Lacombe

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake has struck in northern Yukon, but Natural Resources Canada says there have been no reports of damage and none would be expected.

The quake struck about 167 kilometres north of Keno, Yukon, and 519 kilometres from Whitehorse, just after noon Pacific Time at a depth of 27 kilometres.

Natural Resources Canada had initially reported a magnitude of 5.8 for the quake, and says tremors were felt in Keno, which has a population of about 20 people.

The Red Deer Regional Health Foundation (RDRHF) is kicking off the holiday season with the 31st annual Festival of Trees.   

The festival features trees that are available for auction, crafts and games in Candy Cane Lane, a silent auction and raffle draws, and a Gift and Sweet Shop featuring items made by local artisans.   

The Red Deer RCMP have recently received multiple reports of fraudulent phone calls involving fraudsters pretending to be RCMP officers and/or alleged detainees.

This scam involves the fraudster calling from either a spoofed caller ID phone number, or an unknown number.

The fraudster then identifies themselves as the RCMP or a family member demanding money to either pay a fine or bail.

The public are reminded the RCMP will never contact you asking for payment.

The Red Deer region’s unemployment rate has dropped for the second straight month.

According to Statistics Canada, the jobless rate for the region was 6.6 per cent last month, down from 7.6 per cent in September and 7.8 per cent in August.

The City of Red Deer is notifying motorists about a couple of road closures.

On Monday, Nov. 11 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., 50 (Ross) Street will be closed between 49 Ave. to 50 Ave. for the Remembrance Day Memorial Service.

Additionally, from 8 a.m. on Thursday, November 14 until 4 p.m. on Friday, November 22, 52 Avenue south of 43 Street will be closed to northbound traffic.

Motorists and pedestrians are advised to obey all signs and follow detour signage. 

The province says construction is complete on a new $203.1 million courthouse in downtown Red Deer.

The newly built Red Deer Justice Centre will replace the city’s existing outdated court facilities that have been operating at capacity. 

The new centre has space for 16 courtrooms, with 12 courtrooms fully built and the ability to add up to four additional courtrooms for future use.

Alberta Infrastructure is turning the building over to Alberta Justice, who will outfit the facility with furniture and modern equipment to prepare the building for the public. 

On Nov. 7, at 12:11 p.m., the Innisfail RCMP and Innisfail Fire and Rescue responded to a single vehicle semi roll over.   

A loaded cattle truck was driving west bound on the highway 590 overpass when the driver failed to navigate the south turn onto the QEII highway. 

The semi-truck rolled onto its side and the 75 cattle (calves) were trapped inside the trailer.  

Golf courses in the region are busy preparing for the long, cold winter months ahead.

Kerry Ward is the general manager of the Lacombe Golf & Country Club.

He says the 2024 golf season started out slow with cool and windy weather before it turned hot and sunny. Ward notes they hosted plenty of corporate and charitable events, adding membership was strong at around 400.

The Town of Olds has announced the sale of the current administrative office building to Westview Co-op following formal approval at the council meeting on November 1, 2024. 

With an expected move date of spring 2025, the Town’s administrative staff will be relocated to the Town Operations Centre at 3501-70 Avenue, on the northwest side of town. 
In a news release, the town says moving administration to this newer facility will allow the municipality to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and streamline customer service.

Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.5 per cent last month as hiring remained weak across the economy.

Statistics Canada’s labour force survey on Friday said employment rose by a modest 15,000 jobs in October.

Business, building and support services saw the largest gain in employment.

Meanwhile, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing experienced the largest decline.

Many economists see weakness in the job market continuing in the short term, before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts spark a rebound in economic growth next year.