Cochrane

Families in Cochrane can once again cool off at the Spray Park at the SLS Centre.

The park officially reopened Tuesday morning after being closed for maintenance Monday afternoon.

The popular summer spot is back just in time, with temperatures continuing to hover around 30C.

The farmland market in Saskatchewan may be tilting toward the buyer.

It’s not there yet because sellers still have the upper hand, but real estate agents in the province say more land may soon come up for sale, thus tipping the scales in favour of buyers.

As of August 2025, 265 farmland properties were posted on the MLS system in Saskatchewan. That’s down drastically from 2020, when the number of farms for sale was close to 500.

Meet Mackay and Bundaberg, two kittens with names as fun as their personalities. These five-month-old cuties are ready to find their forever homes.

“They came into the shelter not being socialized,” says Robyn Roy, communications coordinator with the Humane Society. “They were strays for the first chunk of their lives, but we’ve worked on their socialization and now they’re ready for adoption.”

Starting September 2, weather permitting, the Town of Cochrane will replace the sidewalk in the east parking lot of Sheridan Mall on Centre Avenue under warranty. The work is expected to take approximately two weeks.

Cochrane residents will come together next month to raise awareness for suicide prevention and honour loved ones lost.

The “From Darkness to Light Walk for Life” takes place Wednesday, September 10th at Riverfront Park. The event runs from 6:30 to 7:30 a.m., with the walk itself starting at 6:45 along a two-kilometre loop.

Coffee and light refreshments will be served, and counsellors will be on hand during and after the walk for support.

Families looking to cool off during this week’s heat wave won’t be able to use the Spray Park at the SLS Centre.

The popular spot is temporarily closed for maintenance, with no timeline yet on when it will reopen.

Temperatures are expected to hover around 30C degrees through the week, making the closure especially tough for those seeking relief from the heat.

Five cyclists have launched a gruelling 1,800-kilometre trek across Alberta to raise money and awareness for the province’s volunteer search and rescue teams.

The week-long ride, called AB4960, began Sunday at the 49th parallel on the U.S. border and will wrap up Aug. 30 at the Northwest Territories boundary on the 60th parallel.

On Monday, Cochrane Search and Rescue volunteers began providing safety support as the cyclists pedalled through steep elevation changes from Canmore to Hinton.

The Canada Revenue Agency has offered contract extensions to around 850 call centre employees as their union sounds the alarm over staffing levels. 

CRA spokesperson Etienne Biram says the workers, whose contracts were set to expire in September, were contacted about the decision last week.

The federal union representing workers at the tax agency recently launched an online campaign denouncing staffing cuts. 

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc is set to meet with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington this week after Ottawa announced it would be lifting some retaliatory tariffs.

LeBlanc's office said he will travel to the United States capital on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced last Friday that Canada will drop some retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products to match American tariff exemptions for goods covered under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on trade, called CUSMA. .

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she expects the private sector to lead the way on potentially bringing nuclear power to the province.

But she says her government is prepared to set up a Crown corporation, like Ontario has for its nuclear generation, if necessary. 

Smith made her remarks as she announced a new panel to gather public feedback on the possibility of building reactors. 

She says that could include small modular reactors powering oilsands sites or full-scale plants feeding the grid.