A list of local runners up for 2023 Newsmaker of the Year
By Medicine Hat News on December 30, 2023.
medicinehatnews.com@Medicine Hat News The Newsmaker of the Year in Medicine Hat is Nichole Neubauer, so noted for her ability to promote agriculture and the region without complaints of being “forgotten” in this corner of the province. Her work is detailed in a feature article in this edition, but a list of other top newsmakers in 2023 are listed here: – City councillors, as a group, banded together to amend council’s procedure bylaw, grabbing the power to approve committee assignments. – Sou Boss and Nicole Frey played a major part in one of the largest news stories of 2023, leading factions of critics against city hall’s handling of high power prices. – Dr. Paul Parks became the head of the Alberta Medical Association late in the year when the local emergency room physicians took over the position from another local doctor, Fredrykka Rinaldi. – Danielle Smith won a majority mandate from voters in the May general election and another four years representing the riding of Brooks-Medicine Hat. – Justin Wright rose to win the United Conservative Party nomination, then the election in the riding of Cypress-Medicine Hat. – Country music singer MacKenzie Porter headlined her own national tour, including an extra night added at the Esplanade and a headline appearance on the CPKC Holiday Train that drew thousands to the train yard late in the year. – Darlene Keeler became the first female president of the Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede as well as the first in recent memory to be removed from the position in the fall. There’s been little public explanation about the change, though Keeler promised the potential of legal action to reverse it. 11-10
