Last year, Saskatchewan RCMP’s Divisional Operational Communications Centre (DOCC) received over 350,000 calls for service ranging from 911 misdials and false alarms to serious incidents regarding matters of public safety. With 2023 in the rear view, RCMP has revealed the Top 10 calls that “missed the mark.” 10. An individual called 911 to complain that their friend hit them in...

The latest numbers show that Saskatchewan is among the top provinces in Canada for urban housing starts, with December’s numbers up 86.4 per cent year-overyear from December 2022. The province’s housing starts numbers place Saskatchewan second among the provinces. In 2023, urban housing starts in Saskatchewan increased by 11.5 per cent, compared to the same period in 2022. Saskatchewan ranked...

The provincial government and the Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA) have reached a tentative four-year contract agreement for the period April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2026. “We are pleased to have reached a tentative agreement for a fair and competitive compensation package that supports our ongoing retention and recruitment efforts,” Health Minister Everett Hindley said in a news release. “We...

On Jan. 5, Regina announced that the excruciatingly adorable black-capped chickadee would become its official bird. For context, Regina has recently pushed to be recognized as a “bird friendly” city, which sort of put some impetus behind the contest. A great many birds were nominated and reduced to a field of six, with the “super adaptable, feisty and cute” chickadee...

Amaryllis belladonna is originally from South Africa’s Cape region. There it is commonly called the Cape Belladonna, the Belladonna Lily and the Naked Lady. In South Africa, you will see showy bold, strappy foliage in fall and winter. By early summer, the foliage dies down and bare scapes (flower stalks) emerge about six weeks later. In bloom, it appears that...

Reuseable grocery bags and I haven’t been getting along too well. I always seem to have them in my home, but never in my vehicle. It is a horrible thing to say, but I used to think poorly, say 10 years ago, of people who would bring their own bags to grocery stores. They seemed like snobs, looking down their...

The City of Saskatoon started accepting requests for smaller black carts on Jan. 8 as part of its new cost-based garbage plan. More than 3,500 requests for smaller carts rolled in over the first week. “We are excited by the amount of interest there has been in the cart size options just one week into a two-month window for swap...

Bison are dotting the landscape on Métis Nation-Saskatchewan land again near Batoche National Historic Site. The bison were transported from Grasslands National Park to establish a new herd on MN–S lands near Batoche. Eventually, the herd will be relocated to a portion of the 690 hectares of land on Batoche grounds that were transferred from Parks Canada to MN–S in...

When Ken died in February 2021, we had an outpouring of messages from readers, with many telling us how much his columns meant to them. In light of that, we thought we would go back through our files and re-publish some of them. Ken would be flattered by the kind words readers expressed. We miss him as a friend and...

Comedy writer Alex Kaseberg: “In the World Cup, France beat England 2-1. What I like about France is no trash-talking. Actually, they can’t trash talk because, in soccer, you’re not allowed to use your hands.” • Al Michaels on Thursday night Football, about Jets’ QB Mike White seeing a plethora of doctors to deal with an injury: “He saw every...