Marna McManus

It's Native Prairie Appreciation Week in Saskatchewan. In fact, it's the 25th year of the observance of the week, and of the Saskatchewan Prairie Conservation Action Plan (SK PCAP).

The week of June 18th to 24th was proclaimed by both the Ministries of Environment and Agriculture, as the native prairie is 'part of our provincial identity' - a distinctive ecosystem that brings a multitude of ecological, societal, and environmental advantages while providing a habitat for several species. 

While it's not always appealing to take a dip in water that has an abundance of algae blooms, the less discerning, more innocent beings in your life may not think twice about not only swimming in it, but also consuming it.

If there is algae in the water you consume, you could be made sick.

The Water Security Agency (WSA) recently released a public safety notice that rising temperatures can cause patches of harmful blue-green algae to appear in our province's lakes and reservoirs.

Bird-watching becomes almost an involuntary pastime at this time of year for those who find themselves enjoying time outdoors. Birds are everywhere, breeding and building, and Saskatchewan in summer is a great place to actively seek out amateur ornithological adventures.

"We notice that the birds are very active and singing early in the morning," said Jordan Rustad with Nature Saskatchewan under the Last Mountain Bird Observatory and the Important Bird Areas program. 

As Weyburn's Brayden King announced via social media last week, he's all done now with American Idol after getting as far as Top 55 in the competition.

"When the show was offering to just fly me down, I was like, 'why would I not go?'. It was like a roll the dice and just see what it was, so the experiences were really, really great. I don't think I'll ever be that nervous to go on stage ever again in my life. I don't know if there will be any other situation that there's nerve wracking as that situation was, especially in Hollywood week."

While nearly everyone is struggling with finances thanks to inflation's effect on food costs and utilities, the challenges faced by newcomers coming to Canada include additional costs and fewer benefits.

Settlement Advisor with Southeast Newcomer Services, Laura Eddy, said setting set up in a new country is just generally expensive.

The James Weir People's Choice Exhibition is on display now at the Weyburn Gallery, and voting is underway not only in person, but all over the world.

City Curator for the City of Weyburn, and Arts Coordinator with the Weyburn Arts Council, Regan Lanning, told Discover Weyburn that so far, there have been votes coming in from Taiwan, USA, Australia, India, New Zealand, Mexico, England, France, Italy, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.

Vote online HERE. 

The Hockey Saskatchewan Board of Directors has proudly approved the creation of a new Junior hockey league for Female players in the province.

This new Under-22 (U22) league will be up and running next year and a Hockey Saskatchewan AAA/AA Task Team is working on the process that will be put in place to seek applications from communities to be a part of the inaugural 2023-24 season.

The loss of the Happy Nun Cafe to a fire just yesterday has left a void in the southeast Saskatchewan community, but the memories made there are happy ones indeed. 

This is the sentiment of philanthropist and country musician Dan Cugnet of Weyburn, who was not only a regular patron of the Happy Nun, but he also had the opportunity to play there in April of this year.

The five-day forecast is calling for above-seasonal temperatures for much of this week.

"We have a big ridge of high pressure that's building over western Canada, and that's thanks to an atmospheric river that's hitting the coast of BC, so that pumps the jet stream to the north, which puts us on the warm side of the jet stream," said Meteorologist with Environment Canada, Terri Lang.

She said this results in southwesterly winds, which are warm and dry.

The five day forecast is calling for above-seasonal temperatures for much of this week.

"We have a big ridge of high pressure that's building over western Canada, and that's thanks to an atmospheric river that's hitting the coast of BC, so that pumps the jet stream to the north, which puts us on the warm side of the jet stream," said Meteorologist with Environment Canada, Terri Lang.

She said this results in southwesterly winds, which are warm and dry.