Fossil discovered in southwest one of only two in North America

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.

High-flying bull riding raises dough for MS

One of Saskatchewan's long-standing traditions was turned into a charity event Friday night in the southwest.

Twenty bulls hit the chutes in Lancer, with five riders surviving the eight-second count, but the evening put on by Caitlyn's Crusaders was all about raising money for the MS Society of Canada.

Caitlyn Stenberg, who was diagnosed with MS in 2018, succeed in her fundraising mission again, bringing in over $4,200.

Rural RCMP searching for missing female

The Swift Current Rural RCMP are on the lookout for a missing 37-year-old female.

According to an RCMP press release, Marley Cook was last spotted at a Gull Lake residence on the evening of May 28 and hasn't been in contact with her family since.

The RCMP says she's 5-foot-3 and 120 pounds with brown eyes and medium/long black hair.

Cook has a scar on her right jaw and was last seen wearing a tank top and shorts.

She has ties to Saint Paul, Alberta area, but police haven't been able to confirm if she's left Saskatchewan. 

Significant upgrades earmarked for Sask Landing Provincial Park

The west part of Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park is pegged for some significant upgrades this summer.
 
A new service centre will be built this year in the Bison Hollow campground in the northwest part of the park. The facility will feature eight showers and eight washrooms and cost the province over $700,000.

SaskPower hoping to expand capacity from U.S.

SaskPower is turning to a United States-based company to up its potential energy capacity.

Yesterday the Crown corporation announced they'd applied to the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) to upgrade their current transmission line from 150 megawatts to 650 megawatts by 2027.

The move would allow SaskPower to continue its shift to more renewable energy while attempting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent from 2005 by 2030.

Marleau announces his retirement

Saskatchewan's own Patrick Marleau announced he is hanging up the skates for good.

The 42-year-old hasn't played since the end of the 2020-21 campaign with the San Jose Sharks, a club he spent 20 of his 23 seasons with.

"It’s bittersweet for sure, but I have so much to look forward to," he said in a letter this morning posted on The Players' Tribune. "Who knows what the world has in store for me."

Marleau holds the NHL's all-time regular-season games played record at 1,779, slightly ahead of another Saskatchewan product Gordie Howe by 12.

Extensive enhancements underway for Cabri ballpark

The baseball season is just around the corner and one nearby Saskatchewan community will have a freshly upgraded facility just in time for first pitch.

Construction recently began in Cabri on the town's ballpark complex to the toon of nearly $140,000, with half of that coming from the federal government's Canada Community Revitalization Fund (CCRF). The other half of the tab will be picked up by the town and Cabri Minor Ball via other grants, fundraisers, and donations.