FortSask

As the rain pours down over Fort Saskatchewan, the city has closed its sports fields.

The temporary closure was made after the wind and rain rendered the field's conditions unplayable.

"When we get this much volume of rain, the sports fields become a safety hazard," said Jenelle Hart, parks services manager with The City of Fort Saskatchewan. "Players can slip and slide on the surface, potentially causing injury [to themselves], and damage to the field."

Sherwood Park’s Kaiden Guhle has been named the 2022 WHL Playoffs Most Valuable Player.

The Edmonton Oil Kings defenceman and Montreal Canadiens prospect finished the post-season with eight goals, the most by an Oil Kings defenceman during a single playoff campaign. 

Guhle scored the insurance goal in the second period of Monday’s (June 13) Game 6 win against the Seattle Thunderbirds, resulting in the Oil King’s taking the WHL title.

The 20-year-old was traded from the Prince Albert Raiders in December.

The Strathcona County Awards of Excellence celebrated outstanding community members.

The event took place Monday (Jun. 13) evening at Festival Place in Sherwood Park.

Guests got to enjoy a catered dinner before entering the auditorium. Upon entering, pianist Terry Jordan played as the seats filled up.

Award winners and presenters were led into the auditorium by Bridgette Hardy-Crytes on the bagpipes. 

Shortly after everyone was seated, local musician Samantha Wiltzen performed O’Canada and an original song performed on the ukulele.

Our local MLA is throwing her support behind a candidate in the UCP leadership race.

Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville MLA Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk has endorsed finance minister Travis Toews in the UCP leadership race.

Toews is one of six candidates so far to announce their bid for the top spot ever since Premier Jason Kenney announced his intention to resign following a leadership review in late May.

Fort Saskatchewan and Strathcona County firefighters had to rescue a stranded man on the North Saskatchewan River.

Crews arrived at West River’s Edge area after 4 p.m. on Thursday (June 9) to save a man who swam to a nearby island after his dinghy had flipped in the water. 

"Crews were already on a fire call and we had an additional call for some people that saw a boater stranded on the river," said Nolan Jespersen, the assistant fire chief for the City of Fort Saskatchewan.

On Monday, Federal Agriculture Minister Marie Claude Bibeau joined the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry in announcing Ottawa's support for BHP Billiton's low emissions potash mine in Saskatchewan. 

The agreement means up to 100 million dollars in federal funding for the mine development at Jansen. 

This is the first new major potash project in Canada in over 50 years.

Through this project, BHP will significantly minimize the carbon footprint of the mine, improve worker safety and implement technology to further reduce emissions from mine operations. 

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra says the Canadian government will suspend COVID-19 vaccine mandates for domestic and outbound international travellers and federally regulated workers.

The new rules will come into effect on June 20, though the requirements for foreign nationals coming to Canada will not change.

Intergovernmental affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc warns the government is prepared to "bring back" necessary policies if there's a resurgence of the virus in the fall.

A deal has been reached settling a dispute with Denmark over a 1.3-square-kilometre island in the Arctic and is expected to be signed today, according to a government minister. 

Dan Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs, confirmed Monday that there will be an "official signing" of the accord over Hans Island on Tuesday.

The barren rock has been the subject of decades of diplomatic disputes between the two nations, as it sits in the territorial waters of both. 

The Edmonton Oil Kings are the 2022 WHL champs.

The Oil Kings captured their third WHL championship by shutting out the Seattle Thunderbirds 2-0 in Game 6 of their series.

Jakub Demek And Kaiden Guhle both scored while goalie Sebastian Cossa turned away all 27 shots.

There is plenty of local representation on the team.

Guhle, who won the WHL Playoffs Most Valuable Player (8G, 8A), is from Sherwood Park. He is a Montreal Canadiens prospect.

Logan Dowhaniuk is also from Sherwood Park and Brendan Kuny is from Ardrossan.

Since its peak on April 26, when there were 20.7 new COVID-19 admissions per day per million population, the rate of new COVID-19 hospitalizations in Alberta has been declining.

As of June 9, the weekly average of new hospitalizations rate was 6.6 per day per million population.

PCR test positivity and wastewater surveillance are also showing a continued trend of declining COVID-19 transmission.