Lacombe

Blackfalds first ever Chairs for Charity raffle raised nearly $5,000 for local food programs, capping off a month-long community campaign that combined art, generosity and civic spirit.

The event brought in a total of $4,905 for the Blackfalds Food Bank and Beyond Food Community Hub.

Community members were invited to purchase $5 raffle tickets throughout June for a chance to win hand-decorated chairs created by local businesses and organizations.

Ticket sales ran from June 10 to 30, with businesses showcasing their finished chairs throughout the month.

Artists of all ages and skill levels are invited to embrace the outdoors and unleash their creativity at a free plein air painting event in Lacombe this Saturday, July 19.

The event, hosted by the Lacombe Art Guild and Come Paint Alberta, runs from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and encourages participants to explore Lacombe and the surrounding countryside while creating original works of art outdoors.

“Plein air” which is French for “open air” refers to the practice of painting outside on location, directly from nature or with urban scenes.

A multi-vehicle collision that shut down Highway 2 near Lacombe and turned the city into a major traffic bottleneck was cleared late Wednesday night.

The four-vehicle crash happened yesterday just north of Highway 12 and was reported around 1 p.m.

Four people were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Traffic was rerouted through Lacombe via Highway 12 and Highway 2A, leading to significant congestion and delays.

More information will be provided as it becomes available.

The City of Red Deer is inviting local not-for-profit arts and culture organizations to attend upcoming information sessions on the 2026–2028 Community Culture Development Fund (CCDF) grant cycle.

The sessions are designed to walk applicants through recent updates to the program ahead of the August 18 application opening.

Participants will learn about what’s new this cycle, including eligibility changes, revised project criteria, and updated evaluation standards aimed at improving transparency and fairness.

Three sessions are planned:

A spokesperson for Manitoba Agriculture says it remains to be seen what sort of damage was felt on fields from last week's hail.

Hail was reported in numerous locations across the province, and Oilseed Specialist Sonia Wilson says producers will typically leave those crops for five to seven days, just to see how they rebound, before assessing them for hail damage. 

A man charged with hijacking a light plane at Victoria International Airport and flying it to Vancouver had an "ideological motive to disrupt airspace" and seized control of the aircraft after threatening a flight instructor, RCMP said Wednesday.

A spokeswoman for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada said a charge of hijacking had been filed in Richmond, B.C., constituting a "terrorist activity" and a "terrorist offence" under two sections of the Criminal Code.

RCMP said Shaheer Cassim, 39, is set to appear in court next Tuesday.

Unionized Canada Post workers will get a chance to vote directly on the employer's offers for a new collective agreement starting on Monday.

The Canada Industrial Relations Board will run the vote between July 21 and Aug. 1.

A simple majority vote will decide whether the proposal is accepted or rejected.

Canada Post is at an impasse with the union representing roughly 55,000 postal service workers after 19 months of talks.

Drivers in Lacombe will need to find a new route as the city’s well-known five-way stop near 53rd Street and 54th Avenue is closing for construction.

Starting tomorrow, the intersection will be closed in all directions as the City of Lacombe’s contractor, Border Paving, begins work on waterline, sanitary main, and stormwater line replacements.

If you're heading to Pigeon Lake, you may want to avoid swimming, as harmful blue-green algae have been found in the water.

Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) has been identified in Pigeon Lake, located between Leduc County and the County of Wetaskiwin.

Visitors are advised to take the following precautions:

• Avoid all contact with cyanobacterial blooms. If contact occurs, wash with tap water as soon as possible.

• Do not swim or wade — and do not allow pets to swim or wade — in areas where cyanobacteria is visible.

The Town of Olds has begun changing how it manages green spaces and shrub beds by embracing naturalization practices.

Seventeen sites have been identified across the community, and naturalization plans have already been implemented.

Even with a few sites restarted, the initial results have been positive.

The Town says staffing resources have been reallocated to other tasks, and plant growth is expected to support improved soil development over time.