FortSask

Four men have been arrested in connection to a string of catalytic converter thefts in the area.

Earlier this month, police responded to a suspicious vehicle report in the downtown area of Fort Saskatchewan.  

Police say they located and pulled over the vehicle. RCMP officers reported that when they noticed weapons and break-in tools in the vehicle, the suspects were arrested.

Officers searched the vehicle and found weapons, suspected fentanyl, cocaine, and meth, as well as four catalytic converters. 

Morinville may allow off-highway vehicles on roads in a pilot project next year. 

In a council meeting late last month, the council accepted bringing up the project in their 2024 budget deliberations.

The pilot project was originally introduced by councillor Ray White, who has been paying attention to a similar project in Legal.

Traffic is reduced to one lane on Highway 15 toward Fort Saskatchewan due to a grass fire.

The fire was reported by 511 Alberta just before 11 a.m. on Monday (Apr. 24) morning and is burning across the highway from the Edmonton Institution. 

Edmonton Fire Rescue and Edmonton Police Services are on the scene. 

Local residents taking the highway posted photos of the blaze to social media to warn other drivers. 

There has been no word on if there were any injuries or what the cause of the fire is.

More to come...

The final weekend of April is looking to be a warm one.

According to our forecast, the daytime highs for this weekend will be around 20 C, with overnight lows dipping to around 3 C.

"Not all models agree that those temperatures will be reached," said Terri Lang, a meteorologist with Environment Canada. "But certainly some warmer temperatures than what's been seen as of late."

Lang added that these temperatures are not out of the ordinary for this time of year.

"The 30-year average high for this time of year is 14 C, so it's a little bit above average."

The provincial government has given an update on the proposed new interchange at Highway 15 and Highway 830 north of Fort Saskatchewan. 

On Monday (Apr. 24) morning, transportation minister Devin Dreeshen was joined by MLA Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk and Strathcona County mayor Rod Frank at the Strathcona County Fire Station 4 to give an update on the project. 

The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council is looking for input from the Ag sector for its new Labour Market Information survey.

The survey provides key information on the labour market that will help identify labour shortage issues by better understanding how workforce needs have change.

The new data will help policymakers guide future action on the growing workforce crisis in the ag industry.

Each year a number of temporary foreign workers are brought in to help meet the shortage of agricultural workers.

Farm organizations across the country continue to raise concern about the potential impact the PSAC strike could have on the Ag sector.

The Canadian Federation of Agriculture sent a letter to the Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau last week asking the government to take urgent measures to ensure adequate contingencies are in place ( such as an Essential Service Agreement  ) that would ensure any strike action would not unduly impact the movement of agriculture products and that all programs continue to be delivered uninterrupted.

Statistics show that around 40 per cent of Canadian farmland is rented. 

Farm Credit Canada has released a report that could help producers make decisions about buying versus renting land.

FCC's rent-to-price ratio for cultivated land looks at cash rental rates and crosses that information with the Farmland Values Report data. 

Fort Saskatchewan residents were greeted by a couple of moose walking through the city over the weekend. 

Opportunistic photographers were able to capture a couple of the ferocious animals walking on the street and lazing in backyards. 

Though beautiful creatures, dealing with a moose can be extremely dangerous and precautions should always be taken when coming in close contact with them. 

Moose usually aren't aggressive but that can easily change if they are provoked or see a threat to their young. 

Canada's biggest federal public service union is preparing to ramp up its ongoing strike by moving picket lines to strategic locations such as ports on Monday, as both sides continued to accuse each other of poor communication.

In a Sunday interview with The Canadian Press, Public Service Alliance of Canada National President Chris Aylward said civil servants need to further affect the economy to push Ottawa for a solution.