Lacombe

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. 

Red Deer City Council has set the date for a public hearing to gather feedback on whether a Municipally Controlled Corporation (MCC) should be established for the city’s electric utility.      

The public hearing, scheduled for June 23, will give Red Deerians an opportunity to share their feedback on the future of the city’s electric operations.   

The government of Alberta is refocusing the health care system, and emergency services across the province.    

Work to refocus the health care system began in November 2023. Since then, progress has been made, with Acute Care Alberta becoming operational on April 1.   

Lacombe-Ponoka MLA Jennifer Johnson says the region will benefit from funding that was announced in Budget 2025.

"We do have education dollars coming to us," she noted. "For Ponoka, in transportation, we see a really exciting project coming on Highway 53 that's going to be really transforming what we're going to be calling Rodeo Drive, going by the Ponoka Stampede Grounds. That's a really exciting project, one that's been in the books and been advocated for for many years."

Johnson stated that the $5.2 billion deficit budget is not what anybody wanted to see.

The Rimbey RCMP responded to a single motor vehicle collision at Range Road 33 and Township Road 430 Monday (March 10) at approximately 5:20 a.m.

It is believed the driver and lone occupant of a Black Chevrolet Avalanche was travelling southbound on Range Road 33 and did not stop at the T-intersection.

The vehicle then struck a grove of trees and a cable box.

The driver, a 57-years-old female resident of Rimbey, was pronounced deceased at the scene.

Police remained on scene for several hours to conduct an investigation.

Lemonade Day is returning to Sylvan Lake this summer (June 14).

Through hands-on experiences, kids learn to create a business plan, budget, set goals, serve customers, and make hard-earned cash.

The program is open to children ages 5 to 14.

Registration is open now until March 31.

Local businesses are also being recruited to host a Sweet Spot and help mentor the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Last year 17 unique lemonade stands popped up all over town.

In total the program saw 23 young entrepreneurs and 9 sibling/friend participants.

The Blackfalds Bulldogs have acquired 2006-born forward Dean Toskos from the Surrey Eagles in exchange for Future Considerations.

Toskos has 6 goals and 6 assists in 36 games played this season. 

He has a Division I NCAA commitment to College of the Holy Cross. 

Last season, the Oakland, New Jersey product played on the Jersey Hitmen 18U AAA team and Don Bosco Prep team.

The Bulldogs are riding a three-game winning streak heading into Wednesday's home tilt against Okotoks.

Following a stretch of spring-like weather, it appears winter has returned to Central Alberta.

A low-pressure system, and associated cold front, moved through the southern Prairies Sunday night bringing snow to parts of Alberta.

"The heaviest snow was in the Foothills and Rockies," said Rob Griffith, lead meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

A snowfall warning had been issued for the region, with 10 to 20 cm of snow anticipated.

Griffith says the Red Deer region received between 2 to 4 cm, although some regions may have received more.

A four-day Lacombe and District Music Festival is kicking off today and will run through the week until the Grand Concert on Sunday, March 16th. 

Karyn McNeill, one of the volunteers of the festival, says there are many different types of performances throughout the week. 

"We have Piano, Dance, Choral, Strings and many other types of music. Some of the best performances will be picked for the grand concert at the end of the festival."