Airdrie

Crossfield and Rocky View County staged a full-scale emergency simulation on Thursday, which was built around a mock tornado that damaged property, displaced livestock, and triggered a mass evacuation.

The May 8 exercise, mandated under Alberta's Emergency Management Act, unfolded across multiple locations and tested how agencies coordinate during a simulated regional disaster.

Air 106.1 FM will live from the McDonald’s on Edmonton Trail today to celebrate McHappy Day — a national one-day event where every coffee, burger, fry or Happy Meal supports children and families across Canada.

📍 104 Edmonton Trail NE, Airdrie
📻 Air 106.1 FM Live on Location
🕚 Thursday, May 8 | 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Middle school students from Rocky View Schools (RVS) were in Airdrie yesterday for the eighth annual Battle of the Books at the RVS Education Centre.

At the competition, teams of middle school students answer questions and showcase their knowledge of pre-selected books (those can be seen below).

Agriculture is one of the largest industries in the province, and simultaneously one of the most dangerous. As seeding and calving season gets underway, safety is once again top of mind for local farmers and their employees.  

Ryan Jacobson is the Chief Executive Officer with the Saskatchewan Safety Council (SSC) and formerly operated an agricultural farm in southeast Saskatchewan. He explains that every industry experiences gaps in safety protocols. 

The City of Airdrie has created its first memorial pet fence.

Located at Kings Heights Off-Leash Park, the fence allows Airdronians to honour their pet who has passed away.

Leanne Willard, the Parks Community Liaison with the City of Airdrie, shared why the city decided to put up this fence.

"Over the years, the parks department has received requests for pet memorialization, and our existing Memorial program does not offer this option for pets. So we just wanted to come up with something that might offer some comfort to people grieving the loss of a pet."

The Calgary Flames' mascot, Harvey the Hound, has been named to the 2025 Mascot Hall of Fame ballot — and appears to be the only Canadian nominee this year.

Harvey is one of more than two dozen mascots on the ballot.

According to the Mascot Hall of Fame website, the organization's mission is to "recognize and honour the best of the best mascot characters and programs in existence."

The awards allow mascots to be nominated in seven categories:

• Greatest Community Impact

Airdrie council passed its 2025 tax rate bylaw Tuesday, approving a $27.90 monthly increase for the median single-family homeowner, including an $18.53 jump driven by the province’s education requisition.

"This is the largest year-over-year increase the City of Airdrie has ever experienced," council documents noted. 

A former Alberta premier has a new job in the provincial courts.

The provincial government says David Hancock has been named assistant chief justice of the Alberta Court of Justice in the Edmonton Family and Youth Division.

Hancock, a long-time legislature member, served as interim premier and Progressive Conservative Party leader after the 2014 resignation of Alison Redford, later calling it the "best summer job that I've ever had."

Hancock retired from politics after Jim Prentice was named as leader and was appointed in 2017 as a provincial court judge.

The Speaker of the Alberta legislature is resigning his seat in the assembly to become the province's representative to the United States.

"Serving this assembly has been one of the greatest honours of my lifetime," Nathan Cooper said Wednesday in a speech to the house announcing his resignation.

"Working as the assembly's chief diplomat has equipped me in, and to be ready for, my next role serving Albertans in a new and meaningful way."

With it feeling like summer outside, dust devils are starting to appear all around the province.

A larger dust devil was caught on video by Alisa Wurz just east of Didsbury on the weekend, luckily, nobody was harmed.