Cochrane

Cochranites are packing up their gear and heading west as the May long weekend kicks off the unofficial start to camping season.

If you're camping on Alberta’s public land this May long weekend, you’ll need a Public Lands Camping Pass.

The pass is required year-round for anyone 18 or older camping along the Eastern Slopes of the Rockies, from Grande Prairie to Waterton Lakes.

It doesn’t apply to private land, national parks, municipalities or the Kananaskis Conservation Pass area.

If your long weekend plans include camping and sitting around a fire, you’re in luck, but it depends on where you are.

As of May 15, the Town of Cochrane has lifted its fire restrictions. Campfires are allowed again, as long as you follow safe burning practices: keep fires small, never leave them unattended and fully extinguish them before walking away.

But nearby areas have different rules. Here’s what you need to know:

Alberta’s government has made 11th-hour changes to controversial proposed legislation, declaring that no separation referendum question could threaten First Nations' existing treaty rights.

Premier Danielle Smith’s government is working to considerably lower the threshold to allow for citizen-initiated referendums, including whether the province should separate from Canada.

Her government's proposed bill has yet to become law, but it's faced backlash from Indigenous leaders since its introduction in the house more than two weeks ago.

When a church in Toronto's west end was converted into affordable housing nearly 15 years ago, the group behind the project was already thinking ahead. 

Andrea Adams, the executive director of the non-profit developer St. Clare's, said she was "daydreaming" about what could be built on the yard next to the 20-unit building on Ossington Avenue. 

She was eventually introduced to Assembly Corp., a company that builds mass timber modular housing, around the same time that the city was looking for proposals for "shovel ready" affordable housing projects. 

Some outdoorsy Canadians are planning to build their tents with elbows up this summer as the season unofficially kicks off this long weekend.

Sally Turner says she and her husband plan to do their camping, canoeing and biking this year in Canadian national parks, including at Jasper National Park this weekend, because of the U.S. trade war and U.S. President Donald Trump's calls to make Canada a 51st state.

"I have, in the past, camped in the United States, but that's not going to happen in the near future," Turner said while shopping for camping gear in Edmonton.

Severe thunderstorms need rising air, and to get that you need heat, or rather, you need a large difference in temperature between two areas.

Many people associate thunderstorms with a very hot day, but just having one of those does not mean that there is a large difference in temperature.

To get thunderstorms on a hot day, you need to have cool air aloft.

Initiatives in Saskatchewan and Alberta recognize some of the country’s most extensive and unique remaining prairie ecosystems.

There’s a new focus on protecting biodiversity in native prairie grasslands in southwestern Saskatchewan and southeastern Alberta.

It’s coming in the form of new “key biodiversity area” designations, denoting they’re home to species at risk in this rapidly vanishing landscape.

Saskatchewan's Weekly Crop Report shows 49 per cent of the provincial crop has been seeded, that's up from 31 per cent last week and well ahead of the five-year average of 32 percent.

Crops Extension Specialist Meghan Rosso says pulse crops continue to lead in seeding progress with 78 per cent of field peas seeded, 71 per cent of lentils and 65 per cent of chickpeas now in. 

Dealing with a fire on your farm can be both dangerous and devastating. Fortunately, there are things you can do to reduce the risk of fires.

Improper use of burn barrels can easily start fires. People often contribute to the risk of fire by not using proper screens on burn barrels or clearing the grass around the barrel itself.

A 14-year-old Cochrane boy has been charged following an act of vandalism in the Willows neighbourhood that involved a swastika spray-painted on the garage door of a local home.

Cochrane RCMP confirmed the charge on May 14, a day after the hateful symbol was discovered and reported to police.

“We’ve made an arrest in connection with the swastika graffiti incident in the Willows,” said Cst. Clayton Gelinas. “The youth has been charged with three counts of mischief under the Criminal Code.”