Cochrane

With a string of strong performances and multiple wins under his belt, young piper Kellan Harris-Still remains a standout on Alberta’s Highland Games scene this summer.

At the Red Deer Highland Games on June 30, Kellan competed in Grade 3 solo piping events, placing first in both the Strathspey/Reel and Piobaireachd, and third in the 6/8 March. His results earned him another Grade 3 aggregate title. He also performed in both a youth quartet and with the Foothills Caledonia Youth Pipe Band (FCYPB), with both ensembles claiming first-place finishes.

Two Cochrane students have been named this year’s recipients of the Cochrane Activettes Bursary.

Claire Meyer, a graduate of Cochrane High School, and Natonya Fedeyko, who recently graduated from Bow Valley High School, will each receive a $4,500 bursary to help support their post-secondary studies this fall.

The bursary program, offered annually by the Cochrane Activettes, aims to recognize local young graduates who demonstrate strong community involvement, academic achievement, and leadership.

The premiers of Alberta and Ontario are set to meet in Calgary today to sign two memorandums of understanding.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's office says she and Ontario Premier Doug Ford will sign agreements on energy priorities, trade and interprovincial co-operation.

The pair were together at a roundtable in Calgary on Sunday, with Ford tweeting that they discussed how to build new pipelines, as well as rail lines to export Canadian critical minerals and energy.

Smith also bumped into Prime Minister Mark Carney at the Calgary Stampede on Saturday.

Steer Wrestler Scott Guenthner from Provost, Alberta, is going to the Championship finals this Sunday at the Calgary Stampede.

Guenthner had a time of 4.7 seconds on the final day in Pool A to finish in second place on Sunday, but more importantly, he finished first overall.

That means he's going to the Steer Wrestling finals on Sunday. 

Two other Albertans also qualified for Championship Sunday.

Ladies Breakaway Roping standout Shelby Boisjoli-Meged from Langdon finished in first place yesterday, and overall, so she's moving on to the finals.

The track was wet and a bit slow on the Rangeland Derby on Sunday night, and several penalties slowed down some of the drivers' rankings.

Defending Champion High River's Jason Glass took out a barrel, costing him 5 seconds and pushing him from 3rd down into 13th place in the aggregate.

Glass also suffered a 5-second penalty in last year's Calgary Stampede, but also set a new track record and was able to overcome his penalty and went on to win it all.

Independent MLA Peter Guthrie says it's time for a new political option in Alberta, and for him, that means reviving an old one.

The Cochrane-based MLA confirmed that he and fellow Independent MLA Scott Sinclair are working to officially relaunch the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta.

The Food Network is putting out a casting call for amateur chefs in Cochrane and the Calgary area. A brand new Canadian season of Come Dine With Me is set to film later this summer.

The reality cooking competition features five home cooks who each host a dinner party in their own home. After every meal, the contestants secretly rate each other. At the end of the week, the top score wins a cash prize and major bragging rights.

Canada's new prime minister, best known as a buttoned-down banker, donned a cowboy hat and toured the stables Friday evening at the Calgary Stampede.

Over an hour-long tour winding through the rodeo grounds, Mark Carney crawled into a tank, snacked at food stations and posed for dozens of selfies, marking his first visit to the Stampede as prime minister.

A new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is dismissing moves by the federal government and Canada's premiers to break down internal trade barriers as little more than "political theatre."

It lands just ahead of the country’s internal trade ministers meeting in Quebec City this week, where they are expected to talk about their next steps as they rush to remove rules hampering cross-provincial trade.

Canada’s top soldier is looking forward to a boost in military spending that includes a pay raise for military personnel at a time when uncertainty on the world stage is high.

NATO leaders — including Canada — have approved a plan to dramatically increase defence spending across the Western alliance to five per cent of gross domestic product over the next decade.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said the move to five per cent of GDP — 3.5 per cent for core military spending and 1.5 per cent for defence-related infrastructure — will take place over the next 10 years.