Strathmore

Plant 2025 is well underway across the prairies and generally ahead of the seasonal averages.

Canada's Outlook for Principal Field Crops came out yesterday.

Some of the highlights for the 2025-26 growing season:

As farmers continue their seeding operations, the latest crop report brings a mix of optimism and caution. 

Crop Extension Specialist Tyce Masich says at this point 72 per cent of the provincial crop is now planted; that's an increase of 23 per cent from last week. 

He notes it's a smaller increase than the week before, largely due to rain delays in parts of the south and east regions of the province. 

STARS Air Ambulance provided a report to the Town of Strathmore for the council meeting on Wednesday, May 21.

In the report, STARS gave several statistics for the amount of calls they get in Wheatland County.

According to STARS, they responded to 29 calls throughout the county in 2024. Out of those calls, 11 of them were at the Strathmore Hospital, and 4 were near the Strathmore Area. There were also two calls in Siksika Nation, four calls near Carseland, and five near Gleichen.

There were 16 less calls made than in 2023, which saw 45 calls throughout the county.

Four members of the Strathmore Fire Department have returned home after battling wildfires up north earlier this month.

According to the department, the crew spent eight days supporting the communities of Boyle and Redwater as fires threatened hundreds of homes across Athabasca County and Sturgeon County.

The Strathmore firefighters arrived with a Type 6 engine and a sprinkler protection trailer.

The union representing about 55,000 Canada Post employees said the latest offers from the postal service "fall short" with hours to go until a looming strike deadline.

Canada Post meanwhile said Thursday it's already seeing mail volumes decline ahead of another possible labour disruption and is pushing for an urgent resolution.

Spokesperson Lisa Liu said Canada Post hasn't yet received a response from the union about its proposals issued a day earlier.

The postal service is ready to resume bargaining "as soon as possible" with a mediator at the table, she said.

The Strathmore Municipal Library will be closed Monday, May 26, as staff attend an annual conference.

Library staff will be in Calgary for the Marigold Library System Conference, a one-day event featuring Olympic medallist and mental health advocate Clara Hughes as keynote speaker.

Hughes, the founding spokesperson for Bell Let's Talk, was also Team Canada's flag-bearer at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games.

The library will resume regular hours the following day.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has named 73 MPs to his party's leadership team and critic roles ahead of next week's return to the House of Commons.

He has named 48 Conservative members of Parliament to critic roles, while another 14 will become associate critics.

Most of them are returning MPs, though some have been shuffled to new positions left by people who were not re-elected on April 28. 

Canadians could soon find out if there will be another labour disruption at the national postal operator.

The union representing about 55,000 Canada Post employees has said it is reviewing a set of proposals for urban workers, along with rural and suburban carriers.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers issued a 72-hour strike notice on Tuesday, and the deadline is Friday at midnight.

Canada Post says the new offers address several concerns, and it is offering a wage increase of 13.59 per cent over four years.

Top economic officials from the G7 were locked in a full day of closed-door discussions Wednesday to examine pressing topics, including the global economy and the war in Ukraine. 

The meeting between the group's finance ministers and central bank governors in Banff, Alta., is a prelude to the G7 leaders summit in June in nearby Kananaskis. 

It comes in the wake of the U.S. imposing global tariffs that have resulted in many countries reconsidering their trading relationships. 

Farmers have been experiencing rain delays as they work to complete their seeding operations.

Oilseed Specialist Sonia Wilson reports that recent rain events in Manitoba over the past eight days have brought much-needed precipitation to many areas. However, she remains hopeful that producers will soon be able to return to the fields.