Nasty, noisy, intolerant: welcome to the town square of our times

By George Lee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Editor’s Note: Following is the third in a series of stories on social media roles, effects and strategies in politics and public life, especially at the provincial level in Alberta. Trolls, bullies, robots and other bad actors regularly flood social media with abusive comments and content.  In fact some days it seems that cyberspace … Read more

Social media goes mainstream for political messaging — warts and all

Originally Published on Aug 06, 2025 at 05:38 By George Lee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Editor’s Note: Following is the second in a series of stories on social media roles, effects and strategies in politics and public life, especially at the provincial level in Alberta. Albertans who vibe with Janis Irwin see her regularly on mainstream TV, the perfect place to … Read more

‘Tweet others as you wish to be tweeted’ — or not

By George Lee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Originally Published on Jul 30, 2025 at 07:48 Editor’s Note: Following is the first story in a series on social media roles, effects and strategies in politics and public life, especially at the provincial level in Alberta. A former Alberta cabinet minister and deputy premier, Thomas Lukaszuk regularly comments online — sometimes bitingly — … Read more

Your guide to a smarter back-to-school season

(NC) With students starting to fill their backpacks and their schedules, the back-to-school season is set to begin – it’s an exciting and sometimes overwhelming time.Whether you’re prepping school lunches, managing health needs or heading off to college yourself, these practical tips will help students and families ease into the season.Allergy awareness in the classroomSending kids to school means more … Read more

Pro rodeo puts on a show in Nanton

By Rob Vogt and Kevin Todd Pro rodeo took over the Nanton Ag Grounds this past weekend.When all the dust settled, the winners of the Nanton Pro Rodeo held Aug. 22 and 23 were:Bareback riding1) Brett Williams, 83 points;2) Steven Dewolfe, 82;3) Colton Ouellette, 79.5;4) Ty Taypotat, 77;5) Dantan Bertsch, 75.56) (tie) Jared Marshall and Dallas Hay, 75.Steer wrestling1) (tie) … Read more

Town council approves $1.1 million water meter replacement

By Rob Vogt Water meters in Claresholm have reached the end of life, and must be replaced.At its Aug. 11 meeting, Claresholm town council awarded a contract for about $1.1 million to replace water meters, after hearing a report from Chief Administrative Officer Abe Tinney.Referring to a written report, he said the water meters, encoder receiver transmitters, and data collection system … Read more