawers.

According to the Western Canada Lottery Corporation (WCLC), someone in Alberta - outside of the major cities of Edmonton and Calgary drew the winning LOTTO 6/49 Gold Ball Draw on July 22, 2023. The winning numbers are 35610918-01.

This week will be critically important for the ongoing repairs to Calgary's South Bearspaw water feeder main, Mayor Jyoti Gondek said on Monday afternoon.

"... With the installing of pipe and backfilling of excavations expected soon. Once that's done, crews can begin testing and returning the feeder main to full service. When the team is ready to add water to the pipe, it's going to be a staged easing of getting that pipe, as well as the rest of the system, back to normal operation," she said. 

Calgary officials are estimating that there will be three to five more weeks of water restrictions after it was discovered that additional emergency repairs must be made to a water feedermain in Calgary that broke last week.

"Following a further investigation of the city's water feedermain, significant additional damage has been found and other sections of the pipe now also need to be repaired," a city press release stated.

The Calgary Stampede has announced that actor Owen Crow Shoe will lead the 2024 Stampede Parade.

"Crow Shoe is from the Piikani Nation and Blood Tribe of the Blackfoot Confederacy. His acting career started on the set of the Oscar-nominated film, The Revenant, where he worked as a stunt rider. Since then, his roles have taken him across the country and around the world, including to California where he is currently filming Dream," The Calgary Stampede stated in a news release.

Calgary residents are being asked to reduce their water by 25 per cent; this plea comes after officials said that Calgary is currently using more water than it can produce.

At a Friday morning news conference, officials said that while yesterday Calgary saw a significant reduction in water use until the afternoon, water use greatly increased around the time people got home from work. 

On early Friday morning, the 'Prairie Prognosticator' Balzac Billy,  predicted six more weeks of winter during the 21st Annual Balzac Groundhog Day Celebration.

But what of all the other Canadian groundhogs on this special day? Did they agree with Billy's prediction? It looks like Nova Scotia's Shubenacadie Sam as well as Ontario's Willie Wiarton all predicted an early spring! But what about Quebec’s Fred la Marmotte? He also didn't see his shadow - which means an early spring! Billy's American colleague, Punxsutawney Phil down in Pennsylvania also predicted an early spring. 

By the end of 2024, there will be 103 Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacy care clinics in Alberta, increasing the number of clinics by 44 in the province. The expansion represents a $77-million investment by the Canadian pharmacy retailer into the province.

Premier Smith said that the expansion will help alleviate the burden on the province's healthcare system.