Estevan

For Manitoba's pulse and soybean growers, 2024 was a year of unexpected challenges and surprising success. Daryl Domitruk, Executive Director of the Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers (MPSG), reflected on the year, noting that early conditions didn’t inspire much optimism.

“Our crops went into cold, dry ground that quickly turned wet and stormy. We were bracing for a tough year,” Domitruk said.

Estevan’s City Council held its first meeting of 2025, focusing largely on housekeeping duties for the new year. However, one notable item on the agenda was the proposed renaming of Churchill Park.

The application to rename the park Roy Ludwig Churchill Park was submitted by former councillor Travis Frank. The proposal highlighted Ludwig’s service to the community from 1991 to 2024, as well as the significant redesign of the park completed during his final year in office.

The RM of Estevan is inviting residents to make their voices known as SaskPower is proposing a power line expansion in the southeast.

In SaskPower's release, they state that they're looking to build two six-kilometre overhead 230-kilovolt transmission lines southeast of Estevan, stretching across the local RM and the nearby RM of Cambria.

Those transmission lines would then connect a proposed switching station to an interconnection point on the border with North Dakota.

The cost to send a letter in Canada is increasing by about 25 per cent, effective today.

Canada Post says the cost of stamps for domestic mail bought in a booklet, coil or pane has increased by 25 cents to $1.24 per stamp. 

The cost of a single domestic stamp is now $1.44, up from $1.15.

Canada Post proposed the increase in September last year. It says the higher price is required to better align stamp prices with the rising cost of providing letter mail service to all Canadians.

The Canadian Country Showcase, hosted by Courtney Fielder, airs every weekend on Saturdays at 12 PM and Sundays at 4 PM. Courtney engages in conversations with emerging country music artists and the established stars we’ve come to love, celebrating their milestones and new releases.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, fresh off a weekend visit with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, says if Ottawa uses an energy embargo to combat Trump's promised tariffs, it would spark a "national unity crisis."

"Oil and gas is owned by the provinces, principally Alberta, and we won't stand for that," Smith told reporters in a virtual news conference Monday.

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly hasn't ruled out an energy embargo in response to Trump's promise to impose punishing 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian products.

The city’s budget meetings last week addressed a range of issues, including rising insurance costs, infrastructure projects, and landfill expansion.

City manager Jeff Ward highlighted the need to monitor insurance increases, noting the potential to explore alternative options like SUMAssure, a reciprocal insurance program run by the Saskatchewan Urban Municipality Association. SUMAssure allows participating cities to pool funds and access insurance coverage collectively.

The government of Saskatchewan is hoping to get a better understanding of the province's hunting scenes as they're asking hunters to fill out their harvest surveys.

Those surveys help the Ministry of Environment's biologists and other staff keep an eye on the province's wildlife numbers.

Environment Minister Travis Keisig encourages hunters to do their part and provide critical information to help wildlife biologists better understand game populations and determine management strategies.

Barbara Ann Cutler

April 10/1950 ~ January 05/2025

Barbara Ann Cutler late of Carlyle, Saskatchewan passed unexpectedly on the Family Farm her "Happy Place."

A Celebration Of Life in honour of Barb is planned for April 2025 in Carlyle, Saskatchewan with an exact date to be determined and announced by the family at a later date.

After surviving a cold snap over the weekend, the southeast isn't out of the woods just yet. 

According to Environment Canada, the area can expect a cold start to the week, followed by a sharp warm-up for Wednesday and Thursday. We'll be heading into a temperature plunge starting this Friday, with the cold snap lasting until Monday. Meteorologist with the weather agency Danielle Desjardins described it as a 'roller coaster' weather pattern.