HighRiver

The Town of Okotoks is encouraging youth to contribute to the community by joining local committees and boards.  

Town Council created youth positions on the Committees of Council to give youth an opportunity to participate in community discussions and initiatives.  

The swimming pool at the Bob Snodgrass Rec Plex is closing for five days starting this weekend.

The pool will be closed from this Sunday, May 25, to next Thursday, May 29, due to the pool expansion project.

Duct work needs to be updated, so they have to shut down the ventilation system and therefore have to close the pool.

According to AHS, the pool is not allowed to be open without ventilation.

Because of the closure, the Town is giving all monthly and yearly pass holders a one-month extension, dated from May 25.

The Little Britches Parade brought thousands of spectators from across the Foothills to downtown High River Saturday morning.  

The streets were filled with lawn chairs, wagons, and blankets as families gathered to watch floats, classic cars, marching bands, and much more.  

The festivities continued after the parade, with the Battle of the Bands, Little Britches Rodeo and the High River Spring Market. 

Deferred grazing, a practice that involves delaying livestock grazing until after key growing seasons, is a valuable strategy for preserving and enhancing native prairie ecosystems. Unlike continuous or early-season grazing, deferred grazing allows native grasses and forbs the opportunity to complete their life cycles, set seed, and recover from previous disturbances. This approach brings a range of environmental, ecological, and even economic benefits that support both sustainable ranching and grassland conservation. 

Canada needs flexible, farmer-driven standards to guide regenerative agriculture, experts say

With producer and policy interest in regenerative agriculture growing across Canada, policymakers and industry leaders are debating how to standardize the concept without undermining its core principles or grassroots appeal.

Questions around standardization and regulation were front and centre during an April 30 webinar hosted by the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute.

Alberta's latest crop report shows seeding of major crops is significantly ahead of historical averages. Manglai, product coordinator with Alberta Financial Services Corporation, who helps compile the report, says seeding is now at 47 per cent, well above the five-year average of 26 per cent and the ten-year average of 29 per cent.

Breaking down the regional analysis, the South region leads with 76 per cent of seeding completed, followed by the Central region at 51 per cent  the Northeast at 37 per cent, the Northwest at 29 per cent, and the Peace region at 27 per cent.

The Manitoba government has announced a $1 million partnership to enhance veterinary care services in northern and remote communities, which will include mobile spay and neuter services. Agriculture Minister Ron Kostitsyn emphasized that this funding is a step in the right direction to ensure every animal receives timely and compassionate care.

Alberta Parks has sent out an update on road closures in Kananaskis Country due to the G7 Summit coming up next month.

The Highway 40 South gate will remain closed to all motor vehicles until June 21.

We have a real mixed bag of weather this week, something for everyone, I suppose.

Angie Brown is a local amateur weather specialist and gets to share her weekly weather forecast with us when she joins her Uncle Charlie Brown on the 99.7 Sun Country Morning Show.

You can listen in just after the 6:30 a.m. News on Mondays or on Tuesdays if there's a holiday like Victoria Day.

Here's the forecast she shared this morning.

"It sure does look pretty good out there; everything is lush and green.

Ryan Straschnitzki's life has been an open book since he was seriously injured in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash, and his story is soon to be shown on TV.

The 26-year-old from Airdrie, Alta., was paralyzed from the chest down in 2018, when a semi-trailer ran a stop sign and barrelled into the path of the junior hockey team's bus in rural Saskatchewan. 

Sixteen people died and 13 were hurt.