WestCentral

A chilly, rainy, and dreary May long weekend provided some vital precipitation for southwest producers.

Rainfall reached the region on Saturday, with parts of the southwest experiencing precipitation on all three days. 

The light persistent rain in the Swift Current area, amounted to 22.3 millimetres from Saturday morning till Tuesday at 10 a.m. Maple Creek received the exact same amount, although record a staggering 10.6 millimetres in one hour on Saturday at 5 p.m.

A rainy day did not stop SEIU-West members from holding an information picket in Kindersley on Tuesday.

According to a union spokesperson, the hour long picket in front of the Kindersley and District Health Centre was to highlight their struggles with the current round of bargaining, and the action was supported by a group of local healthcare workers including the ones pictured above. 

Jeanne Javinal, member of the Bargaining Committee and Executive board member for SEIU-West, provided the following comments in the midst of the picket.

A spring survey to gauge consumer opinions about food pricing, buying habits and values found affordability the top concern

Whether people throw steaks or hot dogs on the barbecue this summer could reflect how they feel about their food spending.

A new report from the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University found increasing anxiety about food affordability compared to last fall.

The town of Paynton is preparing to turn tart into tradition with the debut of the first-ever Rhubarb Festival on June 21, celebrating the much-loved garden staple with a full day of food, fun, and community spirit.

“We’ve been planning this for quite a while now, just to celebrate rhubarb,” says Tracy Romuld, chair of the festival committee. “It’s our first year, so it’s been a bit chaotic, but we’ve got a great team and a lot of excitement.”

The Saskatchewan Rush forced a game three in the 2025 NLL Finals after a thrilling 11-10 win over the Buffalo Bandits on Co-op Field. 

In the first quarter, Jake Boudreau opened the scoring, followed by goals from Austin Shanks and Ryan Keenan as the Rush jumped out to a 3-1 lead. 

Buffalo battled back in the second, but it was Keenan, Boudreau and Zach Manns who found twine as the two heavyweights sat tied 6-6 at recess. 

Clark Walter and rookie Brock Haley scored in the third quarter, but it was the road side up 9-8 heading into the final frame. 

The Kindersley Jr. Klippers pipeline to the University of Augustana pumped out another future Viking last week, as the team shared last week that BC native and two-year Klipper Zak Anderson will be continuing his hockey career at the post-secondary level next season.  

Klippers head coach and GM Clayton Jardine had these kind words for Anderson, who was a key part of the Klippers offensive attack in 99 career combined regular season and playoff games.

Canada Post was given word that operations around the country are set to cease by the end of the week, after strike notices from the union representing some 55,000 postal workers were confirmed on Monday.

A previous Canada Post strike took place at the tail end of 2024 for just over a month between November and December. It was suspended on December 17, only to be resumed into 2025 with the strike now set to continue May 23. 

Rapid seeding progress is being noticed in the fields around west-central Saskatchewan judging by the second local crop report of the year (May 6-12). The region is hovering around the 50 per cent completion mark after the May long weekend, keeping pace with the rest of the province as over half of the province's acreage is seeded as we enter the final ten days of May. 

LEADER, Sask. — A diagnostic tool first introduced in Leader is now being rolled out to more rural Saskatchewan hospitals as part of a provincial push to stabilize emergency services and improve access to care in remote communities.

Point of Care Testing (POCT) devices, which can deliver vital lab results in under 30 minutes, were first piloted in Leader, Maple Creek and Wynyard in 2023. Since then, the technology has helped prevent 91 potential emergency room service disruptions across the province, according to the Saskatchewan government.

Deferred grazing, a practice that involves delaying livestock grazing until after key growing seasons, is a valuable strategy for preserving and enhancing native prairie ecosystems. Unlike continuous or early-season grazing, deferred grazing allows native grasses and forbs the opportunity to complete their life cycles, set seed, and recover from previous disturbances. This approach brings a range of environmental, ecological, and even economic benefits that support both sustainable ranching and grassland conservation.