Strathmore

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says her government is rewriting a ministerial order directing school divisions to ban books containing sexually explicit content to ensure classic books stay on library shelves.

Smith says the order is being changed to only target books that contain images of sexual content.

The initial order covered books with images, illustrations, audio and written passages with sexually explicit content.

Wheatland County is continuing road upgrades through the fall season. 

Construction crews will begin work on Thursday (Sept. 4) on Range Road 220, between Township Road 234 and Township Road 232A. 

The road will be closed as crews replace a bridge and upgrade the surrounding roadway. Only local traffic will be permitted during construction. 

The work is expected to be completed by Oct. 31. 

Wheatland County is thanking residents for their patience and is asking motorists to follow signage and detour routes during the project. 

Brooks RCMP have given an update on the investigation into the death of 20-year-old Fatima Ahmed.

According to police, Ahmed was first announced as missing on Aug. 18, just four days after she had last been seen.

As harvest operations begin across the prairies, CN Rail is monitoring the impact of weather on the harvest and working with customers as it prepares to ramp up grain movement. 

David Przednowek,Vice President of Grain for CN Rail says with the seasonal decline that they usually see in shipping, they move some of the hopper car fleet into long-term storage, and it's time to bring them back out and get them ready to roll.

It may have been open less than four months, but Latin American Empanadas is already a Strathmore favourite.

Owned and operated by the Giacalone family since 1992, the bakery first set up shop in Calgary before making the move to Strathmore in April. Its menu items are Chilean-inspired but broadly representative of South America, and its recipes are still the same ones from more than 30 years ago.

Story and Song, a Strathmore-based music group, was at Kinsmen Park over the weekend, inviting all to join in for a day of playing music.

Residents gathered outside the park stage on Saturday (Aug. 30) to celebrate Play Music on The Porch Day, a worldwide event to celebrate the power of music.

The open-air jam brought several performers to the stage, playing a variety of instruments from the acoustic guitar to the cello. Many of the songs played fit into the folk and country genres.

A new report released as students across the country return to school finds bullying, poverty and mental illness are on the rise among Canadian youth and urges action from policy-makers to improve the lives of children. 

The Raising Canada report says more than 70 per cent of Canadian youth between the ages of 12 and 17 experienced bullying in the last year, and more than 13 per cent of children were living in poverty by the end of 2024.

After almost a week of being in effect, the Heat Warning issued by Environment Canada has ended.

The warning was issued on Aug. 26 after daytime high temperatures ranged between 29C and 33C throughout the week.

However, as temperatures this week are expected to be in the mid-20s, the warning was ended late Monday (Sept. 1).

Despite this, we're still expecting sunny skies alongside a daytime high of 31C on Wednesday.

Classes have officially kicked off at all schools in Strathmore.

On Tuesday (Sept. 2), school began at Strathmore High School, Westmount Elementary School, Wheatland Elementary School, George Freeman School, Crowther Memorial Junior High School, Brentwood Elementary School, and Trinity Christian Academy.

Carseland School is also set to start classes the same day.

Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued an Air Quality Warning for the region.

The warning was issued on Tuesday (Sept. 2) and affects Wheatland County, including Strathmore, Lyalta, and Carseland.

"Smoke is causing very poor air quality and reduced visibility," wrote Environment Canada. "Air quality and visibility due to wildfire smoke can fluctuate over short distances and can vary considerably from hour to hour."