Cochrane

Cochranites will lace up once again for the annual Parkinson Step ‘n Stride walk at Mitford Park on September 7.

The afternoon will feature live entertainment, kids’ activities, prizes, and a community barbecue before participants set off on 1 km and 3 km routes.

“Step ‘n Stride is just a really fun, community-based event,” says executive director Lana Tordoff. “It’s designed to bring people together who live with Parkinson disease, whether you’re diagnosed yourself or a family member or care partner.”

Visitors to Banff National Park will need to plan their soaks for next few months, as the Banff Upper Hot Springs will close for maintenance and facility upgrades beginning September 2.

The closure is expected to last through December 2025.

The 57th Annual Cochrane Labour Day Parade is just around the corner, and organizers are still looking for volunteers to help make the event a safe and successful one.

The parade goes Monday, September 1st, with barricades going up at 8 a.m., pre-parade entertainment starting at 9 a.m., and the parade itself kicking off at 10 a.m. down 1st Street and Railway Street.

Volunteer roles include form-up support, barricade monitors, and barricade set-up and tear-down, with trucks needed for the heavy lifting.

HERE WE GO!

Cochrane's Best Neighbourhood Showdown 2025 is open!  We are doing daily match-ups of two Cochrane neighbourhoods for the next two weeks.

The first match-up is:

EAST END/DOWNTOWN

VS

WEST VALLEY/ WEST TERRACE/ WEST POINTE

Riversong/Riviera/Willows won the 2021 showdown, Fireside in 2022, Heartland in 2023 and Sunset Ridge is the reigning 2024 champion.

Rocky View Badminton Academy’s head coach Rishav Sharma has returned from the 2025 Peru Para Badminton International with a silver medal in the men’s doubles. Partnering with Joshua Huang of the United States in the SU5 category, Sharma advanced to the final before falling to a pair from India.

“It was a very competitive tournament,” Sharma said. “We had strong players from Japan, Brazil, India and Spain. Making it to the final was a great experience.”

UPDATE: Two more opportunities have been added to sign the petition this week. Canvassers will be by the “Chicken Lady” statue on 1st St. W. on Thursday, Aug. 28, and Friday, Aug. 29, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Signatures are beginning to pile up for the Forever Canadian petition in the Cochrane area.

A special weather statement is in effect for Cochrane as well as Rocky View County, as a long-duration heat event sets in across Alberta.

Daytime highs between 29 and 33 degrees are expected over the next week, first impacting central and northern Alberta, then spreading south by Monday.

Overnight lows between 9 and 13 degrees will bring some relief.

As global trade dynamics shift and tariffs become more of a concern, Canada’s canola industry is looking inward.

Andre Harpe, chair of the Canadian Canola Growers Association and a farmer from Grand Prairie, Alberta, says the industry needs to focus more on renewable fuel as a strategy to support growers and build long-term resilience.

Former Alberta politician Thomas Lukaszuk is a man on a not-so-lonely mission to keep Canada from splitting.

"This has become a full-time job. I'm very passionate about this," the former Progressive Conservative deputy premier said in Edmonton last week.

As people trickled in and out of a local legion, a table full of volunteers helped them officially put their name to Lukaszuk's cause.

"When we get to 300,000 signatures, believe it or not, this will be the biggest petition in the history of Canada," said Lukaszuk.

Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada could deploy military troops to Ukraine as part of an eventual security guarantee against Russia.

Carney made the remarks at a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after a meeting between the two.leaders in Kyiv, where the prime minister made an unannounced stop Sunday.

When asked what kind of security guarantees Canada could provide to Ukraine, Carney said Ukraine's own military must be supported but that more than that will be required.

"I would not exclude the presence of troops," he said.