FortSask

MIX 107 and Southfort Chevrolet team up each month to give away a $500 cheque to a deserving community group, organization, or sports team.

This month, the winners are the Gibbons Broncos Junior Hockey Club!

The Broncos are 3-time NJHL champions and competed in Alberta Junior C Provincial Championship this past season.

Adrian Mifflin nominated the club, saying the team gives young men in the area a place to take their skills after minor hockey.

"We teach them many lessons through hockey, like leadership, that will apply to life outside of hockey too."

A rural Gibbons resident was scammed out of thousands of dollars.

According to the RCMP, an unknown suspect came to the resident's door and told them that their grandson was in jail and demanded they cough up bail money.

After the resident spoke with who they thought was their grandson over the phone, they were persuaded to hand over the cash.

Officers are investigating this incident and have noticed an increase in similar grandparent scam cases. They also expect this increase to continue with the advancements in artificial intelligence.

International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan is announcing $71 million in humanitarian aid for Sudan and two neighbouring countries that are dealing with a large number of refugees in the wake of a violent crisis.

Sajjan says the funds will flow through agencies of the United Nations and the Red Cross as well as non-governmental organizations to provide basic food, water and health services.

Nearly $31 million will go toward Sudan, while slightly more will be sent to South Sudan, which seceded from that country in 2011.

Students at Gibbons School moved outside due to safety concerns on Tuesday afternoon (May 2). 

An email to parents and guardians says that at around 2:15 p.m., staff noticed a strange smell in the building.

"As a precautionary measure, we moved students outdoors for the remainder of the school day and contacted the operations and maintenance team to investigate the source of the odour," said the message from the school's principal, Deborah Clark.

According to the email, the odour was natural gas venting due to a minor equipment malfunction.

Sturgeon County Emergency Services have given an update on a five-acre fire just south of Gibbons on Tuesday (May 2).

Just after 2 p.m., Sturgeon County firefighters were called to what was initially a report of some smoke in the area.

"The colour of smoke changed a little bit to a darker colour, so that kind of indicated some more combustion," said Sturgeon County fire chief Pat Mahoney.

The fire started at an outbuilding on a vacant property. It then spread to the surrounding grassy area and into the woods.

It's going to be a hot week.

Environment Canada has issued a heat warning for areas such as Fort Saskatchewan, Sherwood Park, Edmonton, Bruderheim, Lamont, Gibbons, Bon Accord, Morinville, and Redwater.

Daytime highs are forecasted for 30 C on Wednesday and 31 C on Thursday. Nightly lows will remain in the double digits.

The temperature is expected to cool down towards the weekend.

Heat warnings are issued when very high-temperature conditions are expected to pose an elevated risk of heat illnesses, such as heat stroke or heat exhaustion.

With seeding operations starting to get underway across the prairies.

Farmers are being reminded that the PMRA label changes for lambda-cyhalothrin came into effect on April 29th.

Canola Council of Canada Agronomy Specialist Ian Epp notes in Canada crops treated with the product can no longer be used as livestock feed:

The City of Fort Saskatchewan has put a fire ban in place until further notice.

As of noon on Tuesday (May 2), all outdoor fires are banned and all fire permits are revoked.

The ban includes residential firepits, fireworks, and solid fuel barbecues.

This ban comes as a string of fires have hit the area due to the hot, dry, and windy conditions.

Fire bans are also in place for Strathcona County, Sturgeon County, and Lamont County.

Brynlee Butler is a 10-year-old from Fort Saskatchewan who has been making a difference for rescue dogs who are waiting for a home.

Every year Brynlee takes part in a stuffy drive where she asks residents to donate stuffed animals so that she can give them to CAWS animal rescue.

"It kind of started with me and my dog, who passed away a couple of years ago," said Brynlee. "I have stuffed animals of his, and I was thinking of doing a stuffy drive when we still had him, and [my dog] liked the idea too."

Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has returned from a successful trade mission to Asia.

Bibeau took part in the G7 Agriculture Ministers' Meeting and held bilateral meetings with her counterparts from Japan and Singapore.

Her visit focused on deepening and diversifying agriculture trade, promoting Canadian agriculture and agri-food products, with discussions around net zero initiatives,  sustainable agriculture, resilient agricultural systems, and food security.