Around Alberta
Stories from Lethbridge, Red Deer, Edson, and beyond.
Trending This Week
1
Winnipeg Ranks Last for Happiness Among Canada's 10 Largest Cities
2
Driver Clocked at 170 km/h in a 70 Zone on the Alex Fraser Bridge Was Apologetic. It Still Cost Him.
3
City of Red Deer Is Hiring 19 Roles, Including Eight Police Jobs You Don't Need to Be an Officer For
4
Labour Day 2026 Alberta: What's Open, What's Closed, and Whether You Get Paid
Alberta
Province-wide news, culture, and stories from across Alberta.
Alberta
Driver Clocked at 170 km/h in a 70 Zone on the Alex Fraser Bridge Was Apologetic. It Still Cost Him.
A Dodge Durango was clocked at 170 km/h on the Alex Fraser Bridge, where the limit is 70. Police say the driver was apologetic. He received a $483 ticket, a seven-day impound plus tow costs, and three years of high-risk insurance premiums.
Alberta
Alberta Adds a $14 Fee to Every New Solar Panel October 1, About $240 on a Home System
Starting October 1, every new solar panel supplied in Alberta carries a $14 environmental fee, and panels are banned from landfills. A typical 20-panel home system adds about $240. Panels already installed aren't affected. Industry says the fee is nearly five times what it costs to recycle a large TV.
Edmonton
Edmonton Police Commission Cuts Public Speakers and Moves Meetings Online for the Rest of 2026
The Edmonton Police Commission has suspended public speakers and moved its September 17, October 22 and November 19 meetings to Zoom, citing feedback it describes as abusive and insulting. Written submissions will still be accepted. A former commissioner says the move will damage police legitimacy.
Alberta
Elections Alberta Needs 23,000 More Workers Before the October 19 Referendum
Elections Alberta has received more than 37,000 applications for the October 19 referendum and needs 60,000. Rural areas and northern Alberta are hardest hit. Hiring closes October 10, and workers must be 16 or older and pass a criminal record check.
Red Deer
The midpoint between Calgary and Edmonton, with a solid arts and food scene.
Red Deer
City of Red Deer Is Hiring 19 Roles, Including Eight Police Jobs You Don't Need to Be an Officer For
The City of Red Deer has 19 positions open, from a Parks Labourer to a Maintenance Planner at $45.29 an hour. Eight of them are civilian roles inside the RCMP detachment, which the City hires directly. Several went up in the past week.
Calgary
Calgary Man Charged After 1,127 Grams of Fentanyl Seized in Red Deer, Second Suspect Wanted
Red Deer RCMP seized more than a kilogram of suspected fentanyl, 334 grams of cocaine and $15,000 in cash after a July 2 traffic stop and a search in the Lancaster neighbourhood. A Calgary man is charged. A Surrey man facing the same charges missed his court date and is now wanted.
Red Deer
Missing 15-Year-Old Red Deer Girl Vada Baptiste: RCMP Seek Public Help Locating Her
Red Deer RCMP are asking for the public's help finding Vada Baptiste, 15, last seen on August 6. She is described as five foot five, about 114 pounds, with long brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information is asked to call Red Deer RCMP at 403-406-2200.
Red Deer
Meet Katja, the Red Deer Public Library Dog Helping Kids Read: Alberta's First Library Facility Dog
Katja, a chocolate English Labrador, earned her facility dog vest in October 2023 after two years of training, becoming the first library facility dog in Alberta. She works one-on-one with kids in grades 1 to 5 through Sit, Stay, Read, visits Red Deer schools, and sits in on cancer support sessions. Registration fills fast.
Lethbridge
University town with a vibrant cultural scene.
Lethbridge
Lethbridge's Whoop-Up Drive Bridge Fire Closes Westbound Lane, Engineers Say Structure Is Safe
Eleven firefighters were called to the Whoop-Up Drive bridge at about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday for a fire in scaffolding and construction materials under the deck. Nobody was hurt. The City closed the outside westbound lane Thursday as a precaution while engineers finish their assessment.
Lethbridge
Lethbridge's Chinook Regional Hospital Is Getting a $320M Cardiac and ICU Expansion
Alberta Infrastructure has committed $320 million to redevelop the cardiac catheterization lab at Chinook Regional Hospital and more than double critical care capacity. Intensive care goes from 16 bed spaces to 26 and the coronary care unit from 4 to 28, for 54 in total. Design work starts this month, construction in October 2027, completion at the end of 2031.
Lethbridge
Lethbridge Is Chasing Provincial and Federal Money for Its $285-Million Wastewater Plant to Blunt an 18 Per Cent Rate Hike
Mayor Blaine Hyggen is seeking meetings with provincial and federal ministers to find money for the largest infrastructure project in Lethbridge's history, and the reason is on your utility bill. The city is borrowing $261 million of the $285-million wastewater plant expansion, repaid by wastewater rates rising 18.05 per cent a year from 2027 to 2030 — $23.05 a month more on the average household. Here is what the city is asking for, the November 30 deadline that decides it, and what every dollar from Ottawa or Edmonton is worth to your bill.
Lethbridge
Lethbridge Recycling Changes on October 1: Blue Carts for 10 Nearby Communities and a Bigger Accepted List
Lethbridge crews start collecting blue carts in 10 nearby communities in October, with carts arriving mid-to-late September. Nothing changes for Lethbridge households' collection day or cost. But the same date starts Phase 2 of Alberta's recycling program, which adds glass, foam, plastic bags and film, aerosol cans and laminated packaging to the province-wide accepted list — four things Lethbridge's blue cart rejects today. Here is what is confirmed, what is not, and what to check before October 1.
Medicine Hat
A distinct community with its own culture.
Alberta
Lordco Auto Parts Is Open in Medicine Hat at 64 Carry Drive SE: Hours, What Is in the Store and the September 12 Grand Opening
Lordco Auto Parts has opened in the old Peavey Mart building at 64 Carry Drive SE, its seventh Alberta store and the 87th in a Western Canada network. Eighteen people work there, 17 of them hired locally, under a manager who transferred from Revelstoke. It is open seven days a week, and the public grand opening is Saturday, September 12. Here are the hours, what the store actually carries, and what it means that a big box empty since the Peavey Mart collapse has a tenant again.
Alberta
Medicine Hat Pays 7 Cents a Kilowatt-Hour While the Rest of Alberta Pays 12. Here Is Why, and What Changes October 1
Medicine Hat households pay 7.000 cents a kilowatt-hour. The default rate in Calgary and Edmonton is 12.01. The City's own calculation for this quarter came in at 4.47 cents — below the 7-cent floor written into its rate bylaw, so residents pay the floor, and the margin helps fund a multi-million-dollar dividend back to the City. Here is how the only municipally owned generation, distribution and retail utility in Alberta sets your rate, what it saved you in 2025, what the October 1 reset does, and why December 31 matters more.
Alberta
Medicine Hat Stampede 2026: Schedule, Tickets, Gate Prices and Everything Still to Come This Week
The Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede is on now through Saturday, July 25, with the Summer Pro Rodeo, the West Coast Amusements midway, and Johnny Reid closing out the night shows. Gate admission is $12, kids are $6, and Friday afternoon is a Double Toonie window. Here's everything still ahead, what tickets actually include, and the midway math worth knowing.
Lethbridge
Southern Alberta Fire Danger Is Climbing as the Heat Peaks: Where Fire Bans Are in Effect Right Now
Southern Alberta is in the hottest, driest stretch of summer, and fire risk is climbing with it. Lethbridge's River Valley is under a full fire ban, Cypress County around Medicine Hat has had one of its worst fire seasons in years, and a dry-lightning threat is forecast to push toward the Alberta border this week. But the status is patchy, banned in some places, clear in others. Here's where things stand and how to check your own area.
Grande Prairie
The largest city in the Peace Region, gateway to northern Alberta.
Grande Prairie
Grande Prairie Marks Overdose Awareness Day With 1,157 Purple Flags, One for Every Albertan Lost Last Year
Purple flags line the street outside the Montrose Cultural Centre for International Overdose Awareness Day, one for each of the 1,157 people who died of accidental opioid poisoning in Alberta in 2025. Twenty-four of those deaths were in Grande Prairie.
Grande Prairie
Alberta Commits $3 Million to Rising Above's New Grande Prairie Treatment Centre, Opening This Fall
The province has committed $3 million toward a new 36-bed treatment centre at Rising Above in Grande Prairie. The building is nearly complete and expected to accept clients this fall. Rising Above receives 400 to 500 applications a year and can admit about 100.
Grande Prairie
Grande Prairie Wildfire GWF058 Still Out of Control at 30 Hectares as Fire Danger Goes High
Wildfire GWF058 is still classified as out of control at about 30 hectares near the British Columbia border, according to Alberta Wildfire's August 23 update. It hasn't grown significantly since the day before, and crews, helicopters, airtankers and heavy equipment are still on it. Wildfire danger across the Grande Prairie Forest Area has been bumped up to high.
Grande Prairie
Grande Prairie's $29M Skilled Trades Centre Opens August 26 With 1,500 Seats
Northwestern Polytechnic's 40,000-square-foot Skilled Trades Training Centre opens August 26 at 112 Street and 100 Avenue. Eleven apprenticeship pathways, more than 1,500 seats, and a $29-million investment. It follows the closure of NWP's Fairview campus and the move of carpentry and welding into Grande Prairie
Other Communities
More from Alberta — Fort McMurray, Canmore, Drumheller, and more
Alberta
Alberta’s First Snow Falls Along Highway 40 in Kananaskis and at Sunshine Village in Banff
Snow fell along Highway 40 near Kananaskis Village on Sunday, the same day Sunshine Village in Banff and Kicking Horse posted their first snow photos of the season. Fall doesn't officially begin for another three weeks.
Alberta
97 Dogs Seized From a Fort McMurray Alberta Home After Neighbours Heard Crying
Bylaw officers removed 97 small-breed dogs from a home in Fort McMurray's Gregoire neighbourhood on Tuesday after neighbours reported hearing crying and whining. Charges are pending. The Fort McMurray SPCA is asking people to stay away for now, and explaining what would actually help.
Alberta
Alexander Spa Hotel Opens in Canmore in Early 2027: Inside the Adults-Only Rooms, Cost and What's Being Built
The Alexander Spa Hotel opens at 300 Spring Creek Drive in Canmore in early 2027. Adults-only, 45 suites, a 13,000-square-foot spa, geothermal heating, and an underground tunnel to The Malcolm Hotel next door. It's the second of three hotels planned on land the Kernick family has owned since the 1920s.
Alberta
Tornado Advisory for Lloydminster, Cold Lake and East-Central Alberta: Funnel Clouds Reported Close to the Ground
Environment Canada has issued a tornado advisory for east-central Alberta, between approximately Cold Lake, Lloydminster, Vegreville and Smoky Lake. Funnel clouds have been reported very close to the ground and may touch down as brief landspout tornadoes. The risk lasts until early this evening.
Alberta
Driver Clocked at 170 km/h in a 70 Zone on the Alex Fraser Bridge Was Apologetic. It Still Cost Him.
A Dodge Durango was clocked at 170 km/h on the Alex Fraser Bridge, where the limit is 70. Police say the driver was apologetic. He received a $483 ticket, a seven-day impound plus tow costs, and three years of high-risk insurance premiums.
Alberta
Alberta Adds a $14 Fee to Every New Solar Panel October 1, About $240 on a Home System
Starting October 1, every new solar panel supplied in Alberta carries a $14 environmental fee, and panels are banned from landfills. A typical 20-panel home system adds about $240. Panels already installed aren't affected. Industry says the fee is nearly five times what it costs to recycle a large TV.
Edmonton
Edmonton Police Commission Cuts Public Speakers and Moves Meetings Online for the Rest of 2026
The Edmonton Police Commission has suspended public speakers and moved its September 17, October 22 and November 19 meetings to Zoom, citing feedback it describes as abusive and insulting. Written submissions will still be accepted. A former commissioner says the move will damage police legitimacy.
Alberta
Elections Alberta Needs 23,000 More Workers Before the October 19 Referendum
Elections Alberta has received more than 37,000 applications for the October 19 referendum and needs 60,000. Rural areas and northern Alberta are hardest hit. Hiring closes October 10, and workers must be 16 or older and pass a criminal record check.
Alberta
Winnipeg Ranks Last for Happiness Among Canada's 10 Largest Cities
Winnipeg placed tenth of ten in Leger's 2026 Happiness Index with a score of 67.2, half a point behind Edmonton. The city's score rose 1.3 points from last year and it still finished last.
Alberta
Federal Conservatives Launch 'Conservatives for Canada' Campaign Ahead of Alberta's October 19 Referendum
The federal Conservative Party has launched a campaign urging supporters to vote to remain in Canada. Edmonton-area MP Dane Lloyd is the caucus lead. Elections Alberta says it has received 290,000 mail-in ballot requests and projects turnout could reach a record 85 per cent.