MooseJaw

Over 400 students from across southern Saskatchewan gathered at the Western Development Museum in Moose Jaw on May 28 for Museum Day — a hands-on, heritage-rich field trip packed with live demos, science, animals, and many tastes of the past. 

A new spy watchdog report says an overseas Canadian Security Intelligence Service operation was suddenly halted by government officials, "creating unnecessary danger for the CSIS team" and raising questions about ministerial accountability.

The National Security and Intelligence Review Agency found no written records indicating the decision to suspend the operation had been made by the CSIS director or the minister of public safety.

National defence is becoming an increasingly thorny topic for Prime Minister Mark Carney's government as Canada comes under heavy pressure from its allies to do more and spend more.

But with just weeks to go until NATO member nations assemble in the Netherlands for a summit that could put Ottawa in the hot seat on defence spending, several of his ministers took the unusual step of removing themselves from discussions with defence reporters this week at Canada's largest defence industry show.

Westmount School welcomed Calum McAnally from Mix 103 for Classroom of the Month, presented by Town & Country Plumbing, Heating & Electrical.

Our final stop at Westmount had us visiting Ms. Singleton's Grade 5 class, who chatted about this being their final year at Westmount School before heading to the newly built Coteau Hills School.

Want us to stop by your class? Nominate your class for Classroom of the Month, presented by Town & Country Plumbing, Heating & Electrical, [insert link or location] here.

Premier Scott Moe announced Thursday afternoon that Saskatchewan has declared a provincial wildfire state of emergency.

As of Thursday morning, there were 17 active wildfires, eight of which were not contained, and 15 communities and over 4,000 residents in northern Saskatchewan have been evacuated.

The declaration by Premier Scott Moe came one day after his Manitoba counterpart Wab Kinew did the same.

“It's a very serious situation that we're faced with,” Moe told a news conference in Prince Albert.

The City of Moose Jaw is asking residents to conserve water effective immediately.

The Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Plant has notified the city of a “short-term reduction in the supply of water to its customers … due to an issue with the plant.” The issue is expected to be resolved by the end of the weekend.

Residents are asked to reduce their water usage over the next couple of days. Ways to help include:

• Turning off taps as much as possible during personal grooming activities

• Showering instead of bathing, if possible

Almost a month ago, the Smile Cookie Campaign at Tim Hortons was in full swing as Moose Javians bought cookies.

From April 28 to May 4, people could buy a smile cookie, a fun way to donate to a non-profit organization. This year, $34,276.54 was raised in support of Hunger in Moose Jaw.

"It really blew our expectations out of the water. The community came together and beat the total that we had kind of set as our goal. So it was great to see such a large fund raised for Hungary in Moose Jaw," said Aurora Howe, owner of Moose Jaw Tim Hortons.

The 'Colours of Summer' will be on full display in downtown Moose Jaw during this year's iteration of the Moose Jaw Hometown Fair Parade, and you can now sign up to take part in the festivities as applications are now open.

There's plenty of time to make preparations as the parade is three weeks out, being held on Thursday, June 19 at 7 p.m.

It's $25 per application and full details, contact information, rules and the application form itself can be found by clicking here.

Forget masked outlaws on horseback: In Saskatchewan, the real threat to cattle producers today are crimes of opportunity, overlooked stock, and informal deals that leave both sides frustrated. Traditional rustling — as in physically stealing cattle — still happens, usually in small numbers, but it’s no longer the main concern.

Fire prevention and safety have been top of mind for many as of late, reports of dangerously dry conditions, uncontrolled wildfires in the north, and the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency upgrading the fire weather index for our region to ‘extreme’ have been circulating recently.