Okotoks

Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning this morning as we're expecting a big dump of the white stuff this weekend.

You can expect 2-4 cm today, 5-10 cm tonight and another 10-15 cm tomorrow with the snow expected to taper off Sunday.

Temperatures are expected to be somewhat mild with highs of -11 today and Saturday but you might want to plug in your vehicle as overnight lows are expected to hit -19.

Stay up to date by visiting our 7-day weather forecast page complete with radar weather.

The Town of Okotoks' 2025 budget will include an increase in property taxes, as well as a decrease in utility rates.

Town Council approved the amendments to next year's budget, which includes an Operating Budget of $80.386 million, at their November 19 meeting.

The average Okotoks homeowner (with an assessed home value of $663,000) will see an increase of $1.99 a month, which is an additional $23.88 a year.

While inflationary costs did lead to a tax hike, the 4.8 per cent increase is lower than anticipated.

The price of a detached home in the Foothills is way up compared to last October.

Sales numbers for detached homes in October were released by the Calgary Real Estate Board.

It's been said it takes a village to raise a child, well, it took the entire town of Diamond Valley to Raise the Roof at the Griffiths Community Centre.

The popular centre has been a hub for community activities for decades right along Government Road in the heart of Black Diamond. With the amalgamation of the two towns of Black Diamond and Turner Valley, the centre now serves both. 

The Postal Strike across Canada has been difficult for everyone and High River is no exception.

The Town of High River is letting people know how to make town payments while the Canada Post mail services see a disruption. If you are having difficulty finding out what is owed on your account, make sure to call the Town at 403-652-2110. Payments can't be made over the phone but information on your account can be accessed.

As for ways to make the payments in High River:

A senior official says the Canadian government is not aware of any evidence linking Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to alleged criminal activity perpetrated by Indian agents on Canadian soil.

Meta is refusing to publicly disclose information that could determine whether it is subject to the Online News Act despite blocking news from its platforms.

2024 will go down as the year of canola disease.

That is according to Curtis Rempel, Vice President of Crop Production and Innovation with the Canola Council of Canada. Rempel says diseases were primarily root and lower stem. He notes this was partially due to the wet and cool conditions felt in large parts of the Prairies.

"For a lot of stubble-borne fungi, which are primarily disease-causing organisms, they are all fungal-related," explains Rempel. "The cool, damp conditions really allow the fungus to take off."

The government on Thursday announced a sweeping promise to make groceries, children's clothing, Christmas trees, restaurant meals and more free from GST/HST between Dec. 14 and Feb. 15. 

Not long after the abrupt return of winter conditions comes the return of Light Up Okotoks tomorrow (Nov. 22).

While snow and colder temperatures are here to stay, it looks like this will be far from the coldest Light Up Okotokians have seen.

The temperature is expected to hang just below -10° all day and into the evening.

Snowfall is expected on Friday, though it's unclear if it will continue as the event gets going at 5:30 p.m.