Estevan

Saskatchewan's financial fortunes this year have taken a dramatic hit.

The province had budgeted a $12-million surplus this fiscal year, but a first-quarter update issued Friday announced that the modest surplus is now on track to be a $349-million deficit.

It's tying the reversal to a $172-million drop in revenues, most of it from its Crown agency, SaskPower.

Today, an outage is affecting cellphones across Saskatchewan, as SaskTel has sent out a notice that its services are being affected.

As of 8:45 a.m., SaskTel says an issue is preventing calls from being dialled. They also state they have identified the issue and are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

Saskatchewan RCMP sent out a similar notice with the 310-RCMP line being down, however, 9-1-1 is still functional in the province for emergency services.

As of 10 a.m., SaskTel says they are still working on a solution for the outage.

As combines roll and pollen fills the air across southeast Saskatchewan, many residents are reaching for the tissue box, battling the familiar symptoms of seasonal allergies. To shed some light on this annual affliction, Dr. Stanley Enebeli, Medical Health Officer for the region, explained what causes these allergies, how to tell them apart from a common cold, and what you can do to find relief. 

Although the weather hasn’t exactly been something to brag about this past month, August has still been filled with excitement thanks to festivals, concerts, and plenty of other outdoor events across southeast Saskatchewan. It’s also been a wonderful time for companionship, with just enough picture-perfect days to enjoy quality moments with our furry friends.

This month’s contestants are a mix of cats and dogs, and one of them will take home two $50 gift cards, one each from our generous sponsors, Rodeo Dawg and All Creatures. Who do you think will win?

The Eagle Sky Estevan Bruins are getting ready for a whole new hockey season, with their first matches beginning this September. The team is preparing to hit the ice with a couple of new faces following trades over the offseason.

Marty Martinson, the Bruins' play-by-play commentator and marketing director, talks about how the club is preparing for the preseason.

Cool temperatures and high humidity slowed crop maturity and harvest progress in southeastern Saskatchewan this past week.

Harvest is ongoing, with many pulse crops and some cereals already off the fields.

Hillcrest School is welcoming a familiar face into a new role this fall. Shannon Brown, who has served as the school’s learning support teacher for the past six years, is now stepping into the position of principal, and she’s bringing both excitement and a deep sense of community with her.

“I’m very excited, but extremely nervous at the same time,” Brown admitted during a recent interview. “Hillcrest has been my home for years, and I’m honoured to lead such a caring and vibrant school.”

When it comes to restoring our canola trade with China, the Canadian canola industry wants to see action and engagement from all levels of government with everyone working together to protect our market share.

Premier Scott Moe along with his Agriculture Minister Darryl Harrison and Trade and Export Minister Warren Kaeding met with federal/provincial canola groups, as well as exporters, canola crush and value-added companies.

The Crown will not appeal the acquittals of five former world junior hockey players after their high-profile sexual assault trial, one of the defence lawyers in the case said Thursday.

Daniel Brown, who represented Alex Formenton, said he has been informed of the prosecutors' decision. The Ministry of the Attorney General did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Formenton, Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Dillon Dube and Callan Foote were all acquitted of sexual assault, and McLeod of a separate charge of being a party to the offence of sexual assault.

Air Canada says it expects to be operating close to its full network schedule by Friday. 

The airline says it is continuing to ramp up its operations in a press release Thursday. 

This comes after the airline reached a tentative deal with the union representing its flight attendants on Tuesday to end a strike that began on Saturday. 

The strike disrupted the airline's operations, resulting in the cancellation of flights. 

Mark Nasr, Air Canada's chief operations officer, said in the release that the airline is restoring operations ahead of its plan.