Lacombe

The Ponoka off-leash dog park will be temporarily closed on Wednesday, July 16, for weed control.

The closure was originally scheduled for Monday but was postponed due to rainy weather.

The park is expected to reopen at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 17.

The small-dog area will remain open, as it is not affected by the weed control application.

The Town of Ponoka conducts regular, pet-safe weed control, carried out by a certified application specialist in accordance with Alberta’s Weed Control Act.

The Lacombe Police Service is investigating the theft of a black 2023 Dodge Ram 3500 Longhorn dually truck, Alberta license plate CMC 8124, reported stolen from a residence on Mackenzie Avenue in Lacombe.

The vehicle was last seen parked in the driveway on the evening of Thursday, July 10, and the owner discovered it missing the following morning.

The investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Lacombe Police Service at 403-782-3279 or their local police agency.

The 2025 Westerner Days Parade returns to downtown Red Deer tomorrow morning (July 16).

Floats, bands, dancers, and community groups will take over in as the annual Westerner Days Parade kicks off the festivities.

The parade begins at 9:30 a.m. and follows a circular route around the city core.

The annual pace of inflation accelerated to 1.9 per cent in June as consumers were paying more at car dealerships, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.

The June price hike is up from 1.7 per cent in May and was largely in line with economists’ expectations.

StatCan said gasoline prices were nearly unchanged in June as higher crude oil prices and geopolitical conflicts ratcheted up pressure at the pumps. Motorists saw a steeper monthly decline in prices this time last year, which the agency said led to a rise in headline inflation.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is scheduled to convene the Incident Response Group in Ottawa today to discuss the ongoing wildfire situation across the country.

Carney also convened the group of ministers and senior officials a little over a month ago in response to an earlier wave of wildfires, which peaked in May and June, then receded, and have now flared up again.

More than 6,000 people are currently out of their homes in Manitoba, and the communities of Lynn Lake and Snow Lake ordered residents to flee for the second time in just weeks.

As we enter the heart of July and the back half of the 2025 growing season, producers are looking to protect their crops to help ensure they don’t lose any yield come harvest time. That’s especially the case for canola, as plants start heading towards full bloom and will start forming pods and seeds.  

The Conservatives want Prime Minister Mark Carney to sell all the assets in his blind trust to avoid any possible conflicts of interest.

Carney set up the blind trust after he was sworn in as prime minister in March and the details of how it works were made public on Friday.

They show that the prime minister has set up screens to avoid potential conflicts related to his previous interests in Brookfield Asset Management, Brookfield Corporation and Stripe Inc.

But Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre believes that's not enough.

Wolf Creek Public Schools (WCPS) has announced the appointment of Malcolm Tisdale as the new Assistant Principal of École Lacombe Junior High School, starting in the 2025–26 school year.

Tisdale brings a strong background in education and leadership, with a focus on student engagement, school culture, and collaborative support.

He began his teaching career at St. Andrew’s School in High Prairie, where he taught Grades 4 to 12 physical education, junior high math and science, and served as Athletic Director.

Two men have been arrested and charged for drug trafficking and weapons offences by Wetaskiwin RCMP. 

On July 9, officers from the Wetaskiwin detachment observed known drug dealers leaving the city. The Wetaskiwin Crime Reduction Unit and General Investigation Section were alerted and began surveillance.

Police tracked the suspects to a residence in Thorsby and observed them interacting with an individual outside the home. A traffic stop was conducted shortly after, and both occupants were arrested.

Lacombe Days wrapped up yesterday, and the city was gifted with beautiful weather and huge crowds who came out to enjoy the festivities.

Between 10,000 and 12,000 people watched the parade, which travelled through more residential streets this year due to construction.

According to festival coordinator Jess Zylstra, a lot of people liked the new parade route, and she, along with the board, will look into that for next year.

But the route was just one part of the parade, and Zylstra believes many other factors made it successful.