Noteworthy: Local doctor’s donation highlights importance of Alberta’s public radio

By Bruce Penton on October 8, 2025.

A gift of $350,000 to Alberta radio station CKUA from Medicine Hat’s Dr. Fredrykka Rinaldi was significant enough for the station “to name the fifth-floor balcony at CKUA’s Alberta Hotel building in Edmonton the ‘Fred’s Aerial Balcony’ (FAB) as a nod to both her name and her lighthearted spirit.”

A press release on the CKUA website provided the information on Rinaldi’s gift which, the story said, “is rooted in deep appreciation for the station’s impact and resilience.”

The story goes on to say that Rinaldi has listened to the station since 1991. “Drawn initially to the station’s classical offerings, she was soon pleased to find her horizons broadening.”

CKUA Radio is Alberta’s only province-wide, donor-supported public radio station, and claims to have “a growing audience of 500,000 monthly listeners from around the world.”

Why donate to CKUA? “I don’t have kids to leave money to – not that I have tons -and I thought I might as well do it before I’m dead,” she said.

The story on the CKUA website quotes Rinaldi as saying that CKUA “is part of our Alberta heritage.”

“It’s something we can be proud of. It’s unique. Culturally, it’s something we should appreciate. There’s so much, like jazz, that I never would have listened to if I hadn’t tuned into CKUA.”

â€¢ Danielle Smith’s proposal for another pipeline through to the B.C. coast is a win-win situation for the premier’s future re-election hopes, says an analyst in the Globe & Mail. “If it leads to the approval of a pipeline, she can run for re-election on her success. If it doesn’t, she can run for re-election against Ottawa.”

The obstacles are plenty: Environmentalists, First Nations groups and the B.C. government are all providing roadblocks. Smith is hoping that PM Carney’s “major projects” plan will include an Alberta-backed pipeline proposal and that federal support will help to win the day.

My hopes and dreams to climb to Mount Everest’s summit might be more likely.

â€¢ It might be a few years before the full implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) takes effect, but from what we know right now, the future is exciting, and a little chilling. For instance, a report on axios.com says AI and automation could eliminate 100 million jobs in the next 10 years in the United States. Similar numbers on a proportional scale would presumably apply to Canada, too.

So what is AI? The straightforward explanation, according to Google is “the simulation of human intelligence in machines designed to think, learn and problem-solve like humans.” So if a business can produce and sell one million screwdrivers using AI intelligence (which doesn’t require management to pay wages, deal with union concerns or having someone phone in sick at a critical time), that business should theoretically make more money.

But wait. If thousands of consumers are losing their jobs due to AI, will there be enough people able to afford to buy one of those screwdrivers? I’m no economist, but it seems eliminating a good chunk of our work force cannot be good for the economy.

Jobs most at stake of being victims of AI, according to the axios.com story, are those in the fast food industry, accounting and trucking positions. (If that last one means robot drivers, I’d suggest staying off our country’s highways.)

AI isn’t perfect, with numerous tales of goofs. McDonald’s gave up on AI which was being used for drive-thru transactions because so many errors were made on orders. Sports Illustrated got in journalistic trouble a couple of years ago when it was learned that AI-generated stories were being published. Two U.S. newspapers printed stories this year listing the best books for a summer reading list. Trouble is, the books did not exist and the artificial intelligence used to produce the list merely “hallucinated” titles written by actual writers.

â€¢ Short snappers: The Tim Hortons TV commercials featuring Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Marc-Andre Fleury and Brad Marchand are comedy gold. … Lots of kids running around the streets and parks on Monday. School holiday? Kidding, of course. I asked one youngster at a golf course driving range Monday if he was worried about missing school and he basically said, ‘Are you nuts? I love it. This is great.’ … Do die-hard Yankees’ fans who live in Canada cheer for the New Yorkers this week or do they wave the flag and chant “Let’s go Blue Jays?’ … Alberta’s minimum wage, $15, is the lowest in Canada. On Oct. 1, five provinces bumped up their minimums – Ontario to $17.60; Nova Scotia and PEI to $16.50, Manitoba to $16 and Saskatchewan to $15.35. Nunavut has the highest minimum wage in Canada, $19.75. … My father passed away 40 years ago Oct. 7 at the age of 68 which, at the time, I thought was reasonably old. I look at 68-year-olds today and am jealous of their youth.