Lacombe

You'll want to get out and enjoy the weather over the next few days with an upper ridge continuing to bring warmer temperatures to Central Alberta. 

Todd Bate is a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

"It appears that the warmer than normal weather is going to continue until at least Thursday with highs generally above zero," said Bate.

Daytime highs for Monday and Tuesday are plus two and plus one for Wednesday and Thursday. 

That's when Central Alberta will see a return to winter.

Red Deer Public Schools (RDPS) City Wide School Council is inviting families to the upcoming City Wide School Council’s Agency Fair, an event that will showcase the vital contributions of local community agencies in supporting students and their families.

This drop-in event will take place on January 14 from 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. at the Red Deer Public Schools Central Office (4747 53 Street). 

Many Lacombe residents took advantage of the nice weather over the weekend to enjoy the city's outdoor skating ponds.

The city maintains two ice surfaces including Cranna Lake and the pond near Royal Oak Manor (College Ave. & Calgary Edmonton Trail).

Lacombe's Director of Operations Doug Halldorson spoke to CentralAlbertaOnline.com on Friday.

"We check the ice to make sure it's safe to go on prior to us clearing the ice," he explained. "We just continue to monitor the thickness as the winter progresses."

Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan says dozens of firefighters from Alberta and British Columbia will help fight wildfires in California, and the federal government is co-ordinating efforts with the provinces to deploy resources.

Sajjan says in a social media post that 60 firefighters from the two provinces will be deployed as soon as Monday, and that Canadian officials are working to identify and prepare more resources to send in the days ahead.

Alberta's Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides has responded to the Alberta Teachers’ Association's (ATA) recent criticism on enhanced literacy and numeracy screening tools for kindergarten through Grade 5.

ATA president Jason Schilling explained this is the first time in Alberta's history that teachers are now mandated to test kindergarten students.

"It's a move that has teachers across the province scratching their collective heads and questioning the purpose, value and timing of these tests for our youngest students."

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith met with president-elect Donald Trump in Florida on Saturday at his Mar-a-Lago residence.

In a released statement, Smith said the two had a "friendly and constructive conversation" during which she emphasized the mutual importance of the U.S. - Canada energy relationship, and specifically how hundreds of thousands of American jobs are supported by energy exports from Alberta.

The Monday, January 13, Regular City Council Meeting will start at 10:30 a.m.

CONSENT AGENDA:

Recruitment of Indigenous Representative for the Housing and Homelessness Integration Committee

In 2024, Farmers for Climate Solutions (FCS) commissioned market research firm Leger to conduct a national poll of Canadian producers during the 2024 growing season.

The goal was to:

In spite of multiple player trades over the past week, and new players coming in, things looked much the same for the Red Deer Rebels who continued their 8-game losing streak.

With just 17 shots in the game, the Prince Albert Raiders shut out the home team 3-0 Saturday night at the Peavey Mart Centrium.

The Raiders would score just a minute and a half into the first period on a controversial goal. Rebels' goalie Chase Wutzke was run into on the scoring play but there was no call from the officials. 

United Way Central Alberta (UWCA) raised $29,558 in 2024 as Bower Place Shopping Centre’s 2024 Charity of Choice.

“We are incredibly grateful to Bower Place for their unwavering support and to every individual who contributed to making last year's partnership such a success,” said Chelsea O’Donoghue, United Way Central Alberta CEO. “This collaboration shows what’s possible when a community comes together to address local needs.”