Estevan

Authorities in Los Angeles say a Quebec water bomber is out of service after colliding with a drone while fighting wildfires Thursday.

A pair of Quebec water bombers and their crews have been helping since Tuesday to fight the massive fires north of downtown L.A., which have killed at least 10 people and burned more than 10,000 homes and other structures.

The L.A. County Fire Department says the plane known as Quebec 1 was struck by a civilian drone at 1 p.m., sustaining wing damage.

Cautiously optimistic. 

That's how the western chapter of the Service Employees' International Union (SEIU-West) feels after members met with provincial ministers to discuss the state of healthcare in Saskatchewan. 

Federal Health Minister Mark Holland says provincial and territorial health plans will cover primary care provided by nurse practitioners, pharmacists and midwives. 

Holland says regulated health-care professionals who aren't doctors will be able to bill the government for medically necessary services that would otherwise be provided by a physician. 

The minister says the changes are part of a new interpretation of the Canada Health Act that takes effect on April 1, 2026. 

The federal Liberals will announce a new leader on March 9, the party announced late Thursday, giving potential candidates just two weeks to decide to run and potential voters less than three weeks to join the party in order to vote.

The National Board of Directors met Thursday night to decide the initial rules for the race to race to succeed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced Monday he will resign as soon as a new leader is chosen.

Contenders have until Jan. 23 to declare their candidacy and will have to pay a $350,000 entry fee to participate in the race.

Farmland values continue to rise and as producers head into the 2025 growing year, operations will have to take a calculated approach to either expanding their business or even just staying competitive. Farmland values within Canada increased by 11.5% in 2023 and 12.8% in 2022. Farm Credit Canada or FCC reports on these increasing farmland values and will release a full report for the 2024 year expected in March 2025. Justin Shepherd is a senior economist with FCC who sheds some light on the rise of land prices over the last few years. 

The town of Moosomin is turning heads with its incentives for the construction of new homes. In August they announced the new program, which was possible thanks to $1 million from the federal Housing Accelerator Fund.  

The southeast has some representation in the 4th annual Battle on the Prairies football matches, being held in Moose Jaw this year.

That pitches Manitoba, Alberta, and Saskatchewan players against each other for a day of matches stretching across multiple age groups.

The Sask Selects teams take some of the best players from across the province, with a few of the teams getting some Estevan and area representation:

• Varsity - Preston Sibley & Corbin Barker

• 14U - Hugh Ross

• 13U - Arvin Sangar & Gage Goetz

With school back in session after the holiday break, conversations around Saskatchewan's education system have returned.

The province's political parties have seen some back and forth, with the Saskatchewan NDP saying that a recent report shows the system gained 15,000 students and lost 86 teachers.

STF President Samantha Becotte talks about the numbers and what they're seeing in the school system.

Alberta is preparing to send water bombers, night-vision helicopters and incident command team support to help battle wildfires ravaging parts of Los Angeles.

Premier Danielle Smith says on X that neighbours are always there for each other in times of need and the province will assist its American friends in this crisis.

Water-bombing pilots and crews from Quebec and a British Columbia company are already fighting the wind-whipped flames in the Southern California city.

The City of Estevan has released its budget ahead of 2025, looking at what kind of costs and revenues might be coming next year.

From the General Operations Fund, revenue is expected to be $27,721,021, up from 2024's budget.

The general operating expenditures will be $26,229,959, above the number in the 2024 budget for a total net fund as available for capital projects of $1,491,061.

The Utility Operations Fund revenues meanwhile are in the budget at $6,378,496, a slight decrease from the 2024 budget.