HighRiver

Health Canada says a recall has been issued for the dumbbell toy from the Fisher-Price Baby Biceps Gift Set because of a choking hazard.

A kettlebell toy, protein shake bottle and wearable headband that are also part of the set are not included in the recall.

The agency says grey caps on the end of the dumbbell toys can come off, posing a choking hazard to infants.

It says as of Aug. 15, Fisher-Price has received four reports in Canada and seven in the United States of the ends of the dumbbell toy coming off, with no reports of injuries.

A new study says planet-warming emissions from Canada's record-breaking 2023 wildfire season were quadruple the country's fossil emissions for all of the previous year and on par with some of the most high-emitting countries. 

The study penned by researchers at NASA, and published in the journal Nature, says only China, India and the United States release more carbon per year than Canada's 2023 wildfires from May to September. 

After resuming negotiations last week, CUPE Local 5040 and the Foothills School Division (FSD) have come to an agreement.

A tentative deal was reached on August 22, ratified by union members on August 27, and is to be ratified by the division's Board of Trustees on Wednesday, September 4.

The agreement came following four years of negotiation and not long before the contract's August 31 expiration.

The union branch, which represents education workers within FSD, has been calling for an increase in pay, improvements to training, and other supports for workers.

While farmers are out in the field harvesting this year's wheat crop, research scientists and breeders involved in the Canadian National Wheat Cluster are working on improving the crops' long-term sustainability in the cropping rotation.

Funding for the work being done by the Wheat Cluster comes through the Canadian Wheat Research Coalition (CWRC).

The CWRC is a collaboration of the three producer wheat commissions across Western Canada, the Alberta Wheat Commission, Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission and Manitoba Crop Alliance.

Alberta Agriculture's weekly crop report shows 20 per cent of the provincial crop has been harvested, with another nine per cent swathed. The winter wheat harvest is now 94 per cent complete, followed by the fall rye at 93 per cent, dry peas at 73 per cent, and lentils at 59 per cent across the province. 

Regionally, the South has seen the most progress with 38 per cent of crops combined, the Central Region is at 25 per cent,  the North West and North East  have less than 7 per cent finished, while the Peace Region is 11 per cent complete.

The Okotoks Dawgs Academy has announced that former pitcher for the WCBL Dawgs, Graham Brunner, will stay in Okotoks as he has been added to the academy's coaching staff.

Brunner has been a staple for the WCBL Dawgs squad since 2017 and played his final season with the team this past season. He was named a 2024 WCBL All-Star and started the game on the mound for the West Division. Brunner would start on the mound for WCBL finals in game three against the Moose Jaw Miller Express where teammate Connor Crowson hit a walk-off home run to complete the three-peat.

Kolten and Keegan Davis continued their annual tradition of supporting kids fighting cancer with the Great Cycle Challenge this month.

This is Kolten's fifth year riding for the cause and Keegan's third year with the Great Cycle Challenge. Kolten is seven years old with little brother Keegan at six years old.

Their mother Tasha explained how Kolten helped train Keegan to ride along with him.

The Labour Day long weekend is going to be warmer than usual for Foothills County.

According to Meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada Justin Shelley, Foothills County is in for a pleasant three-day stretch.

"We have an upper ridge that's going to bring in a relatively warm air mass and it's going to keep things, also, pretty dry for the most part," Shelley explains.

The temperatures are going to increase as the weekend progresses.

The 2024 Wild West WPCA World Chuckwagon Finals got started on Thursday night (Aug. 29) in Ponoka after a delay due to rain.

Jamie Laboucane posted the fastest time among the 36 drivers on night one, clocking in at 1:16.79.

Layne Flad came in at one one-hundredth of a second slower, with Rae Croteau Jr. landing in third place by an equal margin.

High River's Jason Glass ended with the fourth-fastest time and sits third in the playoff standings.

Labour Day Monday (Sept. 2) will see a few facility closures in High River.

The High River/Foothills County administration building, High River FCSS, the recycle centre, and the Rec Plex will all be closed on Monday.

The aquatics facility at the Rec Plex is closed from all long weekend due to the expansion project that's currently underway.

Garbage collection will run as usual, and RCMP and fire services will remain available.

Other local Labour Day closures include the Salvation Army Food Bank And High River Public Library.