Strathmore

Players from the East Wheatland Athletic Association will be recognized for their sportsmanship through an awards banquet taking place later this year.

The event will run on April 4 at Standard Hall with cocktails starting at 5 p.m. before a pizza supper an hour later.

"It was a great idea by the board to put this together to celebrate all the hockey players," said Drew Gregory, a local musician and volunteer with the banquet. "When you're in small little towns there's not much to do, so it's great when everybody comes out to the arenas for these things."

The Agra Risk Wheatland Kings' season is over.

The club lost to the Medicine Hat Cubs on Friday night 5-3 during the second round of the playoffs.

"As this season wraps up, we just want to say one thing-thank you. It may not have ended the way we wanted, but what a year it was," mentioned General Manager Cody Holdaway in a Facebook post.

"Strathmore is a hockey town, and the support we received from you all season long proved it in every way."

There were few highlights in the 2025 Alberta Budget for capital projects in Strathmore and the area.

However, Rocky Mountain Clean Fuels near Carseland received a total of just over $21 million over three years to support the expansion of its synthetic diesel facility.

The announcement was made in December 2024 and was announced as one of the bigger capital projects for the region.

The grant was handed out as part of the Alberta Petrochemicals Incentive Program (APIP) in 2020.

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said Friday there's a good chance that Russia could re-invade Ukraine if there are no security guarantees in a peace deal.

Her comments came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump engaged in a shocking verbal brawl in the White House.

The two countries were expected to sign a critical minerals deal as part of efforts to end Ukraine's war with Russia, but after Zelenskyy insisted that the deal include security guarantees from the U.S., Trump showed open disdain for the Ukrainian president.

Game four between the Agra Risk Wheatland Kings and the Medicine Hat Cubs takes place Friday night.

The game will be at 7:45 at the Kinplex in Medicine Hat.

In games one and two the Cubs took home the win with a final score of 5-2 and 3-2 respectively.

However, the Kings came back in game three winning 6-4, with both tie-breaking goals scored in the game's final two minutes.

If the Kings win game four, the series will be 2-2 between both teams. If the Kings lose, they will be taken out of playoffs.

The crew at 104.5 More Country and StrathmoreNow took a drive to Carseland for our most recent Classroom of the Month.

The kindergarten and Grade 1 classes at Carseland School are the winners!

Bonnie Ferguson nominated her class to win.

"Our class should win because we have a very high attendance record. Our students are amazing and show up every day excited and wanting to learn and grow their minds," mentioned Ferguson.

This weekend on the Canadian Country Showcase, we’re catching up with a couple of incredible Ontario artists! James Barker from the James Barker Band joins us for a chat, and Kelsi Mayne makes her debut on the show with her latest single, "Breaking Bad." Plus, we’ll take a look back at this week in 2020 and revisit the #1 song on the charts. 

Catch the Canadian Country Showcase every Saturday at 12 p.m. and Sunday at 4 p.m., only on the Golden West Country Network!

Kinsmen Lake may be closed for the rest of the winter season.

On Friday, Feb. 28, the Town of Strathmore announced that the lake was no longer safe for skating.

Earlier this month, local temperatures went from a risk of frostbite to above-freezing, with the average daytime high over the weekend being 9°C.

The town asks that residents stay off the ice for their safety.

With daytime highs expected above-freezing for the next week, it's not known if the lake will be available to skate on before the snow melts.

Chestermere residents can have their voices heard on their experience with the RCMP.

According to the City of Chestermere and RCMP, a survey can be filled out where people can help determine policing priorities.

"Chestermere RCMP sets policing priorities each fiscal year (April-March) based on feedback received from residents. These priorities ensure that, in addition to responding to calls for service, officers focus on policing issues that are in line with local concerns," added the city in a news release.

The federal government is extending the timeline for Ukrainians in Canada who fled Russia's invasion to apply for new or renewed temporary visas by one year. 

The new deadline to apply for new or renewed work and study permits under the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel program is March 31, 2026.

Nearly 300,000 Ukrainians came to Canada under the program, which said they had to arrive by March 31, 2024.