Okotoks

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has suffered another devastating byelection blow with the loss of a second Liberal stronghold, this one to the Bloc Québécois in LaSalle—Émard—Verdun.

Voters went to the polls Monday in the Montreal riding as well as in Winnipeg's Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP retained its long-held seat after a tough race against the Conservatives.

Trudeau already faced calls from party faithful to resign as leader after unexpectedly losing Toronto—St. Paul’s to the Conservatives in a byelection this past June.

The Lotto Max jackpot this week will be the highest it's ever been.

On Tuesday, September 17th, the Lotto Max grand prize is $80 million, making it the biggest jackpot in Canadian history.

There will also be 18 Maxmillions prizes up for grabs, making it so there is $98 million for people to win.

Since 2019, the Lotto Max jackpot was capped $70 million, but since the draw on September 10th, 2024, the jackpot prize has been increased to $80 million.

The Maxmillions prizes will begin to be awarded once the jackpot reaches $50 million.

High River fire crews will soon be checking fire hydrants around town to ensure they are working properly.

Fire Chief Cody Zebedee said they typically check them twice per year.

"The Spring check typically is us flowing and flushing the hydrant to make sure the pressure's good, there's no leaks, there's no issues with the hydrant. And then our Fall check is just a quick visual inspection, make sure everything's good, all the water's pumped out of them for the wintertime operation."

The Sheep River Health Trust's (SRHT) School Meal Program got a major boost on Monday (Sept. 16).

They were presented with a cheque for $7,700 from 100 Women Who Care Foothills.

The program provides breakfasts and lunches to 12 schools across the Foothills.

The Holy Trinity Academy (HTA) Knights were back on the field on Friday, and they continued to march down the field, taking yet another win in a convincing manner.

The Knights hosted the Catholic Central High School Cougars in Okotoks and took the game 45-13, continuing their unbeaten streak.

A fan favourite of the Green Army won't be back on the team this season.

Sam Huck has taken his talents to the USHL.

Huck, who got cheers anytime he touched the ice, became the second all-time point leader for the Okotoks Oilers. Huck is just one point back from Kyle Reynolds, who currently holds the title of most points in an Oilers uniform. Huck posted 71 goals, and 98 assists for 164 career total points for the Green and Gold.

The Northern Lights were visible last night in the Foothills and all of Southern Alberta.

Due to a large solar flare on Saturday morning, the chances were very favourable for the Aurora Borealis to occur.

Different vivid shades of blue to green to purple were once again visible across the clear night sky complete with an almost full moon.

Many people in the Foothills were busy sharing their photos from early last night on social media.

Members of Parliament will hold an emergency debate in the House of Commons Monday evening on a string of recent deaths of First Nations people during interactions with Canadian police forces.

Six First Nations people have died in the last two weeks at the hands of police officers, which NDP MP Lori Idlout characterizes as a "disturbing pattern."

She wrote a letter to House Speaker Greg Fergus calling for the emergency debate, lambasting what she called a lack of media coverage of the deaths and inaction by the government to pass legislation on First Nations policing.

Albertans could get a good look at the northern lights on Monday night (Sept. 16).

A strong solar flare over the weekend could bring about ideal conditions to view the Aurora Borealis once again.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts geomagnetic storms measuring at a G3 on the G-scale, which ranges from G1 to G5.

The High River Flyers started hot in the HJHL pre-season, winning their first two games but then falling twice this weekend to end with a .500 win percentage. 

The Flyers took on the Airdrie Techmation Thunder on Friday night (Sept. 13) and were handed a 7-3 loss. The Flyers got their first goal in the second period and then followed up with two more in the third, but it wasn't enough to get past the Thunder in Airdrie.