HighRiver

High River's Chantel Bruins, formerly Wiebe, is competing next weekend in the Mrs. Calgary pageant.

Bruins has been competing in pageants since she was 16, but since she just recently got married, she's competing for the Mrs. Calgary crown and sash.

One of the driving forces for Bruins is her desire to help empower other women, and the Calgary pageant does that.

"The Calgary Pageants organization is so focused on building a sisterhood among the contestants and among other current and reigning queens, that is something I really, really want to be a part of."

The Town of Okotoks is looking for artists for a couple of public art pieces.

They've put a call out for artists to design and paint two murals on the windows at the Municipal Centre.

It can be either one artist or multiple artists working on the murals, but there are themes the Town wants the murals to follow.

One is an open-themed design that celebrates the Stampede and the line-up of summer events happening around town, while the other mural will be a winter holiday mural that is inspired by Whoville from the Grinch Who Stole Christmas.

High River’s George Lane Memorial Park is getting a couple of new community art pieces.  

During the May 26 regular meeting, High River Town Council approved funding for two new tree carving art pieces. 

A total of $1,600 was allocated for materials and tools.  

A new draft of the province's Plan for Parks has been created, but the province wants more input.

The Plan for Parks is a strategic direction for recreation and conservation of sites managed under the Provincial Parks Act, and includes provincial parks, provincial recreation areas, and wildland provincial parks.

It was originally launched in 2009 as a 10-year plan, and with this new plan, the provincial government wants to make sure it helps support the priorities of park visitors while also maintaining the natural and cultural heritage of the parks.

A group representing Canada's doctors is challenging the constitutionality of Alberta's legislation limiting access to medical treatment for transgender youth, arguing it violates their Charter right to freedom of conscience.

The Canadian Medical Association says the court challenge is meant to protect the relationship between patients and doctors when it comes to making treatment decisions.

The legislation was part of a trio of bills Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's government passed last year affecting transgender people.

The Town of Okotoks has a new plan to grow infrastructure to improve accessible transportation around town.

Okotoks Town Council has recently approved the Active Transportation Implementation Plan (ATIP), which will help to guide the future planning and development of cycling, walking, and rolling infrastructure in town.

Canada Post on Wednesday laid out its "final offers" to the union representing 55,000 workers after negotiations resumed Wednesday morning, as tensions run high over the future of the beleaguered institution.

Included in the proposal are an end to compulsory overtime, a signing bonus of $1,000 for urban employees and $500 for rural and suburban ones, cost-of-living payments that are triggered at a lower inflation threshold.

Parliament gets back to work Wednesday with a new Speaker, a new prime minister and plenty of new faces in the House of Commons.

Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia will preside over the House of Commons for the first time today, while his office has confirmed that all 343 members of Parliament have now been sworn in.

Roughly a third of those MPs, including Prime Minister Mark Carney, were elected for the first time in April and will face their first question period today.

An Okotoks business will be returning to the Calgary Stampede midway this July.

Covet Sips + Sweets is preparing for its third year at the midway.

As always, the team has come up with some new outlandish concoctions to fit in with the midway's reputation for unique flavours and combinations.

The Ottawa Police have recently charged a man in relation to a human trafficking investigation, and it's believed there were victims from Calgary.

The Ottawa Police Service have charged 27-year-old Anthony Badibanga-Mukendi in relation to the ongoing human trafficking investigation, and the Ottawa Police believe there are victims across Canada, including in Calgary.