Strathmore

Alberta RCMP is reminding residents to stay safe and wear a seatbelt.

Police in the province handed out 2,960 tickets for seatbelt-related offences in the province last year.

Police said the fine for not obeying the laws of the road is $162.

Officers provided a few tips residents can implement before hitting the road:

The City of Chestermere has bid farewell to its beloved ice rinks for the season.

According to the city, warm weather has weakened the ice, which puts people's safety at risk.

"While the lake ice thaws and the sun works its magic, we’d like to share a simple reminder to stay off the ice, both on the lake, as well as the storm ponds across the community," wrote the city on its website.

The city also asks that parents talk to their children about the importance of ice safety.

Five Second Rule with Langdon Firehouse Bar & Grill is back Wednesday morning.

Keesyn Glawson will drop a category, and you've got to name three things in five seconds.

Listen to 104.5 More Country at 8 a.m. before the announcement drops and be the first to text the cue at 403-902-1111.

Wednesday's prize will be a $25 gift card to Langdon Fire House Bar & Grill and tickets to the sold-out show Econoline Crush.

Drew Gregory is hosting an upcoming concert for a cause.

Gregory and several other country musicians will round up a few tunes for Nashville Night on April 11 to raise funds for the Standard Community Hall.

It's the sixth year that the show has been put on.

"People started to just kind of understand the format a little bit of it and enjoy coming out and listening to some music. It's been a cool thing to take part in," said Gregory.

Chestermere has several capital funding projects planned for this year.

"A capital budget is a plan for acquiring, maintaining, and replacing a municipality’s physical assets. It’s part of the annual budget and based on revenue projections," mentioned the city in a news release.

"An operating budget outlines spending on day-to-day operations, including employee salaries, utilities, and facility maintenance."

According to the city, it prepares a yearly capital plan and a 5-year plan.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Canada will pay a "financial price" after vowing Tuesday to double the tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum imports in response to Ontario's surcharge on electricity exports to the United States.

"They will pay a financial price for this so big that it will be read about in History Books for many years to come!" Trump posted on social media.

Strathmore resident Claude Brown is the first registered candidate for the upcoming municipal election.

Brown placed his bid on Mar. 10 at the Strathmore Municipal Building and said he hopes to bring a new face to town council.

"I feel very qualified to do that. I've talked to a lot of people in town, and I really feel that I represent their points of view, and I want to bring that to council and do my part."

Taking care of your mental health is critical and farmers across the prairies are as vulnerable as any other industry, maybe even more so when you consider how stressful the industry can be. 

Farmers in Manitoba now have greater access to vital mental health resources thanks to the Manitoba Farmer Wellness Program (MFWP), which offers no-cost counseling to farmers, their families, and employees over the age of 16.  

During his final days in office, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pushing for long-promised reform to the RCMP. 

A government report released Monday, which highlights concerns about Canada's capacity to meet "the new threat environment," says it's time to modernize the police service to focus on "the most serious forms of criminality."

It says the government’s vision should be to establish the RCMP as a "world class, intelligence-led, federal policing organization."

Prairie farmers say planned Chinese retaliatory tariffs on Canadian agricultural products are causing loads of uncertainty, while threats of U.S. levies and industry issues have created further problems. 

Bill Prybylski, president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, says China's 100 per cent tariffs on canola oil, meal and peas scheduled for next week are already being felt, as markets have taken a hit.