Lacombe

Thursday, May 8 is McHappy Day, and McDonald’s restaurants across Central Alberta will donate a portion of proceeds from all food and beverage sales to Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) and other local children’s charities.

Sunny 94 has been a proud partner of McHappy Day for more than 15 years. Drive-home announcer Adam Hamilton, a longtime supporter of the event, said it’s a cause close to his heart.

Red Deer Public Schools is excited to host its 14th annual Grow Kids event. Taking place next Thursday (May 15) at both the G.H. Dawe Community Centre and the Collicutt Centre, the event will welcome all Grade 5 students across the division for a full day of learning, movement and connection.

Formerly known as Grow Boys and Go Girl, the event is now united under the name Grow Kids, reflecting a shared commitment to active, healthy physical, social and emotional development for all students.

The Town of Innisfail has added a new little library to its collection.

A dog stick library is now available at the off-leash dog park in the northeast portion of Centennial Park.

At the end of April, the dog stick library was installed so that dog owners can place sticks and toys to be shared with other dogs that come to the park.

Ken Kowalchuk, Manager of Communications and Marketing at the Town of Innisfail, says it was an idea brought forward by a staff member who saw a similar idea online, and the town decided it would be fun to create.

The Red Deer Rebels have selected defenceman Nolan Wolitski with the 7th overall pick in round one of the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft.

Wolinski played for Northern Alberta Xtreme U15 Prep (CSSHL) in 2024-25 and had 48 points (eight goals, 40 assists) and 74 penalty minutes in 29 league games. He added seven points in five playoff games. Wolinski also played four games this season for NAX’s U18 Prep team.

This year at the John Reid Memorial Tournament in St. Albert, Wolinski racked up 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in six games.

The Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre (CACAC) brought together over 275 young women from across Central Alberta at Crossroads Church in Red Deer on May 7, for the inspiring 2025 Climb Girls Resiliency Conference.  

The conference is a yearly event organized by the CACAC and its Climbing Tree Mentorship Program. 

Agriculture is one of the largest industries in the province, and simultaneously one of the most dangerous. As seeding and calving season gets underway, safety is once again top of mind for local farmers and their employees.  

Ryan Jacobson is the Chief Executive Officer with the Saskatchewan Safety Council (SSC) and formerly operated an agricultural farm in southeast Saskatchewan. He explains that every industry experiences gaps in safety protocols. 

A former Alberta premier has a new job in the provincial courts.

The provincial government says David Hancock has been named assistant chief justice of the Alberta Court of Justice in the Edmonton Family and Youth Division.

Hancock, a long-time legislature member, served as interim premier and Progressive Conservative Party leader after the 2014 resignation of Alison Redford, later calling it the "best summer job that I've ever had."

Hancock retired from politics after Jim Prentice was named as leader and was appointed in 2017 as a provincial court judge.

The Speaker of the Alberta legislature is resigning his seat in the assembly to become the province's representative to the United States.

"Serving this assembly has been one of the greatest honours of my lifetime," Nathan Cooper said Wednesday in a speech to the house announcing his resignation.

"Working as the assembly's chief diplomat has equipped me in, and to be ready for, my next role serving Albertans in a new and meaningful way."

As separatist discontent bubbles up anew in Alberta, experts say a vote to sever ties with Canada would pitch the country into unexplored territory on everything from money to First Nations and national parks.

“You’re in terra incognita. You’re off the map when we get to that stage of the proceedings,” said law professor Eric Adams.

“A lot of things are going to be broken on the way out the door.”

After the Second World War came to a close, Canada pulled itself away from Great Britain and planted itself firmly within a North American political and economic compact that generated prosperity for much of the western world for decades.

But as the world marks 80 years since the end of the war in Europe, an increasingly unstable geopolitical climate — and an administration in Washington bent on fighting a trade war with much of the world — has Canada looking back to the continent as a way to preserve peace and prosperity.