Okotoks

Over the years, certain areas in Canada have seen an increase in wild pig populations. Wayne Lees from Squeal on Pigs Manitoba highlights the difficulty in tracking these animals, especially on foot. "In our experience, finding the pigs is the single hardest thing that we have to do. Our situation in Canada is very, very much different than the US under cold climate conditions. We don't have the large numbers of wild pigs that they experience in warmer climates.

Local reaction to the federal election has been mixed however, John Barlow's re-election has been positive.

Incumbent Conservative member John Barlow won again in a landslide, getting over 75 per cent of the vote.

Lisa Szabon-Smith, the High River Chamber of Commerce's executive director, looks forward to continuing to work with the long-serving MP.

The community-favourite event, Light Up Okotoks, has won the 2025 Canadian Event Award for Best Event for a City or Municipality.  

Mayor Tanya Thorn and Connie Drake, Community Events Specialist, accepted the award in Toronto on April 30.  

WINNIPEG — Wheat growers in North Dakota have altered how they use fungicides to control fusarium head blight.

Many farmers now apply fungicides later, after flowers first appear on wheat heads, to cut the risk of fusarium damaged kernels (FDK) and reduce levels of deoxynivalenol (DON) in cereals.

Western Canadian farmers should make a similar switch, says a plant pathologist with Agriculture Canada in Alberta.

Right now, some agronomists and grower groups say the ideal fungicide timing starts when 75 per cent of wheat heads are fully emerged.

There's a Chinook blowing into these parts over the next couple of days.

Stephen Berg with Environment and Climate Change Canada explains where this heat is coming from.

"It's largely from a ridge of high pressure aloft, there's also a low that's developing over northeastern B.C., that'll also have a bit of a Chinook effect with more of a southwesterly flow."

We're expecting to hit a high of 27 tomorrow and then up to 28 on Saturday, and the wind is expected to be somewhat gentle, but there's a cold front on its way.

It seems there isn’t a day that goes by without the word “tariff” coming up in a conversation or on the news. When it comes to vehicle tariffs, well, it can get confusing and frustrating for anyone looking to buy a new vehicle. Alyc Keith, General Manager at Okotoks Nissan is doing something about it with help from Nissan Canada.

Communal grief following the ramming attack at a Filipino festival in Vancouver that killed 11 people on the weekend will likely persist for months, mental health experts in British Columbia warn. 

"Traumatic events, grief, is not something that is resolved in a week or two weeks, or a couple of months," said Heather Mohan, a clinical counsellor and executive director of the charity Lumara Grief and Bereavement Care Society.

Some Conservative MPs are expressing support for party leader Pierre Poilievre after he lost both the federal election and his own seat on Monday.

In his concession speech early Tuesday morning, Poilievre indicated he would stay on as leader. The Conservative party did not respond when asked Wednesday whether he has officially decided to stay.

"My view is he's not going anywhere," said Kory Teneycke, Ontario Premier Doug Ford's former campaign manager and a former director of communications for former prime minister Stephen Harper.

Okotoks business owner Bryce Schutte recalls the moment a car plowed through the front of his store as just a blur and a loud bang.

It happened just before 1:30 p.m. on April 29 at Phonephix in Village Lane.

Seconds after a customer had left the store, the car collided with the wall, which collapsed into the store.

Security footage shows Schutte's wife sitting at a desk very close to where the car struck, and can be seen in the footage wheeling her office chair away from the wall, unaware of the car's approach.

The Town of Okotoks' new waste collection schedule starts today (May 1).  

As part of the change, garbage pickup will be collected bi-weekly.  

Recycling and organics will be collected weekly, but will now be picked up on a different day of the week than garbage.