HighRiver

Avery Shenfeld doesn't think the Bank of Canada will cut its benchmark interest rate at its decision on Wednesday, but if it does, he said it will be a "pleasant surprise."

"There's always a chance that they'll surprise with the rate cut," the chief economist of CIBC said.

Most economists are also expecting the Bank of Canada will hold its policy rate steady at 2.75 per cent for a third consecutive decision later this week.

The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed a request to hear an appeal from Achter Land and Cattle regarding an earlier court decision that found a thumbs-up emoji served as an agreement to a grain contract. South West Terminal launched a claim for damages after Achter Land and Cattle failed to deliver on the contract.

Two people have been hospitalized and more than 200 have shown symptoms after a gastrointestinal outbreak at a Calgary-area food facility.

Alberta Health Services says the outbreak at Saskatoon Farm in Foothills County is presumed to be E. coli and an intestinal illness called amoebiasis.

Saskatoon Farm's food service facilities were ordered closed on Wednesday until deemed safe again, while the rest of the business remains open.

Alberta Health Services says there have been 18 lab-confirmed cases of E. coli, three of which also tested positive for amoebiasis.

Two people in Siksika Nation were run over and killed on Saturday.

Gleichen RCMP responded to a motor vehicle collision at 9:30 p.m. at 54 Map 3 Subdivision on Siksika Nation.

Upon arrival, they discovered a 27-year-old man and a 45-year-old man deceased, with a 45-year-old woman in critical condition.

RCMP said five people were walking when three of them were hit by a vehicle, which then fled the scene. The two others walking were not injured.

The RCMP is asking for your help in finding the driver of the vehicle.

The third annual Diamond Valley Show & Shine continues to bring people together.

Since the amalgamation of Black Diamond and Turner Valley into Diamond Valley, the event has been filling up the streets with rods, trucks and people.

The sprinkling of rain couldn't stop vehicle enthusiasts from smiling and checking out a wide variety of makes and models.

Food trucks were covering a wide variety of tastes, and they even blew an engine... on purpose.

It wasn't just thunder from the grandstand on Saturday night, but Mother Nature sent her own downpour of rain, which muddied the track at the High River Ag grounds.

However, the rain didn't pour down until about halfway through the heats, which caused some slower times and significantly altered the aggregate standings.

The 'Rangeland Rockstar' Chanse Vigen still sits in first in the aggregate, but Evan Magee jumped up from 12th into second in the aggregate, and Cruise Bensmiller jumped up from 11th to fourth as Dustin Gorst hung on and moved up from fifth into third.

The Canadian Nurses Association says it hopes the new "united Team Canada" approach at the Council of the Federation will lead to harmonization of nurses' licences across the country.

The association was among a number of health-care advocacy groups at the recent annual meeting of Canada's premiers.

While health care tends to take centre stage when the premiers meet, this year's gathering with Prime Minister Mark Carney was dominated by discussion of U.S. President Donald Trump's global trade war.

Most Canadians believe the country is making good progress on reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, a new poll from Leger suggests.

"The extent to which people feel progress on reconciliation is being made or not has an important bearing on how they feel about the country," said Jack Jedwab, president and CEO of the Association for Canadian Studies, which commissioned the poll.

The survey of 1,580 respondents was conducted between June 20 and 22. A margin of error cannot be associated to the survey because online polls are not considered to be truly random samples.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch has been issued for a large part of southern Alberta.

Environment Canada issued the Watch because thunderstorms are expected to develop late this afternoon or early evening.

The alert is in effect for:

The second annual High River Stampede Breakfast went off without a hitch Saturday.

Thousands of people showed up for the free pancakes and sausages and stuck around for all the entertainment and activities.

This year, it took over George Lane Park, and there were barely any lineups. Getting your pancakes and sausages took no time at all.

Special thanks to Ima Moreno from El Papalote for organizing the food setup and coordinating it.