Estevan

The Red Market Barn near Kenosee Lake is preparing for a bustling Sunday as part of Saskatchewan Open Farm Days, with more than 50 vendors, fresh baking and live music on tap.

“We're going to have our Sunday market with local vendors and producers,” said Harold Johnston, host of the Red Market Barn. “Everything from the RTR, which is a group from Wawota, who are going to be baking fresh pies.”

Johnston said the market will feature food trucks and a wide variety of items for sale, including homemade clothes, baking and cotton candy.

Harvest operations are slowly starting to get underway. Crop condition and staging across the Prairies is variable depending on location and rainfall patterns.

In Manitoba, early reports of swathing in canola have come in from the Interlake and Central regions, along with some winter cereals.

Oilseed Specialist Sonia Wilson put together this week's Manitoba Crop Report.

Local musician Robert Godfrey says his upcoming performance at Woodlawn Regional Park’s Binzebo will be “a roller coaster for sure.”

Godfrey is set to take the stage on Wednesday, Aug. 20, from 7 to 8 p.m. as part of the park’s summer concert series. The event is free with a gate pass.

“I was sure honoured to get the call from Woodlawn Regional Park,” Godfrey said. “A really cool opportunity to get to perform in this space.”

Advance polls in a historic federal byelection for Alberta's Battle River-Crowfoot open today.

For the first time ever, Elections Canada says voters must fill out a blank ballot.

The agency lists a record 214 candidates running in the rural riding, with voting day on Aug. 18.

The majority are part of the Longest Ballot Committee, a protest group calling for various changes to Canada's electoral system.

They have a bad reputation thanks to carrying 'weapons' on their bums — but wasps are doing more for the prairie ecosystem than most people realize. Dr. James Tansey, an entomologist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, says stinging wasps like yellowjackets and bald-faced hornets are actually important contributors to biodiversity.

Estevan will host an NHL player and Stanley Cup champion this weekend, with the Estevan-born skater stepping onto the ice at Affinity Place for a free skate. Brayden Pachal, who won the Stanley Cup in 2023 with the Vegas Golden Knights and currently plays with the Calgary Flames, grew up playing hockey in the city.

Coming back to be a part of the hockey community, even for one day, is a big deal for him, as his mother helped set up the skate.

Crops in southeast Saskatchewan are progressing well, according to the latest crop report from the Ministry of Agriculture, but rain is needed over the next couple of weeks to support seed development.

Harvest is top of mind for producers, with many preparing equipment and grain storage for the incoming crop.

Last week was a dry one, with only a few areas receiving notable amounts of rain. The Big Beaver area recorded the most with 21 millimetres, followed by the Radville area with 14 millimetres. The rest of the region received very little precipitation.

Métis leaders left a meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday saying they're confident they will be included in talks about major projects Ottawa hopes to use to bolster the economy in the face of a trade war with the United States.

"When things really matter, Métis governments come together and we get the work done," said Métis Nation of Ontario president Margaret Froh.

The Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs says it's time for Ottawa to stop studying the idea of a national forest fire co-ordination agency and take action.

The organization's president wants the federal government to take inspiration from the U.S. Fire Administration to establish a similar office in Canada.

The U.S. office is part of Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, but Ken McMullen says a Canadian version could be simpler and less costly.

Gary Katrusik
1942 - 2025