Okotoks

The real estate market in Okotoks was tight in August, as a result of fewer listings.   

According to the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) August stats, sales to new listings dropped to 59 per cent in the Foothills Region, a decrease from July’s 71 per cent.  

A new open mic event debuted at the Old Church Theatre on Wednesday (Sept. 10).

Acoustic Mornings gives local musicians a chance to connect and play on stage on the second Wednesday of each month.

It's organized and hosted by Dianne Harvey, Paula Briggs, and Cathy Checora, with Harvey and Checora having hosted previous open mics in town.

If you have boxes of sensitive documents or even just a few handfuls, the High River Legion is here to help.

High River Royal Canadian Legion #71 is ready to host another morning of shredding this weekend.

Don Horn, media relations with the Legion, said they partnered up with a few local businesses to make this fundraiser happen.

"Century 21, and we're doing this in partnership with the Rotary as well. It'll be on Saturday, September 13th, from 9 until 1. It's by donation, and all the money will be split between the Legion in High River here and also the Rotary."

The Terry Fox Run is coming up on Sept. 14.

In Okotoks, the run will be held at Sheep River Park at 10 a.m. with registrations starting at 9.

There are 1.5k and 5k routes, which participants are invited to navigate at their own pace.

"It's very much participative. It's not competitive," said the Okotoks run's organizer, Steve Preece. "Although Terry was very competitive in spirit and for himself, this run has always been participative. The main focus of the run is to raise money for cancer research. That's what Terry ran across the country for."

The company will start commissioning the Saskatchewan canola plant in the next couple of months

Canola growers finally have some good news to celebrate.

Cargill’s brand-new Regina crush facility is coming online just as farmers are reeling from the loss of their top export market.

“At a time of uncertainty in the canola markets, to have domestic demand is a really good opportunity for farmers,” said Cargill Limited president Jeff Vassart.

The number of emergency department visits for pneumonia more than doubled last fall over the previous year, the Canadian Institute for Health Information says.    

The new data released Thursday said young people between five and 19 years old were the hardest hit. 

"This is actually the largest increase in pneumonia-related emergency department visits that we've seen post-COVID," said Tanya Khan, CIHI's manager of hospital data advancement and engagement, in an interview. 

Politicians in Canada are speaking out about political violence after Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, was shot and killed Wednesday at a Utah college event.

Prime Minister Mark Carney offered condolences to Kirk's family and friends.

"There is no justification for political violence and every act of it threatens democracy," he said on social media.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Kirk's shooting must be strongly denounced.

Alberta teachers have officially started the countdown clock toward an Oct. 6 provincewide strike, with both sides accusing the other of failing students.

"Teachers’ patience has run out," Jason Schilling, head of the Alberta Teachers' Association, told reporters Wednesday.

He announced that if there is no deal in place by Oct. 6, the union's 51,000 members will hit the picket lines.

“What teachers want is simple: classrooms that are properly funded, respect for the work that they do, and wages that reflect their value to Alberta's future," Schilling said.

The federal Conservatives are pressing the Liberal government to allow provinces emergency access to strychnine, a pesticide previously used to control Richardson’s ground squirrels (commonly called gophers).

In a statement released Friday, Foothills MP and Conservative Shadow Agriculture Minister John Barlow said without the use of strychnine, farmers and rural municipalities are struggling with widespread infestations and mounting costs.

A renewable energy company is expanding clean energy practices with a solar energy project near Claresholm.    

Greenwood Sustainable Infrastructure (GSI) announced the acquisition of the Homestead Solar Project from Kiwetinohk Energy (KEC) on Sept. 9.