Local News
Snowball test era like ‘science fiction’
By Collin Gallant on July 18th, 2024
@@CollinGallant Bob Wallace opened his paper on Wednesday morning and was taken back 60 years when he was one of few civilians given an up close view to one of the largest conventional explosions ever conducted. “I remember feeling the shockwaves and the blast waves pass through us – it was so hot and really ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Blast provided mountains of data, and actual volcanoes
By Stephen Murray Special to the News on July 18th, 2024
@MedicineHatNews Operation Snowball was the largest controlled detonation of conventional explosives at the time that 500-tons of TNT was set off, July 17, 1960, at Defence Research Station Suffield. The huge force and fireball created by 30,000 stacked bricks of explosives took but a moment to subside, but the results of the test – devised ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Carbon capture is coming to Medicine Hat
By Collin Gallant on July 18th, 2024
@@CollinGallant Methanex announced in a release late Wednesday that it has chosen its local methanol production plant for engineering a carbon emissions abatement equipment. The $100 million project, done in partnership with Calgary-based clean-tech company Entropy, could create 200 construction jobs, then several permanent positions afterward while lowering carbon compliance fees and boosting production, company ... Read More »
1 responseFormer News reporter returns to city with new book about past premier
By ANNA SMITH Local Journalism Initiative on July 18th, 2024
asmith@medicinehatnews.com Former Medicine Hat News reporter Jeremy Appel is coming back to where so much of his career began, to promote his book detailing the legacy of former premier Jason Kenney. Appel hasn’t been back in the city since 2021, but the area does hold significance, as he notes that this is where he was ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Operation Snowball – a feat for Suffield
By Special to the News Stephen Murray on July 17th, 2024
@MedicineHatNews The Canadian Blast Program at the Suffield Experimental Station (SES) was approved in early 1957. Henry Watson, Head of the Physics and Meteorological Section, was tasked with developing the program and hired four young scientists. John Dewey and Trevor Groves concentrated on research in air-blast phenomena, while Gareth Jones’s major interest was seismic effects, craters ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Smoke, spies and open range brought blasts to SE Alta.
By Special to the News Stephen Murray on July 17th, 2024
@MedicineHatNews The headline on the Medicine Hat News read “Blast will dwarf 1961 detonation” on May 26, 1964, a reference to the upcoming Operation SNOWBALL at the Defence Research Station in Suffield. It involved the detonation of 500 tons of TNT, meticulously stacked in a dome shape, at 10:58 a.m. on July 17, 1964 – ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Man pleads guilty to building homemade pipe bombs
By Medicine Hat News on July 17th, 2024
@MedicineHatNews A man arrested after two homemade pipe bombs were found in the city pleaded guilty to building them, but says they were likely stolen and he doesn’t know how they arrived beneath a mailbox in Crescent Heights and under a vehicle in a mobile home park. James Jerard McNulty, 41, was arrested in April ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Summer StoryWalk returns to Police Point Park
By ANNA SMITH Local Journalism Initiative on July 17th, 2024
asmith@medicinehatnews.com In collaboration with the Medicine Hat Public Library, the Medicine Hat Interpretive Centre are offering the annual Summer StoryWalk. This year’s selected story is “The Darkest Dark” by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, which will be available for viewing in Police Point Park from July 16 to Aug. 31. Those who complete the StoryWalk can ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Air show returns to the skies above the airport
By ANNA SMITH Local Journalism Initiative on July 17th, 2024
asmith@medicinehatnews.com The Family, Fun and Flight Airshow is slated to take to the skies right before stampede week, and invites residents to get to know their airport community. Made possible by a significant grant from the City of Medicine Hat Community Vibrancy Program, as well as community business partners, the event will feature both displays ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Council looks to trim fat for upcoming budget
By COLLIN GALLANT on July 17th, 2024
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant City budget talks stalled on Monday as council members discussed how best to pare down a proposed tax hike in 2025 and 2026 while determining what should remain or be cut from a list of new spending items. Two recent committee of the whole meetings saw council members sit for hours as staffers went ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Spies, Smoke and tons of TNT:Suffield’s role in Cold War research remembered 60 years later
By COLLIN GALLANT on July 17th, 2024
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant Sixty years ago today, the order was given, and 500 tons of dynamite was touched off on the prairie northwest of Medicine Hat. “‘Twas Roses all the way,” read the top headline on the Medicine Hat News. “Tremendously successful,” concluded long-time Suffield Research Station chief Arch Pennie at a press briefing on Operation Snowball ... Read More »
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