Weyburn

Local travellers heading through the intersection of Highways 39 and 13 can expect some delays this summer, as the construction of a roundabout at this intersection continues.

A release by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways in coordination with the City of Weyburn outlines the detours established by the Ministry. These will be in place effective Tuesday, June 10th and will likely extend throughout the summer construction season.

The Weyburn Police Service (WPS) teamed up with the Weyburn RCMP and Combined Traffic Services Saskatchewan (CTSS) unit last Friday to conduct high-visibility traffic enforcement.  

WPS Deputy Chief Shane St. John says it was a successful evening with over 600 vehicles checked, and three drug and alcohol related suspensions issued.  

“You still find people driving with alcohol or drugs in their body, they're impounded and suspended for three days.” 

The federal government's grain monitor Quorum Corporation released its weekly performance update for Grain Week 42.

Space in primary elevators is good - as road bans remain in effect across the prairies, country stocks dropped to 2.34 million metric tonnes. 

Total Western Port terminal stocks increased to 1.52 MMT in Week 42, utilizing 79% of the working capacity.

West Coast unloads were 6,332 cars and 2,051 for Thunder Bay.

The total average terminal out-of-car time (OCT) increased to 15.2% from 6.0% the previous week. 

The Weyburn Arts Council unveiled this week, for the second year in a row, the Get Out Gallery. This time, the featured works by local artist Lorena Squires can be found at River Park.

Curator Regan Lanning with the Weyburn Art Gallery is asking the public to enjoy the display but be respectful.

"Last year, everyone was very respectful and we hope that continues to be the case." 

The BeGrainSafe program is making significant strides in enhancing safety for farmers. rural firefighters and emergency responders across Canada. This initiative provides specialized training and equipment focused on grain entrapment rescues, a critical need in the agricultural sector.

Anglers from across the region will be making their way to Mainprize Regional Park this weekend for one of the Weyburn Wildlife Federation’s most anticipated events of the year — the 2025 Walleye Classic.

The annual fishing tournament is set for Saturday, June 7, with lines in the water from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Teams of two or three can register for the competition, with a registration fee of $200 per team. However, for teams choosing to include a third member, that angler must be 15 years of age or younger.

The latest job numbers from Statistics Canada were released Friday morning, and southeast Saskatchewan again saw a drop in the unemployment rate. The unemployment rate for the Regina-Moose Mountain Economic Region, which includes Weyburn, was 4.8 per cent in May, down from 5.1 per cent in April. This was the third consecutive month the unemployment rate declined in the region.  

The Weyburn Beavers dropped a close one Thursday night at Tom Laing Park, falling 8–6 to the Fort McMurray Giants. Despite an early lead and a strong start from pitcher Owen McConnell, the Giants rallied back to get their first win of the season. 

A complaint from a concerned citizen led to an impaired driving arrest. 

Deputy Chief Shane St. John with the Weyburn Police Service uses the incident to shed light on the importance of Report Impaired Driving (RID) complaints, thanking the person who reported the driver. 

"We're thanking the public for a written complaint calling in suspicious driver, and they were dead on - this person was impaired by alcohol."

St. John explains sometimes these calls turn up drivers that are only distracted or otherwise not impaired, however, they are still significant. 

With plants sprouting from the ground and farmers confidently finished with seeding, tractors in the field might find some new friends popping up in their farmland this summer. Burrowing owls can be found in the Saskatchewan prairies during the summer, having returned from their trip down south over the winter.

They're now moving into their namesake burrows in prairie meadows, grasslands, and even farmers' fields.