Cochrane

A remarkable wave of generosity and grassroots fundraising has swept across Cochrane as the community rallies around young Brielle Thomas, a local girl in need of robotic legs.

“It’s quite overwhelming, actually—far beyond my expectations,” said organizer Dan Kroffat in an update. “The momentum behind this is remarkable. The community should stand up and take a bow.”

He's asking people to continue finding creative ways to raise funds, then bring them to the free barbecue at Cochrane Toyota on June 14.

The addition of four permanent full-time nursing positions and the successful recruitment of more physicians are helping Cochrane’s urgent care centre better meet the needs of the town’s growing population.

Barb Shellian, director of rural health for the Calgary zone of Alberta Health Services (AHS), told town council Monday night that after about 18 months of discussions, the permanent nursing positions have finally been secured. Previously, they were unfunded, leaving her to explain the variance every month.

After months of resilience, home sales in Cochrane slowed in May, falling 17 per cent compared to the same month last year.

The drop was enough to pull year-to-date sales just below 2023 levels, according to the latest market data.from the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB).

At the same time, new listings surged, pushing the sales-to-new listings ratio down to 55 per cent. That shift contributed to a rise in inventory, with 293 units available — a figure more in line with long-term averages.

The Bow Valley Grizzlies overcame an early yellow card to rebound with a 45-15 win over the Calgary Rams on May 31.

The Rams scored two tries during the 10-minute man advantage but couldn’t sustain their momentum once the Grizzlies returned to full strength. Bow Valley clawed back to take a 19-10 lead by halftime.

Grizzlies head coach Ty Hawes said having a strong bench was key in the win on a scorching afternoon.

The book closed on a memorable season for the Medicine Hat Tigers on Sunday.

The Western Hockey League champions were eliminated from the Memorial Cup, falling 4–1 to the Ontario Hockey League's London Knights.

Alberta is working on strengthening its market presence in Southeast Asia.

Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation RJ Sigurdson is in Southeast Asia to promote Alberta as a reliable supplier of agricultural products.

The overall goal is to strengthen relationships with Vietnam and the Philippines to increase trade and investment opportunities that 
will directly benefit producers and processors by opening new markets for Alberta agriculture and food products.

A tragic dirt bike crash that claimed the lives of two young Cochrane men early Saturday revealed that neither was wearing a helmet, and no brake marks were found at the scene, according to RCMP.

Emergency crews were called to Township Road 264 on Horse Creek Road around 12:42 a.m. on June 1, after reports of a serious off-road crash involving two motocross bikes. Both riders, 21 years old, were pronounced dead at the scene.

“There were no signs of hard braking, and both men were not wearing helmets,” said Cst. Bonnie Sauve with Cochrane RCMP. 

A cougar warning has been issued for Gunnery Mountain and the surrounding area in Kananaskis Country after a cougar reportedly followed two hikers.

The warning, issued on May 30 by Alberta Parks, will remain in place until further notice.

While no additional details about the encounter have been released, officials are reminding outdoor enthusiasts that cougar sightings can happen anywhere in the Kananaskis Region at any time.

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Cochrane sizzled under unusually high temperatures last week, breaking a daily temperature record during a stretch of early-season heat that prompted Environment and Climate Change Canada to issue a heat warning for the region.

According to Christy Climenhaga, a scientist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, Cochrane hit a high of 30.4°C on Thursday, May 29, breaking the previous record for that date.

Canada's premiers are heading into to a meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney in Saskatoon Monday armed with their wish lists for major "nation-building" projects that could buttress the economy in the face of a U.S. trade war.

Carney asked the premiers to each pass on five suggestions for national infrastructure projects, and Monday's meeting will aim to identify the ones that will make the final cut to be fast tracked using legislation Ottawa may introduce as early as this week.