News

asmith@medicinehatnews.com The Paperback Stage has returned from a long hiatus, but their rendition of C. S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has been well worth the wait. With the script adapted from the book itself by the production’s artistic director, Richard Grafton, it is a rare occurrence that a review can comment [...] Read More »

bmiller@medicinehatnews.com With an aging wooden grandstand still “barely standing” and the motivation to attract more tourism dollars and hold larger conferences and events in the city, the Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede is looking forward to working with elected officials in 2026 as it continues to seek funding for repairs and expansion. Stampede officials say [...] Read More »

The City of Medicine Hat will see building and operations closures through the final days of 2025. City hall will be closed Dec. 25-28 and open for regular hours Dec. 29-31. It will be closed Jan. 1 and open again for regular hours Jan. 2. There will be no waste collection Dec. 25 and 26, [...] Read More »

asmith@medicinehatnews.com While drought conditions continued for much of the region this year, 2025 was a year of innovation for southeastern Alberta. Rain did arrive later into the early part of the growing season, but for many farmers the precipitation came both too little and too late to prevent reduced yields. In Cypress County, the consistent [...] Read More »

zmason@medicinehatnews.com It has been a historic year of upheaval for health care in Alberta. The system-wide overhaul the province dubbed a ‘health-care refocusing’ was announced in 2023 and began in 2024, but 2025 was the year organizational changes came to fruition. Between the changing face of health care in the province, high-profile inquiries into service [...] Read More »

Canada says Santa Claus is a Canadian citizen, and it claims Canadian sovereignty extends to his North Pole residence and workshop. While the federal government did proclaim Santa’s Canadian citizenship in 2008, its sovereignty over the North Pole is contested, and the United Nations has yet to rule on Canada’s claims to extend its Arctic [...] Read More »

Citizen-led recall petitions were officially approved Monday against three more Alberta legislature members, bringing the total to 26. Twenty-four of those petitions are for United Conservative Party politicians, which is more than half of Premier Danielle Smith’s 47-member caucus. Two are for Opposition New Democrats. It’s the first time Alberta’s Recall Act has been used [...] Read More »

MONTREAL — A Quebec man convicted in 2009 of plotting international terrorist attacks with a group tied to al-Qaida has been denied parole. The Parole Board of Canada concluded Dec. 9 that Said Namouh still poses a risk that he will violently reoffend for ideological reasons if he is released. Namouh, 52, was handed a [...] Read More »

EDMONTON — Elections Alberta has issued three more recall petitions for legislature members — two United Conservative backbenchers and one Opposition New Democrat. That brings the current total of active petitions to 26 — 24 of those are for UCP politicians, which is more than half of Premier Danielle Smith’s 47-member caucus. Ron Wiebe and [...] Read More »

EDMONTON — Elections Alberta has issued three more recall petitions for legislature members — two United Conservative backbenchers and one Opposition New Democrat. That brings the current total of active petitions to 26 — 24 for UCP politicians, which is more than half of Premier Danielle Smith’s caucus. More coming. The Canadian Press[...] Read More »

Over 200 Blood Tribe members took part in The Blood Tribe Resource Fair Thursday in Standoff. The event was the first of its kind, says Levi Little Moustache, Director of Blood Tribe Employment and Skills Training (BTEST). “The event today was a collaboration of all the HR departments (including) all the departments under Blood Tribe, [...] Read More »

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com Misconduct allegations from more than five years ago finally culminated in a disciplinary hearing for Lethbridge Police Service Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh this week. The Lethbridge Police Commission held the hearing Thursday at City Hall to address misconduct allegations against Mehdizadeh regarding an incident that took place in March 2021. The allegations were made [...] Read More »

LETHBRIDGE HERALDjmanio@lethbridgeherald.com A perpetual challenge for not-for-profit organizations is funding for their charitable work. In support of its continuing mission, Lethbridge Family Services (LFS) is hosting an inaugural gala called “Spring to Light” on April 25 at the Agri-Food Hub and Trade Center, featuring Canadian comedian, television personality, political satirist, and author Rick Mercer. “This [...] Read More »

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com The Alberta NDP and Friends of Medicare advocacy organization have raised alarms about the provincial government’s proposed legislation that will allow people suffering from addictions and mental illness who are deemed a threat to themselves or others to be treated against their will. On Tuesday, the government introduced Bill 53, the Compassionate Intervention [...] Read More »

Some Lethbridge homeowners might be surprised to see an almost 14 per cent increase in their education taxes when they get their property tax bill this spring. According to the Government of Alberta website, education property taxes are increasing for 2025-2026 after being frozen in 2024-2025. For Lethbridge residents, this will amount to a 13.8 [...] Read More »