Strathmore

A Strathmore resident is sharing her art with the community.

It all started with an idea from Maralie Toth's father-in-law.

"By living in my home, he decided to tap into his kid side and sort of putting things on the fence to get his grandkids' attention," said Toth.

Toth says it quickly became a source of amusement for neighbouring kids.

The first project her father-in-law created featured the original Donkey Kong, with Peach and Mario.

Unwanted items will be strewn throughout Strathmore this week.

The Trash to Treasure initiative kicks off Thursday, Apr. 10, ahead of the Heavy Item Garbage (HIG) collection.

The Town of Strathmore said it runs until Sunday, with HIG collection starting the following day.

The program is meant to encourage residents to put out any items ahead of time so that others may pick them up to give them a new home.

The town says that the initiative "is a great opportunity to give unwanted items a new life while keeping them out of landfills."

The Chestermere Food Bank is running low on certain supplies.

In a social media post, the food bank listed some items that are in high demand, including condiments, beans, soda crackers, paper towels, and more.

"Those are things we have none of," said Mardi Oel, executive director of the food bank. "There's about a ten percent increase of clients from last year."

Despite having a food drive in February, most of the filled shelves have been emptied over the following month.

Other items that the food bank is looking for include:

The Boss is back in Banff National Park, marking the start of the spring wildlife season.

Grizzly 122, commonly referred to as The Boss, was seen on April 7 in the Lower Bow Valley.

The sighting was captured by a remote trail camera.

The Boss is one of the dominant bears in the valley who has developed a bit of fame over the years. 

As a prime breeding male, he is known for chasing off other bears to assert his territory, even eating a black bear and having a run in with a train.

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This past weekend, the Agra Risk Wheatland Kings celebrated a historic season.

At the awards ceremony, Kings General Manager Cody Holdaway announced upcoming changes to the dressing room.

Kidco Construction is giving the Kings $10,000 to upgrade the locker room.

According to Holdway, before the needed renovations the locker room was inherited from the former AA Bisons team.

The Siksika Nation Fair is coming to the area this summer.

"Please check out our official pow-wow poster, which highlights the weekend agenda and lineup, including the host drum, Ho-Chunk Station from Lydon Station, Wisconsin," the nation said in a social media post.

The event runs at the Siksika Nation Fair Grounds from June 27 to 29.

Additional details about the fair can be found here.

Alberta is fundamentally changing how it funds hospital surgeries, but critics say the change won't improve the public system and will only accelerate more care in the privatized system.

Premier Danielle Smith announced Monday a new "activity-based" model is on the way, to be implemented for some surgeries in 2026. The model ties public funding to the number and type of procedures performed.

Smith said the program will drive costs down by fostering competition among public providers and those who perform publicly funded procedures in private clinics.

Alberta’s government is taking another step toward giving municipalities the option of ditching the RCMP in favour of a new provincial police service.

Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis says an independent Alberta service could step in to help address concerns he's heard about the Mounties' staffing shortages and rising costs.

If passed, a proposed bill would mean a new agency must operate under a Crown corporation that would be at arm's length from the government.

“I want to bring it back to, okay, why did you start? What makes your heart sing? What can we bring back to the work you do each day that makes you want to show up again?”

Vibrant Systems, run and owned by Danielle Hauck, is a consulting-based company that connects communities, businesses, and people back to what matters most.

“We’re all so focused on these big picture things nowadays that we forget what really matters outside our front doors,” Hauck shares. “What really matters in our local communities- that’s where I like to work, because that’s where my values are.”

With only three weeks away to the Canadian federal election, the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) are ensuring that agriculture is top of mind for campaigning parties by announcing a new strategic agenda called Unleashing Agriculture for Canada's Growth. Jeremy Welter, vice-president with APAS, talks about the need to improve Canadian agriculture and make it a point of focus for the federal government.