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UPDATE: Lumsden RCMP say the Highway 20 has now reopened

**Original article**

Highway 20 west of Craven is closed following a train derailment.

The Saskatchewan Highway Hotline says there is debris on road and that police are on site.

Residents are asked to avoid the area.

At this time it’s unclear when the highway will reopen, what caused the derailment or what the train was carrying.

Due to current conditions, high fire activity and the extreme fire risk in the province, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) has issued a provincial fire ban effective at 5 p.m. on May 8, 2025. The ban encompasses the area north of the provincial forest boundary, up to the Churchill River. 

The Canadian Wildlife Health Co-operative Lab reports this year’s first avian influenza case in a wild bird was found in the Saskatoon region.

Wildlife biologist Erin Moffatt says most of the dead wild birds sent for testing have come from southern areas of the province.

Most of the dead birds being found now are Canada geese or snow geese. There were nine positive cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza in wild birds located in Saskatchewan last year.

Moffatt says there are a few stages in the testing process.

Members of Conexus, Cornerstone, and Synergy Credit Unions will have the opportunity to vote on a proposed merger of the three financial institutions beginning early next month. The voting process will open on June 3, following a special members meeting, and will close at noon on June 13. 

Sexual Assault Services of Saskatchewan (SASS) and the Government of Saskatchewan have recognized the month of May as Sexual Violence Prevention Month (SVPM), expanding the initiative from a single week to a month-long focus. 

Raven Daer, Communications Specialist with Envision Counselling and Support Centre, explains SVPM is part of a broader effort to end sexual violence. 

“Sexual violence prevention is essentially just getting out the education surrounding this important topic and finding ways to work together to end sexual violence across the province.” 

The federal government expects to spend about $7 million this fiscal year to store and maintain four custom-made, portable hospitals that cost taxpayers more than $200 million to buy — facilities meant to bolster overwhelmed hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic that were barely used.

Early on in the pandemic, as the federal government moved at breakneck speed to respond to a global health crisis, it issued rush orders for these Mobile Health Units.

Dr. Pamela Arnold of Regina has been elected president of the Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA), becoming the organization’s 59th president.

Arnold was chosen by physician delegates during the SMA’s 2025 Spring Representative Assembly, held Friday at Saskatoon’s Sheraton Cavalier. She succeeds Dr. Andre Grobler of Prince Albert and will serve a one-year term.

Saskatchewan is expanding its infant immunization program to protect all newborns from Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) during peak respiratory illness season, the province announced this week.

Beginning this fall, every baby born in Saskatchewan from one month prior to the start of RSV season — which typically runs from Oct. 1 to March 31 — will be eligible to receive a publicly funded RSV immunization at birth, with parental consent.

A new online therapy course is now available in Saskatchewan to support the mental health of new and expecting parents.

Launched through the University of Regina’s Online Therapy Unit, the Wellbeing Course for New and Expecting Parents is designed to help people experiencing depression, anxiety and other mental health challenges during and after pregnancy. The province is providing $380,000 to support the initiative.

Indigenous groups in Canada say they want to see Pope Leo XIV continue the reconciliation work started by his predecessor, the late Pope Francis.

Francis was recognized as an ally of Canada's Indigenous Peoples and was known for advancing reconciliation efforts and apologizing — both in the Vatican and in Canada — for the Catholic Church's role in widespread abuses at residential schools.

His visit to Canada in 2022 was described as a "penitential pilgrimage" as Francis insisted on meeting with Indigenous survivors of residential schools and hearing their stories.