A list of runners up for the 2023 Story of the Year
By COLLIN GALLANT on January 2, 2024.
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant Twelve months makes for a lot of news, and 2023 was no exception. A heated debate and calls for relief from high utility bills is the top news story in Medicine Hat during the last year, and a business review of the city’s utilities interests will continue to make news in 2024. Here is an overview of the other big stories in Medicine Hat from the past 12 months: – Curling: City Hall took up curling over the course of the year, eventually purchasing the Medicine Hat curling club building as part of an effort to get repairs completed. – Drought: Medicine Hat baked in hot temperatures and with negligible rain in the city since May, another drought year in southeast Alberta. Similarly, forest fire smoke and intense sunlight led to a rare air-quality warning for elevated levels of ozone in the region in mid June. Talks are currently underway in the region on water sharing agreements and mitigation measures in the spring should the winter snowpack remain below normal. – Water: Three different working groups are at it and Taber-Warner MLA Grant Hunter is heading up discussions on water availability in the Highway 3 corridor, where the province wants to spur agri-food investments. Municipalities along the St. Mary’s Irrigation system are also also talking cost-share for flood and drought resiliency projects. – Stampede: The Medicine Hat Stampede board removed its president in the fall by vote just before it publicly requested grants and loans from the city to move ahead with grandstand redevelopment. Darlene Keeler promised to explore legal avenues to reverse the move that placed past-president David Zeigenhagel back in charge. – Convoy Trial: The trial of Tamara Lich (the 2022 newsmaker of the year) and other protest leaders on mischief charges got underway in Ottawa in early September. One of the local woman’s charges, that she broke her bail conditions in 2022, was stayed by the Crown during he trial that was supposed to conclude in early October, but will now run into the new year. – Election: The 2023 Alberta general election in May saw Danielle Smith win a mandate and a new term as the MLA for Brooks-Medicine Hat. Justin Wright became the MLA for Cypress-Medicine Hat running for Smith’s United Conservatives after independent MLA Drew Barnes announced he would not seek re-election. – Cult: Residents of Richmound, Sask. rallied to oppose a cult setting up in the town this fall. Queen Romana Didulo and her followers set up residence in a former school owned by a resident of the small village. The self-described “Queen of Canada,” who tells followers to ignore property taxes and utility bills, has apparently now left. – Fan fare: The Medicine Hat Tigers got some help from super-prospect Connor Bedard to sell out the eight-year-old Co-op Place for the first time ever last winter. That preceded a return to the Western Hockey League playoffs for the local hockey team and a strong start the current season. 14-13
