Lacombe

A youth soccer team from Ponoka is headed overseas to compete in one of the largest international tournaments in the world.

The Ponoka Storm U15 girls’ team is travelling to Estoril, Portugal, to take part in the prestigious IberCup tournament from June 30 to July 6.

The team will play its first matches on Canada Day, facing off against opponents from around the globe.

The roster includes talented athletes from Ponoka, Lacombe, Stettler, Red Deer, Rocky Mountain House and Camrose — all proudly representing their central Alberta communities on the world stage.

A byelection has been called in the federal riding of Battle River--Crowfoot, where Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is hoping to win a seat in the House of Commons.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has set Aug. 18 as the date for the vote.

Poilievre, who represented the Ottawa-area riding of Carleton for more than 20 years, lost to Liberal MP Bruce Fanjoy in the April 28 election.

Damien Kurek resigned his seat earlier this month to make way for the Conservative leader's return to Parliament.

Tick season has arrived in Lacombe County, with some recently found in the Soper Natural Area, east of Blackfalds.

Ticks are most active in warmer months and can be found in tall grass, wooded areas and even urban parks. While most ticks are harmless, some can carry Lyme disease — a serious bacterial infection that can affect both people and animals if not treated early.

If you find a tick

Three years after Alberta's government paid $70 million for children's pain and fever medicine, its front-line health provider says it has worked out a deal to off-load what remains of the controversial stockpile.

Alberta Health Services spokeswoman Kristi Bland, in a Friday statement, confirmed the medicine is being donated to the charity group Health Partners International of Canada to distribute to "vulnerable communities worldwide."

"Preliminary shipments of products have started to leave Alberta, and additional shipments will happen in the coming months," she wrote.

Canada is rescinding its digital services tax and will resume trade negotiations with the United States, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said in a statement issued late Sunday night.

The announcement came following a phone call between Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump, and just hours before the first payment under the tax was going to come due for major tech companies like Amazon and Google. 

On Friday Trump announced on his social media platform Truth Social he was terminating all trade discussions with Canada because of the tax.

Justice Minister Sean Fraser says the federal government plans to take a "fresh" look at its online harms legislation over the summer but it's not clear yet exactly what the bill will look like when it is reintroduced.

It would be the Liberals' third attempt to pass legislation to address harmful behaviour online.

Fraser told The Canadian Press in an interview that the government hasn't decided whether to rewrite or simply reintroduce the Online Harms Act, which was introduced in 2024 but did not pass.

An Alberta judge has put on hold a provincial law that bans doctors from providing gender-affirming care to youth.

Justice Allison Kuntz, in a written judgment Friday, said the law raises serious Charter issues that need to be hashed out in court, and issued a temporary injunction against it before it fully came into effect.

Kuntz wrote that a temporary stop is needed while the issue is debated.

Berry lovers will be happy to hear that the U-pick season has now started. 

Across the Prairies, strawberry U-pick seasons typically start in early July. Raspberries and Saskatoons are then often available from late July through August. 

Andy Loewen is the owner of Friedensfeld Honey and Berry Farm, located east of Friedensfeld in Manitoba. He says their strawberry U-pick season officially got underway on Friday. An opening day of June 27th is a little bit earlier than normal for their farm.

Tyra the Tyrannosaurus is set to be poked and prodded this fall to determine whether Drumheller’s towering, monstrously popular icon can be saved from extinction.

Mayor Heather Colberg says a technical check will determine how much work — and money — may be needed to keep the 25-metre figure in its current place dominating the skyline of the town northeast of Calgary.

What’s happening this Canada Day in Central Alberta.

Communities across the region are gearing up for Canada Day celebrations filled with fireworks, food, music, and family-friendly fun from June 30 to July 1.

Here’s a look at what’s planned in several Central Alberta communities:

Innisfail

Canada Day Kick-Off
June 30, 5:30 p.m. | Napoleon Sports Field
Celebrate early with live music, food trucks, beer gardens, and fireworks at 11 p.m.

Family activities (5:30–9:30 p.m.) include: