The Village of Elbow is named for the nearby bend in the South Saskatchewan River, but the name means something in the midst of a Canada-U.S. trade war.

The provincial budget is expected to drop on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. Regina Leader-Post columnist Murray Mandryk brought his predictions to CBC Radio's The Morning Edition.

A total of 19 locals were recognized with official medals from the King of England. 

The King Charles III Coronation Medals were handed out to a variety of locals in Swift Current. Some for their civil service, some for their military service, and others for their contributions to the community in their everyday efforts. 

For Jeremy Patzer, the MP for Cypress Hills - Grasslands, it was an honour to be able to represent the Monarch of Canada in such a way. 

"It was pretty awesome to be able to receive a great list of deserving recipients who have all contributed greatly to either the City of Swift Current or to their communities that they live in," said Patzer. 

Patzer revealed that each MP was given 20 medals to distribute. After opening the submissions, he combed through looking for individuals who met the criteria of having been involved in public service, volunteerism, and outstanding service. 

"There's always more people that deserve them than there are medals that get handed out," said Patzer. "But it's just a great way for people to recognize their fellow community members."

He highlighted that while none of these people do the things they do for the recognition, it's still good to give them the accolades when possible. 

For Patzer, the theme of volunteerism, and making sacrifices for the community or even the country, was inspirational. He especially appreciated how well these locals represented their communities through their actions. 

"These people make our communities better and stronger, our country better and stronger, and that's why their peers nominated them," said Patzer. 

The recipients are as follows.

-John Griffin
-Michael McLeod
-Royce Pettyjohn
-Glenn Alexander
-Tanner Willshaw
-Ross Pollock
-Claire Pollock
-Travis Rushinko
-Donald Taylor
-Jeff Soveran
-Louis Cherpin
-Mitchel Hope
-Shaun Hanna
-Peter L'Heureux
-Andrew Keys
-John Watson
-Steve Stanford
-Terence Bittles
-Perry Avinou

The City of North Battleford has announced an increased patrol plan for its downtown core. RCMP members, community safety officers and social agencies will be involved.

RCMP in the Rosetown and Kyle detachments responded to various incidents between March 7 and March 13, including traffic violations, suspicious activity, and theft complaints.

On March 7 at 12:03 a.m., Kyle RCMP received a report of a suspicious person in Rosetown. Officers conducted patrols but found no suspicious activity.

The following day, at 10:53 a.m., Rosetown RCMP responded to a report of an erratic driver on Highway 7. The driver was located and given a verbal warning. Later that evening, at 9:35 p.m., officers received a mischief complaint in Harris. However, there was insufficient evidence to proceed.

On March 9, officers responded to a motor vehicle collision with a deer on Highway 4 at 8:46 a.m. No injuries were reported, and the incident was documented for insurance purposes. Later that afternoon, at 2:35 p.m., police began investigating an assault complaint in Rosetown. At 10:29 p.m., officers conducted a wellbeing check near Rosetown.

Kyle RCMP responded to another motor vehicle collision in Rosetown on March 10 at 10:47 a.m. No injuries were reported.

On March 11 at 8:28 p.m., Rosetown RCMP received a report of an erratic driver on Highway 7. Officers were unable to locate the vehicle.

The following morning, on March 12 at 7:58 a.m., Kyle RCMP responded to a two-vehicle collision on Highway 4. No injuries were reported. Later in the day, at 1:42 p.m., police received a complaint regarding fuel theft at a local business in Rosetown. The subject was located, and the fuel was paid for in full. That evening, at 8:15 p.m., officers received a report of a suspicious vehicle on Highway 7, but they were unable to locate it.

On March 13, Rosetown RCMP responded to a mischief complaint in Rosetown at 9:07 a.m. A short time later, at 10:15 a.m., officers received a report of a break and enter at a rural yard site near Harris. The matter remains under investigation.

Over the past week, RCMP issued 59 traffic-related charges and responded to one false alarm call and one 911 misdial.

Anyone with information on these or other crimes is asked to contact Rosetown RCMP at 306-882-5700 or Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at

During the Kindersley Court regular proceedings on March 11, Jeremy McNall pleaded guilty to one count of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and two counts of failure to appear. The charges stem from a 2021 search warrant, during which officers seized more than $1,800 worth of cocaine, two weapons and other drug trafficking paraphernalia.

McNall was sentenced to a two-year conditional sentence in an Alberta community where he currently resides. The first 12 months include a 24-hour house arrest, while the second 12 months involves a curfew. He was also ordered to complete 100 hours of community service.

In a separate case, Kenneth Shebansky pleaded guilty to assaulting his 12-year-old daughter. He was sentenced to 18 months of probation and fined $100.

Matt Rumohr of Luseland also appeared and was found guilty of careless use of a firearm and unauthorized possession. He received 6 months on probation and a two-year firearm ban.

Statistics Canada has released a new set of data which shows that Saskatchewan is continuing on its path forward for growing value in building permits, which had a 78.7 per cent increase from January 2024 compared to January 2025 (seasonally adjusted).

The figure would place Saskatchewan third among the provinces for year-over-year growth. Saskatchewan has kept that figure going over the last few months in what has been a consistent performance among the provinces for growth in the value of building permits. 

"This continued growth in building permits shows just how confident investors are in making long term investments and developing new projects in Saskatchewan," said Trade and Export Development Minister Warren Kaeding. "New building permits being issued means more jobs for our growing workforce and more people choosing to settle and build their lives across our great province." 

 That growth was also seen in the two biggest cities of Saskatchewan as Regina saw a 54.9 per cent increase and Saskatoon saw a 189 per cent increase. The figures include the dollar value of construction permits for residential and non-residential buildings.

Other figures from Statistics Canada's latest GDP numbers point to Saskatchewan's 2023 real GDP reaching an all-time high of $77.9 billion, increasing by $1.8 billion, or 2.3 per cent. This ties Saskatchewan for second in the nation for real GDP growth, and above the national average of 1.6 per cent.

The Regina Police Service has introduced a modern-day neighbourhood watch program called Community ON.

The warning comes after police say a woman was sexually assaulted after arranging for a ride in a Facebook group serving the Fort Qu'Appelle area, located 70 kilometres northeast of Regina.

On Friday, 33 year old Brittany Barry pleaded to a joint submission, and was found guilty for driving over the legal limit causing death and driving over the legal limit causing bodily harm.

Electric vehicle drivers in Saskatchewan will pay more to drive their EV as the province hikes the road-use charge to $300 from $150. Most provinces in Canada don't charge a

The Saskatchewan Health Authority has confirmed one case of measles in Swift Current that's created an exposure risk to the public.

The individual with the virus was at the Cypress Regional Hospital between March 7-10 and the E.I. Wood Building (the entrance, elevator and fourth floor) on March 6 between 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

Dr. David Torr, medical health officer with the Saskatchewan Health Authority and area department lead for the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine for the Integrated Rural Area, told Swift Current Online measles is airborne and also highly contagious.

"It's not about coughing or squeezing, it's just about being in the vicinity of somebody who had the measles," he said. "We're advising the public, especially those who were in the vicinity but also the general public at large to make sure they're up-to-date with their measles vaccines. It's really important because the measles vaccines are very effective and the measles infection is very strong."

He cited the ideal vaccination rate for measles in the province is 95 per cent, but noted Swift Current is below that threshold - sitting in the 80s.

The early signs of the virus include fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes, fatigue, muscle aches, and irritability - but will progress into a rash and mouth sores.

"Until the rash comes out, it's very easy to mimic other infections like influenza or other viral infections," he said. "The rash is very characteristic. 

"Measles can give you very high temperatures and fevers. For young children that easily predisposed them to convulsions. The after effects or complications of measles include infections and inflammation of the brain, ears, a lot of parts of the body. Even deafness can follow or affect on the eyes... There are many complications that can come in and because it weakens the body so much, you can get secondary infections like pneumonia."

The SHA urges anyone with the symptoms listed above or that were at the Cypress Regional Hospital or E.I. Wood Building to call the emergency department, physician, walk-in clinic, or nurse practitioner before showing up due to the highly contagious nature of the virus. 

An autopsy found Umpherville's death was the result of a cardiac arrest, caused by positional asphyxia — when a person can't breathe due to the position of their body — and cocaine intoxication.

Saskatchewan’s financial regulators are warning about an online scam involving cryptocurrency platforms CanCap and BitCan. The scam features fake news articles suggesting Premier Scott Moe endorses the companies.

The FCAA confirms these platforms are not registered to sell securities in Saskatchewan and warns people not to invest. Officials remind the public to research investments carefully, check company registration at aretheyregistered.ca, and seek professional advice.

If you have invested with CanCap or BitCan, contact the FCAA’s Securities Division. Never allow unknown individuals remote access to your computer.

Southwest healthcare practitioners and rural residents working in the healthcare sector now have access to a wealth of recommendations, tips, and more no matter where they're located.

The Saskatchewan Healthcare Recruitment Agency released the Healthcare Practitioner Community Support Toolkit on Tuesday, aiming to support workers and ensure a smooth transition into any community.

Terri Strunk, chief executive officer of the Saskatchewan Healthcare Recruitment Agency, noted that the toolkit consists of ideas for communities to initiate plans to retain and engage with healthcare workers.

"There's a lot of information out there from healthcare practitioners themselves that some of the reasons they decide to leave a community could be addressed with greater community support," she said. "We took a lot of that feedback and talked to Saskatchewan communities, there are some tremendous success stories including Maple Creek."

Strunk highlighted that the toolkit will be a living document, steadily updated as the Saskatchewan Healthcare Recruitment Agency continues to speak with healthcare practitioners and learn from other community successes. 

"We know that we have a shortage of healthcare professionals in the province of Saskatchewan and part of the solution to addressing that problem is improving our retention rates," she shared. "We want to create an environment where healthcare practitioners settle well into the community." 

The Healthcare Practitioner Community Support Toolkit is available to download for free at saskhealthrecruitment.ca.

For more information, visit the Saskatchewan Government's website.

The Liberal government is immediately ending the consumer carbon price and made the change official during Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first cabinet meeting this afternoon.

Carney says people who have been getting a rebate on the carbon price will get one final payment for the next quarter in April.

He signed an order-in-council to make the change official while cameras were in the cabinet room.

Agriculture Minister Kody Blois says he thinks “it’s a really good move” because the policy has become very divisive.

He noted the Atlantic Liberal caucus had pushed for changes to the carbon price in the past, and secured a carveout for home heating fuel in 2023.

Carney pledged to end the consumer price during the Liberal leadership race and said he would bolster the industrial price paid by big polluters.

The consumer carbon pricing policy has been deeply unpopular and had been the focus of Conservative attacks on the Liberals for more than two years.

The Saskatchewan government has announced a list of fee changes coming this year, including a doubling of the cost to register electric vehicles. 

The government says the fee is to increase from $150 to $300 per vehicle and will go towards fixing roads.

It says it wants to ensure electric vehicle owners are contributing a comparable amount to those with gas vehicles, who pay for road maintenance through the provincial gas tax. 

Saskatchewan is also increasing park administrative fees, including lease applications and renewals, building permits and shore maintenance. 

The province is also reducing wholesale liquor mark-ups for wines with alcohol content between 14.5 and 16 per cent, expecting to save retailers $226,000.

Saskatchewan is also applying a new $1,000 flat fee for construction permits of hazardous goods facilities.

A grade seven student from Fairview School astonished the judging panel at the Chinook Regional Science Fair on Tuesday and Wednesday to earn a trip to the Canada-Wide Science Fair in the Maritimes.

Siddharth Manivannan's "Arduino vs. Fire" project captured one of the four gold medals awarded in the Junior Category for grades seven and eight. Moments later he was presented with another gold medal for the overall best project in fair -  a feat that moves him onto the national science fair from May 31 to June 7 in Fredericton, New Brunswick

"Have you ever had that feeling where it's so amazing that you can't describe it?," he said. "I'm having that right now. It's so amazing that it just doesn't register in my brain."

The 12-year-old began his project on November 7 and completed it on February 20, citing he spent at least one hour daily on it for the last couple of months, hoping to provide a solution to a growing issue across the world.

"I hope for a world with much less fire because lately I've seen such an influx in wildfires and I really do not want that happening to my hometown," he said. 

Manivannan's project, like a lot of entries at the regional competition, was technology and electronics-based - something he believes will be the path forward globally. He originally wanted to use a Raspberry Pi for the single-board technology portion but struggled with its programming language. Adjusting on the fly, he switched to an Arduino.

"All the guides pointed to this as the big inter-friendly microcontroller to use," he said. 

"My project here uses and Arduino Uni R3, there's a fire sensor here, which will sense the IR (infrared) radiation emitted from fires, it will send it to my Arduino and my Arduino will spread that data across many different platforms, my server moder, a buzzer, and a relay that's conntected to a pump which will then spray out water."

The first-year eligible Chinook Regional Science Fair participant joins a rare collection of past winners.

"He's not the only grade seven that's gone (to the national science fair)," said Chinook Regional Science Fair Committee co-chair Dawn Caswell. "We had a grade seven from Central (School) about seven years ago maybe, it was prior to COVID. I had a student many years ago, a grade seven student, that did a project on ticks and Lyme disease, and she had won best in fair."

Manivannan will use the next two and a half months prior to attending the Canada-Wide Science Fair to attempt to transfer his project from breadboard stage to a more professional one. He's also hoping to add more features to it. 

"If not, I'm going to make my project look neater - because it needs a lot of that," he said. 

The scientist has already set his sights on post-secondary education options. He's aiming to attend the British Columbia Institute of Technology for robotics. His trip later this spring to the Canada-Wide Science Fair. He's hoping that will help him start saving for his educational dream.

"I heard that you're going to get an entrance scholarship and I really want that scholarship," he said. "It will help me pay for university, help me get more technology lessons, and my mom wouldn't have to pay for that."

"I think what he's referring to is when the kids go to Canada-Wide, we're always hosted by a university and the hosting university, when they go to Canada-Wide, the kids get scholarships from that hosting university," Caswell said. "They're also up for scholarships. Other schools and universities are there and they're recruiting... They're looking for people making projects like this, like Vaishu's app and Siddharth's product."

Swift Current Online will have a story next week on Vaishu Venkata's project.

The Swift Current Ag & Ex revealed some losses during its annual general meeting.
 
Due to poor weather during the 86th Frontier Days guests participated less in the various activities available according to the general manager of the Ag & Ex, Rebecca Anderson. The official AGM report lists this as the main reason why the non-profit Ag & Ex saw a net loss of $24,799 for 2024.
 
In total, the revenue for the year totalled $886,477. In the face of $911,276 in expenses, 2024 was cited as a 'challenging year' in an official release.

However, this was actually within expectations, according to Finance Chair for the Ag & Ex, Stan Aikens. 

"We had budgeted for about a $37,000 deficit," said Aikens. "We were hoping that we wouldn't have a deficit, but we were expecting one."

Aikens attributed the smaller-than-expected net loss to be a small success, even if they were hopeful that they might have eliminated the entire deficit. 

Anderson highlighted the fact that even though people were spending a little less money, attendance was still at a good level.

"Most people came once the weather smartened up, but it's a lot of things that contribute to the revenues," shared Anderson. "The liquor sales, the food sales for the Causeway because we get a commission on the food vendors, and the commission for the rides."

The general manager also pointed out how she was hired at the end of 2024. This created a pay overlap between her onboarding and the previous general manager Tracey Stevenson's departure. 
 
Despite that financial setback, the group managed to have a very accomplished year with a host of successful programs. Discover the Farm, Junior Stockmen's, 4-H activities and the Kiddies Day Parade, which are enjoyed by many youth and families.
 
Their western culture cornerstone project, Doc's Town, also saw another wonderful year of era replicant blacksmithing, and cool refreshments served alongside scrumptious confectioneries at the Tea House.

Anderson teased a new event that will be replacing the Step Into Spring Tradeshow, Cowboys and Chrome. She confirmed that the Ag & Ex would be partnering with the Swift Current Stock Car Racing Association, but that many details are still being ironed out. The event is scheduled for August 20, 2025.  
 
Throughout the highs and lows of the year, the one thing the Ag & Ex remained grateful for was the people. Anyone who came out joined in or volunteered helped to ensure they could continue working on providing engaging experiences.
 
The organization remains optimistic about the future, and its ability to bring forth entertaining, educational, community-focused programs. Events like the Step Into Spring Trade show, Ranchman's Ridin' & Recitin' and Frontier Days itself help to bring forth those ideals for the benefit of the community.

The public prosecutions office says the case against Thomas Sutherland no longer meets the standard for prosecution and filed a stay of proceedings this week.

UPDATE: 

Swift Current Municipal RCMP received a report of a two-vehicle collision at a Swift Current intersection around 7:49 a.m. this morning.

Police responded to the incident at the intersection of Sixth Avenue North East and Chaplin Street East where they found a Kia Seltos and a Jeep Grand Cherokee. 

RCMP determined that the Seltos had proceeded from the stop sign before it was safe, colliding with the Grand Cherokee.

No injuries were reported although both vehicles were towed.

The driver of the Seltos was given a ticket under the Traffic Safety Act.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Traffic is being slowed on Chaplin Street East, due to a collision Friday morning. 

The crash occurred at the corner of Chaplin Street East and Sixth Avenue Northeast. 

RCMP are at the scene, and delays are expected while they continue their work. The vehicle or vehicles involved have already been towed from the scene.

Motorists are being asked to use caution in the area.

Swift Current Online will provide any updates as they are made available. 

Traffic is being slowed on Chaplin Street East, due to a collision this morning. 

The crash occurred at the corner of Chaplin Street East and Sixth Avenue Northeast. 

RCMP are at the scene, and delays are expected while they continue their work. The vehicle or vehicles involved have already been towed from the scene.

Motorists are being asked to use caution in the area.

Swift Current Online will provide any updates as they are made available. 

Swift Current Rural RCMP are on the search for a pair of suspected vandals. 

According to an official release, the RCMP responded to a call of suspicious activity on January 31 in Gull Lake. 

After investigation, it was found that two people, a man and a woman, had cut a hose on a piece of equipment, and smashed a vehicle window at a local business. They also tried to steal fuel from the vehicle. 

The man is described as slim to average physically. During the incident, he is believed to have been wearing a black sweater with writing on the sleeve, as well as a hat. 

The woman is described as slim, wearing a dark jacket or sweater, and a toque. 

Both individuals covered their faces. 

Anyone with information that can aid in the identification of these two suspects, or who has knowledge of their current location, is asked to please call 310-RCMP or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. 
 

A Regina woman has taken inspiration from an NFL puffer jacket Taylor Swift wore to a playoff game in 2024. Hilary De Paz decided to make custom Roughrider vests for teams and fans.

A community organization in Regina is working to provide the city's most vulnerable people and families access to clean laundry through a program called Operation Fresh Start.

Residents of a southwest village can declutter to support a cause close to the whole community's heart or pick up something new during the Tompkins Community Hall Fundraiser.

Donations can be dropped off at the Tompkins Community Hall beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Friday morning, the rummage sale is set for Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. 

Grace Peters, organizer of the Tompkins Community Hall Fundraiser, noted clothes, shoes, books, antiques, dishes, kitchen supplies, collectibles, and more will be available.

"We're putting on a fundraiser with a little community spirit," she said. "We're trying to put some money back in the bank after we did a massive bathroom renovation and new floors in the meeting room."

Furniture won't be accepted unless the donor is willing to pick up any unsold pieces, and all items are asked to be clean and ready to be sold.

"We have some projects in mind that we're trying to keep raising funds for," added Peters, highlighting that any details of further projects have yet to be announced.

Anyone who might be interested in helping set up for the rummage sale, sort donations, or haul leftover donations afterwards can contact Grace Peters at (306) 671 - 7831.

Hey everyone I'm Wallace! I am a 2-year-old, retriever mix. I have a silly personality and know quite a few tricks. I am good with kids, cats and other dogs. I have been here for 6 weeks and I am so ready to go home. I have been a house dog but would do well outdoors as well. If I sound like the dog for you please reach out to the shelter or come by and meet me!

As property values go up, the Government of Saskatchewan is decreasing the Education Property Tax mill rates in the 2025-26 Budget.

"Because it is a re-assessment year property values have increased," said Government Relations Minister Eric Schmalz. "The mill rate needs to be adjusted in order to compensate for that. We've allowed for a reduction in the mill rate which will save ratepayers $100 million dollars annually."

The government tied this move to their affords to keep the cost of living down.

"The government of Saskatchewan is focused on affordability for everyone across the province," Schmalz said. "This of course played into that decision."

He added they structured the cuts so the government would stay revenue neutral despite the property value increases.

The Education Property Tax mill rate drops from 1.42 to 1.07 for agricultural properties, from 4.54 to 4.27 for residential and 6.86 to 6.37 for commercial.

After 9 years and 130 days, Justin Trudeau cedes the job as Prime Minister of Canada today to new Liberal leader Mark Carney.

As Carney is sworn in as Prime Minister, the MP for Cypress Hills-Grasslands doesn't expect much to change.

"It doesn't necessarily change too much," said Jeremy Patzer. "Mark Carney's been Justin Trudeau's advisor for five years. He's been the one who has been advising all the disastrous policies that have led Canada to be in the position it is in."

Patzer says even in the face of tariffs from the United-States, Canadians are still concerned with domestic issues like cost of living.

"The focus for us is still on Canada-made issues," Patzer said. "While shifting focus a little bit to how we will deal with the tariff threat."

He feels that Carney won't do enough to market Canada's natural resources.

"We have the most abundant natural resources in the world," Patzer said "We've done very little to capitalize on that. The current government has done everything it can to keep those resources in the ground. Mr. Carney himself before he ran for politics was doing everything he could to keep Canada's minerals in the ground while he was investing in these same kinds of developments around the world.

"We know that he has been trying to work against Canada for his own personal financial gain. I find it very difficult to see somebody like that become the Prime Minister."

The change of leadership and trade dispute with the United States seems to have improved Liberal polling numbers. Patzer remains focused on one specific poll.

"There's only one poll that matters and that's the one on election day," Patzer said. "We're focused on working hard to make sure we're positioned to do well in the election and that's by listening to Canadians and find out the issues that matter to them."

Carney will be sworn in as prime minister this morning at Rideau Hall, where he will also reveal his new cabinet.