WestCentral

Saskatchewan is investing $20 million to support communities and individuals affected by this year’s destructive wildfire season, the province announced Monday.

The funding, which will be administered through the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA), is intended to kickstart recovery work in communities that were devastated by the fires. A dedicated Recovery Task Team (RTT) has been established to coordinate the effort.

Fourteen bison at Buffalo Pound Provincial Park are now equipped with GPS ear tags, allowing park staff and visitors alike to monitor the herd’s whereabouts and learn more about their behaviour.

The real-time tracking system displays the bison's location on a screen inside the park’s Visitor Centre, making it easier for guests to spot the animals and learn about their movements. The initiative is a joint project between the Saskatchewan Ministries of Parks, Culture and Sport, and Agriculture.

With the end of the crop year coming up on July 31st, we are starting to see a seasonal slowdownof grain movement.

CN's Assistant Vice President of Grain, David Przednowek says even with the seasonal decline, they have still registered just over half a million tonnes of grain movement per week over the past couple of weeks.

"We are seeing the demand for CN supply hopper cars for grain movement decline. You know, in the past couple of weeks we've seen orders for CN supply equipment in that 3334 car per week range. "

Ducks Unlimited Canada agrologist has promoted winter cereals for decades and remains hopeful about the crop’s future

Winter wheat was a big deal on the Prairies from about 2006 to 2014.

Total acreage ranged from 800,000 to 1.3 million, with the lion’s share of the crop seeded in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Ken Gross, a Ducks Unlimited Canada agrologist who has promoted winter cereals for decades, described that period as the “second wave” of winter wheat on the Prairies.

The Zone 7 Sun Devils 18U AAA baseball team has a home game in Unity tonight, one of their several home locations being an area-based team.

First pitch set at 6:30, the Sun Devils are taking on the Swift Current 57's. The Sun Devils are coming off a loss on Sunday to the Parkland Expos 14-8, but before that the team rattled off a pair of wins against the South East Twins 7-2 and 4-1 in a Saturday doubleheader.

Each senior baseball league around the area — the Fertile Valley Baseball League, North Saskatchewan River Baseball League, Coteau Hills Baseball League, and Battle River Baseball League — are officially into the

With files from Swift Current Online

West Central is burning hot to start the week, Leader the hot spot on Tuesday at a heat warning high of 34.

The entire region is fighting blazing temperatures in the low to mid-30s, humidex values ranging between 34 and 38 today with UV index levels very high as well. Looking at Wednesday's weather both the highs and humidex levels are similar, only some areas being treated to what should be a notable breeze.

SaskPower is skipping lunch on Wednesday with a planned power outage scheduled from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM inside the Plato area. 

The outage will only affect a small section specifically east and southeast of Plato across Highway 44, and SaskPower shared with the newsroom that 30 customers will be without power as a result of the work. 

Kindersley Fire crews were dispatched at 1:29 p.m. on July 7, to a fire with visible smoke and flames. Two Class A pumpers, a utility unit and a command vehicle responded to the scene, along with EMS, Kindersley RCMP, SaskPower and SaskEnergy.

Construction on Main Street initially blocked access to the fire location, prompting the fire department to activate its pre-planned emergency access plan. Firefighters were able to reach the building after construction workers opened up the blocked streets.

Bruce Burnett, Director of Weather and Markets with Glacier Farm Media says that's mainly driven by various factors affecting the broader oilseed market.