Okotoks

The Town of Okotoks launched their first ever Tourism Strategy this week.

According to the Town, this is a roadmap that honours the town's character, embraces a future full of possibilities, as well as preserving what makes the Town special while inviting other to witness the charm of the community.

Crews are out helping to reduce the risk of wildfires in Kananaskis and Bow Valley.

The Alberta government, Bow Valley communities, and their partners are working to reduce the wildfire risk by creating fireguards, reducing the amount of fuel for fires, and ongoing FireSmart work.

The next phase of the Bow Valley Community Fireguard Work began on Monday, Aug.18 at the Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park, which is a partnership between the Town of Canmore, Government of Alberta, Municipal District of Bighorn, and the Kananaskis Improvement District.

After a summer of rodeos, dinosaurs and door-knocking, Pierre Poilievre is now officially heading back to Ottawa as a Conservative member of Parliament for Alberta.

The Tory leader will represent the sprawling rural riding of Battle River—Crowfoot, in the province's eastern region, after winning a byelection on Monday. 

"Getting to know the people in this region has been the privilege of my life," Poilievre told a crowd at a victory party in Camrose, Alta., on Monday night. "In fact, I've had a hell of a lot of fun."

Air Canada and the union representing its flight attendants have reached a tentative deal to end a strike that began on Saturday morning.

The airline said it will gradually begin operations Tuesday.

The two sides met through the night with a federal mediator before reaching a tentative agreement that will be brought to members of the Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

"Your right to vote on your wages was preserved," the union said in a post on its website announcement the end of the strike.

Today, the Honourable Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced the initial list of regions that will qualify for the Livestock Tax Deferral in 2025.

Alberta's government is looking to power some of its jails with solar energy.

The province says it's planning to build solar installations at five of its 10 correctional facilities, with early energy cost savings estimated at $1 million per year.

"The solar installations are expected to offset approximately 80 per cent of the energy used at each site," Michael Kwas, press secretary for Infrastructure Minister Martin Long, said in an email.

He said the estimated savings will likely change as the installations are further designed.

One of two suspects in a south Calgary break-in has been charged.

Around 4:30 a.m. on July 18, two people broke into a storage garage at the Lake Sundance community centre.

They are believed to have taken a 2024 Gator utility vehicle, driving it a few blocks away before returning two days later to load it onto a trailer.

The Calgary Police Service (CPS) first asked for the public's help on July 31. Since then, they have identified and charged one of the suspects.

Tree planting in High River is now complete for the season.  

This year, Elms, Larches, Oaks, and Ohio Buckeyes have been planted to add colour and shade to neighbourhoods and green spaces throughout the community.   

The planting was part of the town’s efforts to replace trees that were previously removed following the one-to-one replacement policy.  

A new community art piece will showcase prominent figures from High River’s history.   

During the Aug. 11 regular meeting, Town Council awarded $5,000 to fund one tree carving art piece in George Lane Memorial Park.  

The allotted funding includes the cost of materials and the artist fee.  

The Saskatoon Farm's restaurant reopened today (Aug. 18).

The business’s food facilities had been closed for nearly a month under an Alberta Health Services (AHS) order following an outbreak of E. coli and amoebiasis.

AHS issued the closures on July 23, later stating that the farm’s water source was believed to be the cause of the outbreak.