David Zammit

Research into chronic wasting disease (CWD) by the University of Saskatchewan has received financial backing from the provincial government.

Earlier this week the province elected to commit $90,000 for the project that will study the spread of CWD and meningeal worm in woodland caribou and other boreal species.

Dr. Phil McLoughlin and a team will head up the three-year analysis that's aimed at providing more insight into how dangerous the two diseases are for the at-risk species in the boreal forest.

UPDATE: Swift Current Rural RCMP has confirmed that Loralee Murrell was located safely.

The Swift Current Rural RCMP is searching for a Moose Jaw resident who was last seen in the southwest.

Loralee Murrell was reported missing this morning to the police and hasn't been seen since October 10 at 2 a.m. when she left Waldeck.

RCMP describes her as having red/brown shoulder-length hair and blue eyes. Murrell was last seen in a blue sweater, black capris, and blue sandals. She also has a heart tattoo on one of her ankles.

One of the longest radio careers in southwestern Saskatchewan's history came to an end last week.

After 43 years in the business, CJSN 1490's Penny Schreiner retired from Golden West Broadcasting.

"A person doesn't stay at a job unless they don't love it," she said. "If you love something, time isn't an issue as far as I'm concerned. Forty-three years went by very quickly." 

Schreiner began work at the Shaunavon radio station on August 1, 1979, for Frontier City Broadcasting. Her job entailed; reception work, commercial writing, and log producing. 

An early morning fire in Stewart Valley has devastated the village's school.

The village of Stewart Valley posted on Facebook Friday morning at 7:22 a.m. confirming the blaze at the Stewart Valley School and Community Centre.

Firefighters from the village, the RM of Saskatchewan Landing, Swift Current Fire Department, and the RM of Swift Current Fire Department are all at the scene battling the flames.

The unexpected death of a young male yesterday just hours after being released by the Morse RCMP is being investigated by the Saskatchewan RCMP Major Crimes.

The 23-year-old from Edmonton was pulled over yesterday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. near Morse. Police located a small number of unknown pills during a search of the vehicle and arrested the male for possession of a controlled substance.

About an hour later the Morse RCMP released the male from custody without charges. 

A plethora of crimes across western Canada appears to have left a mark on multiple communities in Saskatchewan, including some in the southeast.

The unsolved crime spree from the early part of July travelled through Chaplin, Swift Current, Tyner, and Eston.

According to an RCMP crime map, the first law-breaking instance in the southwest was a fuel theft in Chaplin.

The two alleged suspects then evaded police in the Swift Current area.

Home and business owners will be paying more for power starting next month and again early next year.

The provincial government approved SaskPower's 4 per cent increase request last week which takes effect as of September 1. They also rubber-stamped a second 4 per cent increase come April 1, 2023.

Don Morgan, the minister responsible for SaskPower, said unchanged rates for the last four years played a factor in the pair of increases.

A series of planned power outages across southwestern Saskatchewan commencing today will leave some folks in the dark.

Residents east, south, and southwest of Shaunavon and east and southeast of Eastend will be without power from 6:30 a.m. until 9 a.m. today.

"We're taking down two feeders at a substation, so this is a system improvement thing we're doing," SaskPower Spokesperson Joel Cherry said. 

An estimated 560 customers will be affected.

Nearly 500 motorists across Saskatchewan incurred a costly mistake to start their summer last month.

According to the Saskatchewan Government Insurance's (SGI) June traffic safety spotlight, police caught 482 impaired drivers - 319 of which received criminal charges.

"An impaired driving charge or even getting your licence suspended can really wreck your summer," said SGI's Manager of Media Relations Tyler McMurchy.

A smooth-shelled turtle unearthed six years ago in southwestern Saskatchewan's backyard has turned into a rare find.

According to a team of paleontologists, the 2016 discovery near Grasslands National Park is a Leiochelys Tokaryki. Making it only the second of its kind studied in North America, the other being in Mexico.

"It suddenly hits, like wow, this is something that hasn't been discovered before and we're the first people to really look at it," Caelan Livke, a University of Regina Master of Science student, said.