Cochrane

Sunset Ridge residents are in for a treat as a Haunted Circus takes over a home this Halloween.

This spooky spectacle has been a community favourite for the last five years, seeing over 150 kiddos brave the clowns and animatronics for some candy.

“We have our entire driveway covered in circus tents,” explains circus masterminds Matt Inglot and Kaylee Eichel. “We put on a circus where people can come and wander through the tent and play different games with lots of different candy or sometimes other things and meet various undead residents of the circus.”

Get your tickets and download the Explore Cochrane App to sample tasty treats from eleven locally owned and operated businesses.

Taste of Cochrane is the official kick-off to Cochrane Dining Week Nov 2 - 10. 

For the past two weeks, hundreds of guesses have flooded in for the Great Pumpkin Weigh-In.

The results are in and the massive pumpkin at Cochrane Save-On-Foods weighed in at 127.4 pounds.

While no one guessed the exact weight, Emily came closest with a guess of 123 pounds and has won 91.5 pounds of Halloween candy!

Trick-or-treaters will be hitting the streets all around Cochrane tonight to find the best candy in town.

Cochrane Fire Chief Shawn Polley says to watch out for kids everywhere tonight, even outside of crosswalks. 

“Take extra care when you're driving around the communities, 30 kilometres an hour is the posted speed limit in communities, but of course, we would be looking for really much slower speeds, especially during the prime trick-or-treat hours.”

“Right after 5 till about 8, seems to be about the time that happens at my house.”

Alberta Infrastructure minister and local MLA Peter Guthrie has become the fifth Alberta cabinet minister to admit to receiving free Edmonton Oiler playoff tickets from MHCare Medical, a medical supply and distribution company.

Guthrie admitted to receiving the free tickets from the company, which is involved with the government's $80-million deal to procure children's pain medication from Turkey, but says he did not breach any rules in accepting the tickets.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says she hopes countries from around the world will support a plan to bring back Ukrainian children who have been deported to Russia since the war in Ukraine began nearly three years ago. 

Joly urged more than 70 delegations attending a ministerial conference in Montreal on Wednesday to make a “strong pledge” to ensure children and other Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war are returned home. 

New Democrats will not cave to demands from the Bloc Québécois and Conservative leaders to help them bring down the Liberal government, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Wednesday. 

His party is now all that stands between Justin Trudeau's Liberals and an early election, with the other two opposition parties pledging to try to topple the minority government at the next opportunity. 

On Tuesday, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said he will make good on his threat to work with the other opposition parties to bring the Liberals down with a non-confidence vote.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asked national security services to find a way to share information with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre about foreign interference affecting his caucus, he said Wednesday. 

Earlier this month, Trudeau told a public inquiry that he has been given the names of past and present Conservative parliamentarians and candidates who are linked to foreign interference. 

Trudeau said members from other parties, including the Liberals, have also been flagged.

Banff-Kananaskis MLA Sarah Elmeligi believes shifting of Fish and Wildlife to Alberta Sheriffs limits their ability to respond to Fish and Wildlife incidents.

During question period in the Legislative Assembly yesterday, she became the first to publicly state the livestock killed north of Cochrane appears to be the result of bear attacks and is concerned Fish and Wildlife have been stripped of resources to aid rural residents.

The groundwork has been laid for the creation of a natural environment protection task force that will be operational by January 2025.

Once activated, it will serve as an advisory body to town council and administration identifying and prioritizing natural areas that should be preserved or restored.