Lacombe

Work begins this week to replace the oldest of two computed tomography (CT) scanners at the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre.  

The $2.4-million equipment replacement is expected to be operational in the early spring.  

The project is funded by Alberta Health Services (AHS) through existing capital funding.  

Something many Lacombe residents have been asking for a while.

Lacombe City Council declared the discontinuation of train whistle use at the Wolf Creek Drive rail crossing. City Administration is now working with Canadian Pacific Kansan City CPKC to end the use of whistles at this location within 30 days of the declaration date.

The Burman Black Student Alliance (BBSA) is hosting Cultural Collision this Saturday (Feb. 1) in Lacombe inside the Gwen Bader Fitness Centre at Burman University.

School councillor Tamara van Rensburg explains the purpose behind the event.

"We are connecting with students as well as people within the community," she said. "Community members to just come together, share, bring awareness to the various cultures that are represented, not only on campus but also off campus, within Lacombe or even Central Alberta."

Late last week, the provincial government released a report regarding the province's response to the impacts of COVID-19.

According to the report, the task force that wrote the report recommends "halting the use of COVID-19 vaccines without full disclosure of their potential risks".

Alberta’s government is launching Assisted Living Alberta, a new provincial agency that will oversee continuing care, including long-term care, home care, and community support.

The agency, set to be legally established by April 1 and fully operational by fall 2025, is part of a broader restructuring of the healthcare system.

Police are reminding vehicle owners about the risk of warming up their vehicles with the keys left inside.

Last week, Alberta RCMP discovered 504 unlocked vehicles with keys in the ignition as part of Operation Cold Start. 

Conversely, there were 1,277 locked vehicles left idling with keys left inside.

A trio of federal cabinet ministers is in Washington today making a last-ditch attempt to stop U.S. President Donald Trump from imposing economically devastating tariffs on Canadian imports.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, Public Safety Minister David McGuinty and Immigration Minister Marc Miller are all in the U.S. capital, making a final diplomatic push to convince Republican lawmakers and Trump's team to sway the president.

Trump has signalled he's prepared to slap 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports as early as Saturday.

Nova Scotia Liberal MP Jaime Battiste says he is dropping out of the Liberal party leadership race and backing former central banker Mark Carney.

The MP for Sydney—Victoria made the announcement in a statement sent out late Thursday by his campaign.

Battiste was the only Indigenous candidate in the running and sought to put First Nations issues on the agenda during the contest.

He says the best way for him to advance the issues he cares about — reconciliation, the environment and affordability — is by supporting Carney’s leadership bid.

Update:

A snowfall warning for Wetaskiwin County and the surrounding area has ended.

Significant snowfall is no longer expected.

Original story:

Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning for Wetaskiwin County and areas including parts of the QEII in that vicinity.

Snow was expected to continue through Saturday.

Additional snowfall accumulations of up to 10 cm were expected.

Rapidly accumulating snow could make travel difficult over some locations.

Earlier this week, the Canadian Wheat Research Coalition (CWRC), announced they’ve committed $11.8 million of funding over the next five years to the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre (CDC). With the CWRC’s previous funding agreement with the CDC expiring this year, CWRC’s president Lori-Ann Kaminski knew that this was a deal that needed to be done.