Estevan

An investigation has begun by the Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) following a shooting on a southeast first nation on the weekend.

On Sunday, June 29, at around 5:53 p.m., SIRT received a notification from the RCMP that an officer-involved shooting had just taken place on Flying Dust First Nation, just north of Stoughton. 

The notification was accepted as within SIRT's mandate, and an investigation began.

County of Newell takes over Crop Diversification Centre South and hopes to attract dozens of tenants for the $100 million facility

Like the mighty Phoenix, the County of Newell is hoping the Crop Diversification Centre South in Brooks, Alta., will rise from the ashes and regain the prominence it once had in agricultural research.

The Regina Police Service is asking for the public’s help in locating a woman and child reported missing from that city. They say 46-year-old Erin Sawatzky and eight-year-old Zuri Sawatzky were last seen in south Regina in the early morning hours of June 19th, on Aerial Crescent.  

June brought its share of thunderstorm activity to the Prairies.

The Canadian Crop Hail Association says mid-June thunderstorms damaged crops across Western Canada, dropping pea- to toonie-sized hail.
 
CCHA member companies are investigating more than 900 claims of crop damage from hailstorms that occurred June 13-20. The majority of the claims were filed in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Farmers have been out evaluating crop damage to determine the impact, as some crops can recover depending on the damage and the stage of the crop.

The southeast nearly got another taste of tornadoes as a strong thunderstorm moved throughout the southeast and spun the clouds around enough that stormchasers descended into the area. That storm also brought hail that was scattered in a few different sizes across the corridor from Carlyle to Redvers, even stretching into Manitoba.

Dan Fulton, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, took a look at the system that produced some of the extreme conditions.

Coal-fired power plants will exist past 2030 in Saskatchewan, as the province sent out a letter last month to workers letting them know the power production method would continue. That runs against federal targets to shut down coal plants by 2030, but the province maintains it has sole discretion over power generation methods.

The letter was well received by those in the energy sector, with Rick Dohaniuk, the president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) 7606, very happy with the news.

The number of fires in the province has gone up once again, according to the latest update on the province's wildfire situation from the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA). In their release yesterday afternoon, the SPSA detailed that there are 64 active wildfires burning in the province as of 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, with 20 uncontained.

While some recent precipitation has helped out with containing a few fires, lightning from those systems also helped to start and spread other fires, with western Saskatchewan being particularly affected. 

With the grazing season underway there are some things producers can look at to help gauge the health of their rangelands. One indicator is the species composition; this includes which species and types of plants you are seeing as well as amount of each species. 3 terms that we often hear when talking about range health are decreaser, increaser, and invader which can be used to describe how plants respond to grazing pressure.

The Old West will be on full display as thousands clad in tassels, boots and buckles march through city streets today to kick off the Calgary Stampede.

Country superstar Shania Twain will saddle up and lead the parade on horseback before performing Saturday at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The Stampede runs until July 13.

The “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” singer, who was raised in Timmins, Ont., last took the stage at the Stampede in 2014.

UPDATE: As of 7:35 pm, SaskAlert has dropped the Tornado Warning placed on the area around Redvers. They have now changed it to a Severe Thunderstorm Warning, but a tornado is no longer imminent. 

Environment and Climate Change Canada is still warning the public that a system is passing through the area that is capable of producing strong winds, large hail and localized flooding due to heavy rains.

A tornado is still possible, though, the weather agency warns.