Estevan

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said he left Washington Wednesday with a sense that progress was made after a meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

"It was constructive in the sense it was an exchange of views that I think helped both us and the Americans understand the work we need to do to get, we hope, to an agreement," LeBlanc said in an interview with The Canadian Press after arriving in Montreal.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre on Wednesday accused the federal Liberals of allowing temporary foreign workers to take jobs away from young Canadians while youth unemployment is high.

"As our young people have a quarter-century high in their unemployment, Mark Carney this year is expected to bring in a record number of temporary foreign workers to take the jobs of Canadian youth," Poilievre said. 

Statistics Canada data shows unemployment for youth, aged 15 to 24, hit 14.6 per cent in July. This is the highest it's been since 2010, outside of the COVID-19 pandemic.

An Estevan business owner is speaking out after security cameras caught a group of young adults tipping over a recycling bin in a back alley.

Jenny Pettitt, owner of Jenny Joans, says she first noticed the mess when she came across the scattered contents behind her business. Curious about what happened, she checked the surveillance footage and discovered several individuals in their mid-20s deliberately pushing the bin over before walking away.

SaskPower is doing some work near Midale on some of their power transmission infrastructure, wanting to get the lines updated before winter. The work is part of their Rural Rebuild Program, which allocates funds for areas that need attention, such as the stretch south of Midale being worked on.

SaskPower Spokesperson Joel Cherry lays out their expectations for the work ahead.

Estevan police responded to a busy day of calls on August 26, including a weapons seizure, an attempted break-in, and reports of disturbances, alarms, and erratic driving.

A 29-year-old man from Saskatoon was charged with possession of weapons dangerous to the public following a traffic stop. The weapons were seized.

In the northeast, officers investigated a report of a suspicious person. A resident said someone had set up a tent in their backyard but had left, leaving a bicycle behind. Police located the individual and issued a warning.

Canada changed its BSE surveillance after lower global incidence of ‘mad cow disease’ led to international standards shift

Canada’s agency for food safety is encouraged with cattle industry response to a new, more farmer-friendly approach to BSE surveillance.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) updated national bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) surveillance program — put in place earlier this year to meet new international standards — has received 152 samples of risk material as of Aug. 11, it recently said.

Massive storm in southeastern Alberta causes significant damage to crops and reported deaths of livestock

The numbers are still coming in for the cost of the damage caused by a huge hail storm that hit various areas of Alberta Aug. 20.

The storm ripped its way through vast swaths of land from Cayley, Milo and Brooks to the Saskatchewan border, as well as Camrose to the Viking, Edberg, Sedgewick, and Hughenden areas.

Manitoba Agriculture released its latest weekly crop report on Tuesday, offering a snapshot of harvest progress and crop conditions across the province. Cereal crop specialist Anne Kirk, who is compiling the reports this month, says harvest operations are moving forward despite recent weather challenges.

The Estevan Public Youth Center (EPYC) is kicking off the season with a sold-out celebration at Eddie Webster’s, featuring live music from Connor Pichet and a lively trivia session hosted by Adam Shirley. While the main event is fully booked, Connor will be taking the stage outside on the deck, open to the public, so everyone can enjoy the music and support EPYC.

Estevan’s baseball community continues to shine on the national stage, thanks to the dedication of longtime umpire and mentor Kevin Culy. This summer, Culy traveled to Dartmouth, Nova Scotia to officiate at the 22U Baseball Canada Championship, marking his 10th national tournament appearance.