FortSask

Conservation advocates and experts are concerned a proposal for a Calgary-to-Banff passenger train is chugging along without addressing some key environmental issues in and around the national park.

Liricon Capital Inc., the lead private-sector proponent, is touting it as a hydrogen-powered transportation solution with lower greenhouse gas emissions than driving.

Just after 6 p.m. this evening (Aug 14), emergency crews in Fort Saskatchewan received a call about a structure fire on 94th Avenue near James Mowat Elementary. 

Upon arrival, crews found the garage engulfed in flames. Although firefighters were able to get the fire under control, the building was completely destroyed.

There was also at least one vehicle in the garage at the time.

No word on if smoke or heat damage was suffered by any surrounding property. 

Traffic to the area was closed off as the Fort Saskatchewan Fire Department worked on the blaze.

Two motorcycle riders died in a collision in Strathcona County.

Police say the incident involved a motorcycle and a vehicle on Highway 628 this afternoon (Aug. 14).

While details were vague, RCMP confirmed two occupants on the motorcycle died. 

A 29-year-old man from Sherwood Park is facing multiple charges from the incident, including impaired driving.

The Fort Saskatchewan RCMP is looking for a suspect in relation to a fire early Sunday morning (Aug. 14). 

At around 2:44 a.m., police and the Fort Saskatchewan Fire Department responded to a structure fire on 99 Avenue and 104 Street. 

"Preliminary reports show somebody was leaving the area at the time when the call came in," said RCMP Corporal Lacey Blair.

Police did not have a description of the alleged suspect. 

The Fort Saskatchewan RCMP say a recent fire is being treated as arson. 

At around 2:44 a.m. on Sunday (Aug.14), police and the Fort Saskatchewan Fire Department responded to a structure fire on 99 Avenue and 104 Street. 

"Upon arrival, two businesses were engulfed with flames," said RCMP Corporal Lacey Blair.

Fort Smiles Dental and Kids Fort Child & Out of School Care were both destroyed in the blaze -- no injuries were reported. 

Harbour Pool continues to enjoy high attendance numbers.

After the pandemic kept people cooped up for much of 2020, Harbour Pool saw record attendance during Summer 2021. Between 2019 and then, the pool saw nearly a ten per cent increase in attendance and often hit max capacity.

In response to last year's increase, pool officials made adjustments to the 2022 schedule to accommodate an influx of swimmers.

The Fort Saskatchewan Fire Department (FSFD) responded to a structure fire at a strip mall early Sunday morning (Aug. 14). 

Residents in the area of 10404 99 Avenue say thick smoke was seen billowing out of the building as crews fought the blaze. Police reportedly informed people nearby to shelter in place and be prepared to evacuate if the situation worsened.

FSFD was able to put out the blaze using the high angle of their aerial ladder truck. 

Canadian Blood Services is in talks with companies that pay donors for plasma as it faces a decrease in collections.

The blood-collection agency issued a statement on Friday saying it is in "ongoing discussion with governments and the commercial plasma industry" on how to more than double domestic plasma collection to 50 per cent of supply.

Canadian Blood Services has previously cautioned that letting companies trade cash for plasma — a practice banned in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec — could funnel donors away from voluntary giving.

A poll suggests more than half of Canadians viewed the recent visit by Pope Francis and his apology for abuses at residential schools as a step toward reconciliation.

The Angus Reid Institute released the findings from its latest online poll in which nearly 60 per cent of participants said they saw the Pope's apology as a meaningful step toward reconciliation, while 32 per cent said it did nothing to move reconciliation forward.

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