FortSask

Farm Credit Canada (FCC) says the country's farmland values climbed in spite of impacts from pandemic supply chain disruptions and adverse weather that affected parts of the country.

FCC's Farmland Values Report showed an 8.3-per-cent national average increase in 2021.

The report, which describes changes in Canada’s farmland values from Jan.1 to Dec. 31, 2021, covers an entire year of disruptions caused by the pandemic, as well as drought that reduced yields across much of the prairies.

FCC reported a 5.4-per-cent national average increase in 2020.

Sherwood Park's Brenda Schuster was recently hit with a big surprise.

During a break from work, she decided to check some of her lottery tickets and was shocked to see that her Poker Lotto ticket won $100,000 in the Feb.17 draw.

“I couldn’t believe it!” said Schuster. “I really was completely surprised.”

She said she plans to use some of her winnings to pay off bills, but doesn't have any immediate plans for the rest and will put the money away for a later date.

Schuster bought her ticket from the Highway 21 Esso in Sherwood Park.

Ken Davison has achieved a big milestone.

The 76-year-old from Sherwood Park has been running marathons for over 40 years. On Mar. 6, he completed the Athens virtual marathon on the Dow Centennial Centre track (DCC) — running 126 loops in just under five hours — which marks his 117th finished marathon.

He had some running friends, John Mack and Roger McMillan, cheer him on with support from staff at the facility.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau attended an emergency meeting of G7 agriculture ministers Friday to discuss the global shortage of wheat caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine is one of the world's biggest exporters of grain and officials are warning millions could go hungry in countries including Afghanistan, Yemen and Sudan if other countries don't step up.

The wail of an air-raid siren has become part of the soundtrack of Svitlana Matviyenko's life.

The first time she heard the blaring alarm indicating she was along the trajectory of a Russian rocket, Matviyenko panicked. Now, the assistant professor at Simon Fraser University's school of communication has something of a routine. 

It's been a difficult two years for schools.

School districts had to quickly adjust to new health measures being added to keep kids safe, occasionally moving classes online and frequently having students and staff absent because of illness or needing to quarantine.

However, the provincial government has lifted most public health restrictions in Alberta and schools are able to get back to normal operations again.

The Olympics are the pinnacle for athletes across the globe, including Bruderheim's Emerance Maschmeyer.

The 27-year-old Team Canada goaltender left the games with a gold medal around her neck, however, that moment didn't happen overnight. It was a journey with the national program that began when Maschmeyer was a teenager.

"I had a lot of success at the U18 level which I think set me up really well," said Maschmeyer. "I don't think I realized it at the time how young I was. Now looking back, it's very rare to join the [Team Canada program]."

A man has died in a collision in Sturgeon County.

At around 5:45 p.m. on Friday (Mar. 11), Fort Saskatchewan emergency services were called to a collision between a pickup truck and an SUV at the intersection of Range Road 230 and Township Road 554.

A 36-year-old man driving the SUV was killed in the crash. A 12-year-old girl, who was a passenger in the SUV, was taken to the Stollery Children's Hospital by STARS with serious injuries.

The man and woman in the truck, both in their 60s, were taken to an Edmonton hospital by ground ambulance.

A Sherwood Park man is facing multiple charges after allegedly robbing an area gas station. 

RCMP say Trevor Lee robbed the Brentwood Esso in Sherwood Park on the night of Mar. 4.

Mounties report that Lee entered the store and told the clerk he had a gas bomb in a plastic bag. 

"The male [Lee] left with several cigarette cartons, an undisclosed amount of cash and a bottle of Dr. Pepper," police said in a release. 

Police Dog Services then tracked the 54-year-old to a house in Sherwood Park.

Statement on the invasion of Ukraine by armed forces of the Russian Federation:

We, the G7 Agriculture Ministers and the Commissioner for Agriculture of the EU, met today (Friday, March 11) in the presence of our Ukrainian colleague, as well as the World Food Programme (WFP), the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS).