Lacombe

Former Red Deer Rebels Captain Kai Uchacz has signed with the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights.

Uchacz signed a two-year, entry-level contract, which was announced by the Golden Knights on Sunday.

The 21-year-old is currently playing for the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights.

He has 23 points (12G-11A) in 51 games and is tied for third on the Silver Knights in goals.

Uchacz made the team as a free agent after attending a development camp in July of 2024. He played parts of five seasons in the WHL, mostly with the Red Deer Rebels.

Jill Verwey of Portage la Prairie has ascended to a prominent national role in Canadian agriculture, being named as the first vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) during its recent annual general meeting in Ottawa. Verwey, a seasoned farmer specializing in cash crops, beef, and dairy, also serves as the president of Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP), Manitoba's leading farm policy organization.

Premier Danielle Smith issued the following statement on the implementation of U.S. tariffs:

“The tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump are an unjustifiable economic attack on Canadians and Albertans. They also represent a clear breach of the trade agreement signed by this same U.S. President during his first term. These tariffs will hurt the American people, driving up costs for fuel, food, vehicles, housing and many other products. They will also cost hundreds of thousands of American and Canadian jobs. This policy is both foolish and a failure in every regard.

The Olds RCMP was dispatched to a complaint of suspicious people in a vehicle near the Dodge Dealership just outside of Olds on March 1.

RCMP located the vehicle, which had been stolen out of Blackfalds.

The three occupants were taken into custody.

Other stolen items were also located inside of the vehicle.

Angie Jury, a 35-year-old resident of Red Deer, was charged with taking a motor vehicle without consent.

Jury will attend the Alberta Court of Justice in Didsbury on March 24.

The Blackfalds RCMP received 121 calls for service between Feb. 18 – 24. 

The calls included two assaults, three breach of peace, one criminal harassment, one mischief, three thefts, one uttering threats, and 22 motor vehicle collisions. 

Here are the calls: 

Feb. 18  

The Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP) Queens earned silver at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA)/Curling Canada College Championships. The RDP Kings would earn bronze at the National Championship.

In addition to the RDP Curling teams earning CCAA medals, the Red Deer Polytechnic Kings and Queens Hockey teams won their playoff series and advanced to the next round.

The Queens Basketball team put forth a good effort with a depleted lineup but dropped both games at the ACAC Women’s Basketball Championship.

U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on U.S. imports today coming from Canada and Mexico. 

The president's executive order hitting Canada and Mexico with 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs, with a lower 10 per cent levy on Canadian energy, took effect at 12:01 a.m. ET.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is scheduled to talk more about Canada's response, which will include tariffs on $155 billion worth of American goods, at 10:30 a.m. in Ottawa. 

Here's the latest news (all times Eastern - keep checking back for the latest details):

Registration for spring arts and recreation programs in Red Deer opens today (March 4) at noon.  

With the new season comes fresh opportunities for fitness, fun, and creative adventures.   

There’s a variety of spring programs from swim lessons and preschool programs to fitness and wellness, arts and culture, and more.   

Red Deer Rebels defenceman Luke Vlooswyk has been named WHL Rookie of the Week.

Vlooswyk led all first-year players with a goal and four assists in two games.

He is tied for second in scoring among Rebels blueliners with 16 points (3G-13A) in 58 games. His plus-11 rating also ranks second among all Red Deer skaters.

Red Deer selected Vlooswyk with the 17th overall pick in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft.

He made his WHL debut the following season and scored a goal and an assist in seven call-up appearances in 2023-2024.

The Alberta government has hired a former head of Manitoba's provincial court to investigate allegations of high-level arm-twisting in lucrative government contracts. 

The government said Monday that Raymond Wyant's work is to begin immediately with an interim report to go to the government by the end of May.

He is to review multimillion-dollar Alberta Health Services contracts for children's medication and for surgeries done by for-profit providers.