T55 Daily News Blast

Wednesday August 20, 2025

The Peace Regional Pool in Peace River is upgrading, in two different ways.
The Pool is closed until October for annual Maintenance, but also for renovation and installation of the new Hot Tub. (Tanya Bell interview in separate story)
The Village of Berwyn has been selected for the 2025 Minister’s Award for Municipal and Public Library Excellence, for the Main Street Revitalization project.
Council has also reviewed a recommendation from CAO Jatin Saini regarding the Alberta Blue Cross Built Together Grant, worth $50,000.
Council has approved proceeding with the application to obtain a contractor quote for a new Bike Park.
The Federal Government has produced an initial list of regions, eligable to qualify for the 2025 Livestock Tax Deferral.
In Northwest Alberta, Big Lakes County, Birch Hills County, Clear Hills County, The MD of Fairview, the MD of Greenview, Mackenzie County, the County of Northern Lights, the MD of Smoky River, and Saddle Hills County, are all qualified.
Harvest has begun in the Peace Region, even though crops are struggling right now.
Reports indicate that 2% of the crop is in the bin at this time, which is actually above average.
The first cut of haying is done, at 1.2 tons per acre, which is about par for the five-year average.
On the downside, infestations of Grasshoppers and lygus bugs are still above threshold.
Alberta’s government is backtracking on a new expense policy that ended the public disclosure of receipts for government officials, following widespread criticism that the move erodes transparency.
Air Canada says it plans to announce a new “exceptional policy”, where the company will cover transportation expenses incurred by customers while getting to their destinations during the recent work stoppage.
Baseball season is officially finished in the Peace Region, as the Rycroft Rage won the 2025 Wheatbelt Baseball League Championship last night.
The Rage beat Peace River 4-3 in the ninth inning of the suspended Game 4, to win their ninth championship in the last 15 seasons, counting the COVID year of 2020.
The Peace Region now turns to High School and Bantam football, as well as minor hockey, as the fall season approaches.
The Toronto blue Jays play the rubber match of their three-game set in Pittsburgh, starting this morning. Chris Bassitt starts for the Jays against Johan Oviedo.
Skies will clear out in the Peace and Big Lakes on this Wednesday in the Northwest. However, the Mackenzie will continue with shower activity for the bulk of the day.
Highs will only get into the upper teens, with lows around 10 degrees tonight. Digits start getting higher on the weekend, and into next week.