FortSask

Fort Saskatchewan RCMP is investigating a suspected arson.

Earlier this month, police responded to reports of a fire in an abandoned building located in downtown Fort Saskatchewan. 

Emergency crews were able to extinguish the blaze, but the building suffered severe interior damage to the upper floor. Luckily, no injuries were reported. 

After an investigation, police have determined that the fire was intentionally set, and the matter is being investigated as arson. 

Fort Saskatchewan is preparing to roll out its first municipal census since 2019. 

In April, city officials will be hand-delivering secure access code letters unique to each resident. 

"Collecting up-to-date population data is an important and effective way to plan for the needs of our growing and diverse city," said Sheryl Exley, a legislature officer with the city.

"Census information is used by various city departments, organizations, and stakeholders to deliver a wide range of municipal services." 

 Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, announced $150 million in renewed funding for Protein Industries Canada.

The funding is part of the $750 million investment into the Global Innovation Cluster program which was announced in the 2022 budget.  

CEO Bill Greuel says the renewed investment of $150 Million into Protein Industries Canada will support continued innovation, scale-up of companies and the commercialization of new products in Canada’s plant-based food, feed and ingredient sector.

The Fort Heritage Precinct has a new exhibit for people to check out. 

The Precinct has joined together with the Fort Black Society to put on an exhibit that celebrates Black History Month called 'Experience Africa'.

"This exhibit started with an idea to reach out to more members of the community that aren't really represented by the museum," said Kyle Bjornson, the curator at the Fort Heritage Precinct. 

"The community keeps growing so we want to make sure more voices are represented here." 

The Fort Saskatchewan Multicultural Association (MCA) and Fort Saskatchewan firefighters helped raise money for Kids with Cancer.

On Sunday (Feb. 12), the two groups were outside Freson Bros. handing out hot dogs while local firefighters offered tours of their fire trucks.

"It was a very successful event," said Lana Santana, founder of the MCA. "We were so thrilled and happy by the generosity of people who came."

Overall, the event raised a total of $2000 for Kids with Cancer, an Edmonton-based charity.

Strathcona County RCMP is looking for the public's help in finding a man allegedly connected to a murder back in 2021.

In September 2021, police responded to a vehicle fire near Township Road 530 and Range Road 221.

Police say they found a dead body inside the burnt vehicle. The victim was identified as 29-year-old Vanessa Silva. Her death was deemed suspicious at the time. 

Almost eight months later, following an extensive investigation, Police identified and arrested 25-year-old Cordell Kennedy as a suspect in the case. 

Sherwood Park is home to two of the finest young curling teams in the country. 

Team Plett and Team Davies were both in Ontario over the weekend taking part in the Canadian U18 Championships, where they both won the title.

"Both teams went undefeated throughout the entire event," said Heather Nedohin, the manager of the Sherwood Park Curling Club. 

That undefeated streak included a torrid 6-0 run in the round-robin rounds that continued into the qualifiers and, eventually, into the championship game. 

KidSport's Fort Saskatchewan is the winner of this month's Half Grand Helping Hand from South Fort Chevrolet and MIX 107.

KidSport is a program that allows children in need to play sports that would otherwise be too expensive through the costs of sports registration fees and equipment.

Roger Ethier, president of the Fort Saskatchewan branch, says they've been helping families in the community for over 25 years.

"We help out families that aren't financially able to pay registration for organized sport," Ethier said.

CN Rail is reporting strong movement for grain and processed grain products in the last few weeks.

The railway shipped over 650 thousand metric tonnes of grain and processed grain products for crop week 27.

David Przednowek, CN's Assistant Vice-President of Grain notes it was a solid week despite some terminal issues.

According to the weekly report several elevators in the Prairies experienced loading delays due to snow accumulation, mechanical issues, or track issues. 

Fort Saskatchewan travellers can add a few more locations to their list. 

On Monday (Feb. 13) morning, WestJet announced its largest-ever network expansion out of the Edmonton International Airport (EIA).  

This expansion is part of their 2023 summer schedule and includes two new non-stop service routes to Minneapolis, Minnesota and Seattle, Washington. 

On top of that, new domestic routes to connect Alberta to the east coast were also unveiled. These routes will connect with the following Canadian cities: