Airdrie

Airdrie’s urgent care centre opened new space and treatment rooms Sept. 9 after an $8.4-million renovation that the province says will shorten waits and improve infection control.

This is the second of three phases to renovate the Airdrie Community Health Centre, according to a Government of Alberta news release.

The centre handled almost 40,000 patients in 2023-24 and has provided 24-hour urgent care since 2017 for non-life-threatening conditions, the Sept. 16 release said.

Dozens of women picked up hammers in Airdrie on Tuesday as Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta launched its annual Women Build, part of the push to finish 11 affordable townhomes in Bayview.

The three-day event brings together women from across the region — from corporate leaders to tradespeople — to learn construction skills, raise money and help families secure housing. Habitat said in a news release that sponsors have already raised $97,000 for affordable homeownership across Southern Alberta.

Some stubbornness at the gas pumps pushed the headline inflation rate a couple ticks higher to 1.9 per cent in August, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.

Gasoline prices rose 1.4 per cent month-over-month in August as higher refining margins offset lower crude costs, StatCan said.

The price of gas was still down 12.7 per cent annually in August – the end of the consumer carbon price has deflated costs for motorists since the spring – but the decline fell short of July’s 16.1 per cent drop, pushing the headline inflation rate higher.

Premier Danielle Smith and Independent Airdrie-Cochrane MLA Peter Guthrie clashed Monday over the Progressive Conservative name, with Guthrie alleging the United Conservatives tried to block his revival bid with what he described as a second cease-and-desist order and Smith defending the name as a United Conservative legacy brand.

In a Facebook post earlier in the day, Guthrie wrote:

On Sunday, several Airdronians volunteered at the Royal Canadian Legion #288 in Airdrie, preparing it for Remembrance Day.

Volunteers took time to paint red insignias on the sidewalks outside of the Legion, Jason Hoffman, past president of the Legion, explained.

"These are artist-inspired creations, and it's to help raise awareness and beautify our branch."

He explained they have been painting the sidewalks with the insignia for a number of years.

"It's all about remembering our veterans and what they've done for our country."

Sunday was the annual Terry Fox Run in Airdrie, and over 100 residents participated.

Kyla Cox, the organizer of the run, is thankful for all those who attended the annual event and helped raise funds for the Terry Fox Foundation.

"It was awesome. There were lots of new faces. We probably had 120-150 (residents) take part."

According to the TerryFox website, the annual Terry Fox Run has become a classic Canadian tradition. With nearly 600 communities, big and small, urban and rural, English and French, fundraising for cancer research.

Critics are questioning what problem the Alberta government's move to add mandatory citizenship markers to provincial identification aims to solve, and say it opens the door to potential privacy breaches and discrimination.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Monday the move is all about streamlining services and preventing election fraud. 

Rocky View County took to social media to remind residents and visitors not to leave unwanted items on the side of county roads.

They shared that anything left on the side of county roads becomes their responsibility if left on public land.

"That means taxpayer dollars go toward cleanup instead of other vital services."

According to RVC, in a typical year, these costs hover around $300,000.

"Illegal dumping affects all of us, and the bill keeps growing."

Last week, Rocky View Schools (RVS) shared a letter with local families on behalf of Alberta's Interim Chief Medical Officer about measles.

The letter from Dr. Sunil Sookram states that as measles continues to spread in some areas and communities in Alberta, across Canada and globally, the province's collective efforts are making a difference with the support of parents and communities. 

Alberta's government says it has filed a complaint with the Labour Relations Board against the union representing the province's 51,000 teachers.

Finance Minister Nate Horner says the complaint is connected with a document the Alberta Teachers’ Association distributed after setting a strike date of Oct. 6. last week.

The government says the document consisted of false claims, including that Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA) does not have the mandate to negotiate class complexity, class size, and supports for students.