WestCentral

 A Canadian non-profit is challenging students and educators to rethink failure as an essential part of learning and innovation.

Shift Canada, which promotes entrepreneurial risk awareness, has released its 2025 Impact Report on its Shift Failure program for grades 5 to 12. The free, plug-and-play curriculum is designed to help students understand that setbacks can lead to success.

From the dawn of new sports seasons to celebrating history, the past week was loaded with great local content.

Check out the latest West Central Week in Review below!

The Securities and Investment Management Association is calling for sweeping reforms to Canada’s retirement-savings system, saying outdated policies and affordability challenges are leaving many Canadians unable to plan for their futures.

In a new report released Wednesday, the association said inflation, high housing costs and rising household debt are eroding the ability of Canadians to set aside money for retirement, while government policy has failed to keep pace with longer lifespans and shifting pension realities.

The federal government is investing more than $33 million to support the George Gordon First Nation in building one of Saskatchewan’s largest Indigenous-owned solar farms.

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson announced the funding Tuesday for the Wicehtowak Solar Project, a 32-megawatt facility being developed through Wicehtowak Solar Ltd., the First Nation’s renewable energy company.

Canada Post has issued a new set of stamps showcasing the beauty and ecological importance of fungi found across the country.

The collection, unveiled August 27, features five species: star-tipped reindeer lichen, oyster mushroom, chicken of the woods, tinder fungus and the microscopic Rhizophagus irregularis.

Researchers are urging Canada, United States and Mexico to take immediate action to save the monarch butterfly as the migratory insect faces a growing risk of extinction amid habitat loss. 

The iconic butterfly's population has decreased by around 80 per cent in the past two decades, says the paper published in the journal Current Biology, with the loss of breeding habitat cited as the main reason behind the sharp decline.

The Assembly of First Nations' annual general meeting next week in Winnipeg will set the stage — and the tone — for engaging with governments on major infrastructure projects.

National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak says politicians will be paying close attention to the resolutions chiefs pass related to the federal major projects legislation. The bill, which passed in June, has seen strong opposition from some First Nations leaders and community members who fear it won't respect their rights.

A Saskatchewan cattle company has been fined $25,000 after a workplace incident led to the death of a worker near Walpole.

Ramage Land & Cattle Company Ltd. pleaded guilty in Regina provincial court on Aug. 12 to one violation of The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2020.

The charge stemmed from an incident on Aug. 23, 2023, when a worker drowned after entering a dugout on horseback.

With hot weather and heavy traffic expected over the Labour Day long weekend, Alberta RCMP are reminding motorists and boaters to make safety a priority.

Police say officers issued nearly 1,100 tickets during last year’s Labour Day weekend, including 990 for speeding, 35 for distracted driving, and 55 for not wearing a seatbelt. Ninety-two impaired drivers were also removed from the road.

Farmers are working on bringing in the harvest as the weather cooperates.

Last week's hot, dry weather also brought its share of thunderstorm activity with strong winds and hail which caused some lodging in crops. The Nipawin area had the most rainfall, with 42 mm, followed by the North Battleford and Consul areas with 30 mm and 28 mm, respectively. A number of other areas around the province are also seeing some scattered showers.