WestCentral

Post-secondary students in Saskatchewan now have a new way to access free educational materials, thanks to a provincial partnership that brings open education resources (OERs) under one digital roof.

The Government of Saskatchewan has teamed up with Saskatchewan Polytechnic, the University of Regina and the University of Saskatchewan to launch a centralized website offering free digital textbooks, manuals, videos and other academic tools.

Canada's premiers and Prime Minister Mark Carney will meet in person in Saskatoon on June 2.

In a social media post, Carney said that in the face of "immediate trade pressures," he and the premiers are focused on building up Canada's economic resilience.

"That means launching big nation-building projects, removing internal trade barriers and building one Canadian economy," Carney wrote, adding that the meeting in Saskatoon will "keep that work going."

RCMP are asking the public for help after a suspicious vehicle was reported near a rural property east of Leader early Wednesday morning.

According to a Saskatchewan Crime Watch Advisory, a woman driving a white SUV with mismatched Alberta licence plates approached a farmyard near Lemsford, off Highway 32, around 7 a.m. seeking help with fuel.

RCMP say the female driver followed the property owner into a Quonset and began taking photos of the interior and asking unusual questions. The landowner filled her vehicle with gas, after which the woman left the area.

As seeding season begins in Saskatchewan, SaskPower is reminding everyone to stay safe when working near power lines.

Last year, there were 262 farm-related incidents involving power infrastructure, a slight decrease from 268 in 2023, according to SaskPower. Most of these incidents occurred in the spring.

"Safety at SaskPower is our number one priority. So, if we can share the message with farmers and other large equipment operators working in the fields this spring, we're absolutely happy to do it," said Scott McGregor, spokesperson with SaskPower.

Strong nitrogen fertilizer demand is butting up against tight supplies in some regions of the world, says an analyst.

India is the world’s top importer of the product.

Indian urea demand surged to 38.8 million tonnes in 2024-25, an eight per cent increase over the previous year, according to Argus Media.

That was due in part to tight supplies of diammonium phosphate (DAP) fertilizer during the winter (rabi) crop season.

The question has been floating around the internet this week, and it's time we get to the bottom of it.

Now that we have access to some of the most advanced computational machines known to man, we can seek the answer using these tools to our advantage.

Using simulations and advanced algorithms, ChatGPT has this to say:

Silverback Gorilla
A fully grown silverback gorilla is immensely powerful — estimates suggest 6 to 10 times stronger than the average human. They have crushing grips, massive upper body strength, and fast reflexes.

A wind warning has been issued for a portion of southwestern Saskatchewan on Wednesday.

Environment and Climate Change Canada sent out the warning at 11:09 a.m. with gusts locally ranging from 70-90 km/hr.

The region under the warning spans from north of Kyle, south to just north of Cadillac, east from Ernfold, and west to Gull Lake.

According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, the strong winds, localized to this area, are caused by a southerly flow over the southwest.

Derek Webster-Dinney, 33, pleaded guilty to operation while prohibited and theft. He received a 14-month conditional sentence order, which includes a curfew, 20 hours of community service, and restitution of $928 to Kindersley Castle Building Centre for unrecovered stolen items.

Progress was made in the combined Cisna, Finlay and Nernberg case. All three accused elected trial by provincial court judge. Trial dates were scheduled for October 27 to 31 and November 3 to 5. A case management conference between defense counsel and the Crown is set for May 9.

The Centennial Cup, Canada's national championship tournament for Junior A hockey, gets underway Thursday from the Max Bell Centre in Calgary, Alberta.

Representing the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League for a second straight season, the Melfort Mustangs have two local connections to the roster in forward Austin Shepherd from Kerrobert, and assistant coach Tye Scherger from Macklin. The Mustangs made a run to the finals in 2024 where they lost a low scoring heartbreaker 1-0 to the Collingwood Blues.

Saskatchewan is expanding its infant immunization program to protect all newborns from Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) during peak respiratory illness season, the province announced this week.

Beginning this fall, every baby born in Saskatchewan from one month prior to the start of RSV season — which typically runs from Oct. 1 to March 31 — will be eligible to receive a publicly funded RSV immunization at birth, with parental consent.