Hayden Michaels

A meeting was held yesterday in Swift Current regarding rumours surrounding Canada - U.S. border crossings in the region. 

Southwest Saskatchewan representatives from various RMs, Towns, and the City of Swift Current were present, along with MLA for Cypress Hills Doug Steele and the Cypress Hills - Grasslands MP, Jeremy Patzer. 

They were discussing the recent rumours of alleged hours of operations reductions, and possibly even closures, at the various border crossings in southwest Saskatchewan. 

Yesterday, Swift Current Rural RCMP responded to an incident on the Trans-Canada Highway. 

Officers responded to the call at 5:30 p.m., arriving to find a two-vehicle collision near Chaplin. 

The crash occurred during a period of low visibility as salt was blowing over Highway #1. The exact cause of the collision is still under investigation. 

Only one person reported any injuries to RCMP, being minor ones at that. 

Motorists are reminded to check the Highway Hotline to see if there are any delays, incidents, or other hiccups on Saskatchewan highways. 

A GoFundMe has been set up for the funeral of the Swift Current man who was killed on the Trans-Canada Highway on Sunday night. 

Mitch Melo was struck by a driver in the westbound lane of Highway #1 and was declared deceased by EMS at the scene. 

Now, his aunt Anita Sorenson has set up the donation page to help his family pay for the funeral expenses. 

Southwest Saskatchewan is seeing some investment from the Water Security Agency. 

A total of $2 million is being put into five southwest Saskatchewan projects. These investments are part of a larger $42 million WSA infrastructure project, which seeks to update and maintain existing infrastructure such as weirs and dams. 

These southwest projects will stretch from Lafleche to Cypress Hills. Both the Val Marie Dam and the West Val Marie Dam are receiving upgrades, such as a spillway replacement.

A total of 8.75 million unstamped cigarettes have been seized in the largest seizure of illegal tobacco in Saskatchewan Highway Patrol history, just outside of Swift Current.

The find came after an officer determined the semi's bill of lading was false on July 17th. The subsequent investigation uncovered the massive haul of cigarettes, with close to 30 pallets of the unregistered tobacco products recovered by authorities.

We recently passed the first day of summer, which means getting ready for summer road trips for many families. 

CAA Saskatchewan is celebrating the start of the vacation season by giving people a heads-up on travel safety. 

Tips from CAA encourage people to be travel-conscious with their personal vehicles, getting ahead of potential problems. 

The first thing CCA advises is to get vehicles inspected. This can identify issues before they happen, and give you peace of mind as the unknown becomes the well-known. 

The Sask. Teachers Federation has released details regarding the latest tentative bargaining agreement.

After months of back and forth, job action, and walking away from the bargaining table, the Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee and the Teachers' Bargaining Committee have found terms both sides find amicable. 

They are as follows.

Term of the Tentative Agreement 

Even with the deadline of 2050 still a long way away, the recent Memorandum of Understanding between the westernmost prairie provinces promises good economic growth. 

Alberta and Sask. both entered into the MOU on nuclear power generation last week, ensuring the need for sustainable and reliable energy that can meet demands is a joint effort and concern. 

For the communities up for consideration of SaskPower's Small Modular Reactors, like Estevan, the promise of nuclear power industry grows all the more enticing. 

The Village of Richmound’s battle with an unwelcome guest continues.

The small community, situated south of Leader, has been stressed since Romana Didulo and her followers moved into the former Richmound School property in Sept. of 2023.

Over the last eight months, the situation has become more strenuous, after residents have held protests, and Didulo and her followers have continued their presence in the village.

On Sunday, Swift Current City RCMP discovered a deceased woman, whose cause of death is as of this time unknown.

The 40-year-old unidentified female was discovered when City RCMP responded to an EMS call for assistance at 5:06 p.m. She is described as having been non-responsive before being declared deceased.

She was discovered in a commercial dwelling unit on 21st Avenue Northeast. 

City RCMP is continuing to investigate the circumstances of her death in collaboration with the Saskatchewan Coroners Service.