Estevan

A new program from the provincial government wants to see if there's interest from Nurse Practitioners to provide publicly funded primary care services. In a release sent out yesterday, the province says it's looking for expressions of interest (EOI) from Nurse Practitioners to see if a public healthcare change could be feasible.

The initiative would allow Nurse Practitioners to work to the full scope of their practice, increase access to publicly funded primary care services, and promote collaborative care in the province.

Federal organizations failed to follow procurement and security rules when awarding contracts to the company behind the controversial ArriveCan app, the auditor general said Tuesday.

The report on GCStrategies — one of several audits tabled in the House of Commons on Tuesday — says the company was awarded 106 contracts by 31 federal organizations between 2015 and 2024.

The maximum value of those contracts was more than $90 million but only $65 million was paid out.

Wild animals take care of their young in different ways than humans do. This is why it is fairly common to see a fawn or another baby animal lying in a field at this time of year.

A Senior Conservation Officer with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment, Lindsey Leko, said there are good reasons humans should leave those animals alone.

Saskatchewan is dealing with some more smoke streaming down from the northern wildfires, as Environment Canada has issued an air quality warning for the area. That came through this morning, with smoke expected to last further into the week.

Meteorologist Crawford Luke details the system bringing all of the smoke to us.

With 24 wildfires currently burning across Saskatchewan and 18 communities evacuated, including La Ronge, Air Ronge, Denare Beach, and Creighton, Ombudsman Sharon Pratchler issued an urgent public call to the provincial government to address widespread complaints from evacuees who say they are being left without food, shelter, or timely communication. 

June has officially been proclaimed Pride Month in Estevan, following a declaration made at Monday night’s city council meeting.

In his statement, Mayor Tony Sernick acknowledged the challenges that LGBTQIA+ individuals continue to face, including threats to their rights, freedoms and safety. He said Pride Month is about human rights and empowering people to celebrate their existence and perseverance in public spaces where they are often excluded, whether directly or indirectly.

While there were fewer calls over the last week for Estevan Fire Rescue, they did have a couple of serious calls come through.

On June 5th at 12:03 p.m., a crew from EFR was dispatched to a single-vehicle rollover east of Estevan. When the crew arrived on the scene, they assisted the Estevan EMS and RCMP. EFR says that there were injuries as a result of the incident, with significant damage to the vehicle.

The southeast was well represented over the weekend as local athletes took part in the Special Olympics Saskatchewan Summer Games swimming events in Swift Current.

One swimmer from Estevan and two from Weyburn made the trek and returned home with medals.

“It was absolutely amazing. We had so much fun,” said coach Carrie Curtis.

After arriving in Swift Current, the athletes enjoyed a game of mini-golf and some ice cream before resting up for the competition.

Mark and Karin Elford of Wood Mountain ranch near the Saskatchewan/Montana border, and have been named the Saskatchewan Stock Growers 2025 TESA winners.

Since 1996, TESA, or The Environmental Stewardship Award, has recognized producers who go above and beyond standard industry conservation practices and set positive examples for other cattle producers and the general public.

The Liberal plan to give first-time homebuyers a tax break on a newly built home could have substantial impacts on housing affordability — with a few caveats — a new analysis finds.

The Liberal government introduced legislation on June 5 to eliminate the GST portion from new home sales of up to $1 million for first-time buyers, which works out to as much as $50,000 off the cost of a new build or a substantially renovated unit.

For homes sold above $1 million, the GST relief is phased out as the price tag nears $1.5 million.