Mayor, four of five incumbents re-elected in Claresholm

By Rob Vogt The people have spoken, and they are giving the mayor and four out of five incumbents another term on Claresholm town council. Elections were held on Monday, Oct. 11, for mayor and town council in Claresholm and Nanton; councillors in Division 2 and 5 of the Municipal District of Willow Creek; and trustees in Ward 1 of … Read more

Candidates running for mayor of Claresholm make their pitch

By Rob Vogt The two men seeking to be mayor of Claresholm were front and centre last week, making their case for ratepayers to choose them.Challenger Lon Hall and incumbent Brad Schlossberger attended a candidates forum the Claresholm and District Chamber of Commerce and the Claresholm Local Press hosted at the Claresholm Community Centre on Oct. 8.It was moderated by … Read more

Candidates for council attend forum

By Rob Vogt The 11 candidates for Claresholm town council had their chance to address the public face to face last week.The Claresholm and District Chamber of Commerce and the Claresholm Local Press hosted a forum at the Claresholm Community Centre on Oct. 8, where candidates made opening and closing statements and answered questions from the public.The forum was moderated … Read more

Decades-long provincial underfunding threatens rural infrastructure, municipalities say

Published on Sep 15, 2025 at 05:56 By George Lee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter A critical need for infrastructure spending persists in rural Alberta because of decades of provincial government neglect, says the president of the Rural Municipalities of Alberta. Kara Westerlund, a councillor in central Alberta’s Brazeau County, said the unique needs of the countryside aren’t met in current funding … Read more

Let’s address that code of conduct void, rural leader tells province

Published on Sep 08, 2025 at 12:13 By George Lee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Unresolved issues surround a new provincial act that eliminates council codes of conduct, the president of the association representing rural municipalities said in advance of the fall sitting of the Alberta legislature. Kara Westerlund, a Brazeau County councillor and the president of the Rural Municipalities of Alberta, … Read more

Forever Canadian petition comes to town

By Rob Vogt People had the chance last week to sign a petition seeking a referendum on the question: “Do you agree that Alberta should remain in Canada?”Jackie Chalmers was downtown seeking signatures on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.The group she is with needs to gather at least 300,000 signatures, representing 10 per cent of the electorate who voted in the … Read more

Town repeals code of conduct policy bylaw by provincial mandate

By John Watson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Municipalities across Alberta will no longer investigate themselves when instances of code of conduct violation complaints occur amongst local council members.  The Town of Strathmore voted to repeal their local code of conduct bylaw during the June 18 regular meeting of council.  “We have yet to see how it is going to roll out, … Read more