Okotoks

RAM Everyday Adventure has its newest champion—and a new truck to match!

Craig Staniland is now the proud owner of an $83,000 RAM 1500 Big Horn, courtesy of Your Alberta RAM Dealers and 99.7 Sun Country!

“I actually have no idea what to say—this is just insane,” Staniland said after learning the life-changing news.

This wasn’t Staniland’s first attempt. He’s been entering the contest for years, multiple times, hoping his name would one day be drawn. That persistence finally paid off.

A new fieldhouse and library is on the way for a southwest community in Calgary.  

Ground has been broken for a community fieldhouse and public library at the Belmont Civic Site, near the intersection of Creekside Blvd S.W., and 210 Avenue S.W.  

“Very excited to put shovels in the ground for the new Belmont Fieldhouse and Library,” said Dan McLean, Ward 13 Calgary Councillor, in a Facebook post.  

The Alberta government says it will maintain a frozen industrial carbon tax price for 2026, putting the province at odds with federal rules.

Premier Danielle Smith announced the freeze in May, saying Alberta's price would stay at $95 per tonne of emissions for an indefinite period of time.

Alberta was set to increase the price to $110 per tonne starting next year — in line with the federal schedule — but now says it's keeping the freeze in place for 2026.

Widespread rain last week slowed harvest in parts of Manitoba. That is according to Oilseed Specialist Sonia Wilson, after Manitoba Agriculture released its weekly crop report. 

Wilson says the week of September 8th started warm, which allowed for harvest to progress. But then came some intense thunderstorms and extensive rain events, particularly in the southwest and eastern regions of our province. Wilson says the wettest location in the eastern region was Steinbach, with more than 100 millimetres of rain recorded in 31 hours. 

The federal government is asking the Supreme Court of Canada to set limits around how provincial governments can override the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Ottawa brought forward the request in a factum filed at the court on Wednesday, as part of a landmark case on Quebec’s secularism law, known as Bill 21.

Quebec has invoked the notwithstanding clause of the Charter in its legislation.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to sign a strategic partnership agreement with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum during his visit to Mexico, which starts today.

The agreement will cover infrastructure, trade, health, agriculture, emergency preparedness and security, senior government officials say.

Carney's two-day visit to Mexico City is happening as Ottawa seeks more trade with Mexico in response to the United States' trade war, and as both countries brace for the renegotiation of the continental trade deal linking all three economies.

The union for educational assistants in Alberta, fresh off its own strike, says its members won't step in to help schools if teachers walk off the job next month.

Canadian Union of Public Employees Alberta president Raj Uppal says members are being advised to refuse teachers' work and to get union officials to clarify areas where those duties could overlap.

She says the union supports teachers and will do "everything in our legal power" to help them improve classroom conditions.

Canada needs to maintain its 100 per cent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in an open letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney on Wednesday.

Ford said the measure is critical to securing a trade deal with the U.S. and protecting Canada's auto sector.

"If the federal government removes its tariffs against Chinese-made EVs, you will contradict and undermine months of engagement with U.S. officials and lawmakers about the need to protect and enhance our highly integrated cross-border automotive supply chains," Ford writes.

The Okotoks RCMP was among the organizations that contributed to one of the largest drug busts in Alberta history.

According to Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT), the investigation — Project Cerberus — began in May 2023 and concluded in September 2025.

It was led by ALERT Calgary’s organized crime team, with significant involvement from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Calgary Police Service.

The investigation focused on an organized crime group involved in Canada-U.S. drug trafficking with ties to Mexican cartels.

Premier Danielle Smith is directing her jobs minister to use all legal means possible to give Alberta more control over immigration.

In a new mandate letter given to Joseph Schow, Smith says Alberta needs more control over immigration to ensure the province sees sustainable levels of newcomers.

The letter says Canadian citizens should have first access to jobs and that young people should be prioritized over temporary foreign workers.

Immigration is increasingly becoming a focal point for Smith and her government.