Okotoks

Alberta's government is putting $19 million toward municipal flood and drought prevention projects as part of its new budget.

Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz says eight municipalities as well as two Indigenous communities are to receive the grant funding.

She says the money will help build a new berm along the Bow River at Siksika First Nation and a retaining wall to protect the Slave Lake Airport.

Calgary is also to receive funding to improve a storm water ditch that connects the city to the nearby hamlet of Langdon.

Drought and flooding have been felt across the province over the last few years.

Not only that but building the critical infrastructure needed to protect Albertans can be costly for municipalities.

Because of that, the Alberta Government is investing over $19 million into 10 different projects through the Drought and Flood Protection program, which will help to safeguard businesses, protect homes, and save lives.

Some sewer line repair work is causing detours in Nanton.

The Town took to Facebook to let people know crews are onsite working to repair a sewer line on 22 Street, between Highway 2 (21 Ave) and 22 Ave.

The crews are working as quickly as possible to complete the repair and restore normal flow.

Due to the work, there are road closures and detours in the area.

There is no indication of when the work will be completed.

The Calgary Police are warning the public of a bank card scam involving a courier service.

They have received reports of people being targeted for their debit cards, which has already caused a combined loss of nearly $60,000.

In numerous instances, the victim will receive a call from the scammer, who claims to be an employee from the victim's bank or financial institution.

Okotoks Fire & Rescue recently added a couple of new vehicles to its fleet.

Both will come in handy with the risk of grassfires rising amid the onset of warmer weather in the Foothills.

One of them is an agile new Bush Truck, explains Deputy Fire Chief Colin Sager.

Of all the things I enjoy about my job, not many top getting to meet beautiful cats and dogs looking for their forever homes. 

Meet Gina! 

The Gift of Music Society in High River is ready for another magical musical performance.

Two young musicians are playing at the High River United Church in a couple of weeks.

It's the society's annual performance of the 'Young Musicians Extraordinaire' program, which promotes local talent.

Charlotte Giraudeau is a high school student in Calgary and has been playing piano at an elite level for many years.

Canadian police patrolling corners of the dark web are well aware of the commonly nefarious ways criminals exploit artificial intelligence. 

There's deepfake pornography. Voice impersonation. Romance scams that turn into financial fraud.

But recently there's been a new twist — criminals offering to "jailbreak" the very algorithms that form the architecture of AI's large language models, or LLMs, tearing down their safeguards so they can be retasked for criminal purposes.

Call it tech support for cybercriminals.

Liberal Leader Mark Carney is back in Ottawa today to deal with the fallout of new auto tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump. 

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Carney said he was suspending his campaign plans for the day and would return to Ottawa to hold a meeting of the Canada-U.S. cabinet committee.

It's unclear when Carney will be back on the road to continue campaigning. 

Before heading out to the mountains this week, check on the avalanche risk in the area.

Even though the Special Public Avalanche Warning (SPAW) issued last week is no longer in effect in the Rockies, there is still a high risk of avalanches.

According to Avalanche Canada, while the SPAW is no longer in effect, "This by no way means that things are better out there!"

The area from Mount Rundle to the south of Mist Mountain still has very dangerous avalanche conditions, and travelling in the avalanche terrain is not recommended.