Political

Decades-long provincial underfunding threatens rural infrastructure, municipalities say

Posted on: Staff Writer

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

Posted on: Staff Writer

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…

Town repeals code of conduct policy bylaw by provincial mandate

Posted on: Staff Writer

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…

Government alerted to no sexually graphic material so far in rural school libraries

Posted on: Staff Writer

By George Lee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter No examples of potentially age-inappropriate content from Alberta’s rural school libraries had landed on the education minister’s desk by Tuesday morning. During a roundtable with about 20 reporters and other rural media representatives, Demetrios Nicolaides confirmed that the examples of graphic content the government was alerted to originated from four books in Edmonton and … Read more…

Voters must register for 2025 Municipal Election

Posted on: Staff Writer

By Lacie Nairn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Residents interested in exercising their voting rights during the 2025 municipal elections will need to ensure that they are registered to vote in the upcoming municipal election before September 15, 2025.  This is the first municipal election cycle where voters will need to register to vote following changes made by the Municipal Affairs Statutes … Read more…