Okotoks

A member of the Southern family was awarded a royal award for her service to Alberta.

Linda Southern-Heathcott is the President and CEO of Spruce Meadows, and she was recently awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal.

She was awarded the medal for her 'Outstanding service to Alberta, Canada, and her fellow citizens.'

Only 30,000 people across Canada are being awarded this medal, and they are awarded to recognize the achievements and contributions of individuals to their community, province, territory, or country.

Many High River residents are wondering what all those flags and spray-paint markers are doing around town.

Ledcor Technical Services and Fibre Connect have been working since last year marking the areas they need to dig in order to install fibre optics lines.

The Town is asking everyone to please leave the flags and spray-paint markers where they are to speed up the construction process.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday that Ottawa will expand the Canadian Armed Forces’ presence in the Arctic and turn to Australia's over-the-horizon radar tech to monitor threats from adversaries such as China and Russia.

Carney also pledged $253 million in new funding for Indigenous reconciliation initiatives in the North.

They include $94 million to upgrade power plants in Nunavut and $20 million for a hydroelectricity project to help move northerners off diesel.

Prime Minister Mark Carney says United States President Donald Trump will have to stop his "disrespectful" comments about Canada before the two countries can have comprehensive bilateral conversations about trade and security.

"We've called out those comments. They're disrespectful, they're not helpful, and they need to stop," Carney said in response to a question regarding Trump's repeated remarks about Canada becoming the 51st state. 

"They will have to stop before we sit down and have a conversation about our broader partnership with the United States."

As the snow continues to melt across the prairies, farmers are gearing up for the busy seeding season. According to Ian Epp, agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada, moisture levels across much of the region appear sufficient for crop germination. 

"It looks to me like we've had enough moisture throughout winter. Obviously, we always need more during the summer season, but there's enough out there to get us up and going. Some areas are better than others but in general things look pretty good heading into spring.” 

Volunteers with the Town of Okotoks have been honoured for their work with the Okotoks Memory Café.

They received an Alberta Northern Lights award to recognize their contribution to their community through the program.

It was originally launched in 2018 and reintroduced in 2022 after a hiatus during the COVID-019 pandemic.

The Memory Café is held once a month at the Okotoks & District Seniors' Club and offers support and resources to people living with dementia, as well as their caregivers.

Disc golfers in Okotoks will have to play elsewhere for a few months.

The Sheep River Park disc golf course has been closed due to construction in the area.

It will remain closed for quite a while too, as it's expected to reopen in July.

Disc golfers might have somewhere to play closer to home earlier in the summer though.

The Town of Diamond Valley is getting a 12-hole disc golf course this year, which is expected to open in June.

The Okotoks Art Galley hosted an art exhibit opening this past weekend for two new exhibits.

On Saturday, March 15, artists Ricardo Copado and David Kitler were in attendance for the opening of their exhibits at the Art Gallery, which be open for people to check out until May 2.

Ricardo Copado's exhibit 'In Between: Yearning for Home' is about the different places Copado has been over the past ten years.

"But it is also about, like the title says, yearning for home," Copado explains.

AHS has confirmed there is a case of measles in the Calgary area.

On Saturday, March 15, AHS released a statement, warning the public of the measles outbreak, which has prompted a public alert to potential exposures.

As part of the public alert warning, AHS is warning the public that if they were in certain locations at certain times, they could have been exposed to measles. The locations and times of potential measles exposure are:

Some CUPE members are returning to work soon, but not quite all of them.

CUPE announced that some deals have been made, which could lead to the end of the province-wide strike of education workers.

Currently, CUPE Local 3550 in Edmonton, CUPE 2545 in Fort McMurray, as well as CUPE 2559 in Fort McMurray, which is for their Catholic Schools, have made a deal.

These deals still need to be ratified with the CUPE members, but it would end the strikes at those three school districts.