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Eastbound I-94 ramp closure in Washington County begins Monday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:35 GMT

The ramp from eastbound Interstate 94 to Minnesota 95/St. Croix Trail in Lakeland will close at 5 a.m. Monday and will remain closed until Sept. 18, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.The ramp closure is necessary to allow construction crews to pave the eastbound lanes of I-94 through this area, according to MnDOT.MnDOT crews are in the process of resurfacing the pavement and making other improvements to I-94 between Highway 120/Century Avenue and the St. Croix River. The work, which will be completed this fall, will improve safety, traffic flow and ride smoothness, MnDOT officials say.(Courtesy of the Minnesota Department of Transportation)Motorists can bypass the ramp closure by using eastbound I-94, Manning Avenue, Hudson Road S. and Highway 95/St. Croix Trail.All construction activities and traffic impacts are weather dependent and subject to change.For more information, go to mndot.gov/metro/projects/i94oakdale-stcroix.Related ArticlesLocal News | ...

News access suffering from Meta temper tantrum

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:35 GMT

You’ve likely noticed some changes to your Facebook feed recently, as Meta has officially barred all news from its platforms across Canada in response to Bill C-18, or the Online News Act.You might have a few questions. We did too. First and foremost, what does this mean for the Sunny South News on Facebook?Well, any posts we make are immediately hidden, as well as any and all of our previous posts. This means no photos, stories, links, ledes or postings of any kind can be seen on our Facebook pages.But that doesn’t mean our newspapers are going away. In fact, this only amplifies the importance of print and online journalism in regions like ours, though it will create some obstacles in the community — and it won’t be just journalism facing the short end of that stick.Saskatchewan RCMP told The Canadian Press this week that the move will affect the way they relay information, as is most certainly the case with police detachments across the country, which rely on the reach of media ou...

Town of Coaldale issues notice to residents to conserve water

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:35 GMT

By Erika MathieuSunny South NewsThe Town of Coaldale is calling on residents to do their part conserving water as persistent hot and dry temperatures are causing shortages in storage basins in the region.Several southern Alberta water basins are experiencing lower than usual water levels at this point in the year.Following several updates since the start of the irrigation season, St. Mary River Irrigation District (SMRID) published an update from General Manager, Dave Westwood on Aug. 16, informing irrigators “the drought conditions persist in Southern Alberta and the headworks and our internal reservoir storage levels are significantly below average for this time of the irrigation season.”Westwood said in the notice the SMRID has observed a decline in usage over the past week as crops reach maturity, and harvest season is underway, but said SMRID will continue to monitor District usage and storage daily and provide updates as is necessary.The Town of Coaldale issued a notice the fo...

District contributions for Canadian Foodgrains Bank exceed expectations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:35 GMT

By Erika MathieuSunny South NewsOrganizers have reported the two successful harvests in Picture Butte and Coaldale for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank will add hundreds of thousands of dollars in aid to the charitable organization.Following the Lethbridge-Coaldale Foodgrains project’s harvest and barbecue on Aug. 15, a harvest took place at the Picture Butte and District Foodgrains 2023 Growing Project the next day at the growing site just outside of the Town of Picture Butte.Alberta Regional Representative for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, Ary Vreeken said the cash contributions at the Lethbridge-Coaldale Harvest on the previous day totalled over $28,000 in cash, in the “innocuous little donation bucket,” and Vreeken was optimistic the Picture Butte harvest event would see the generous donations continue.“We have a great group of supporters here in Picture Butte,” and said funds raised by the Canadian Foodgrains Bank were able to reach 1.1 million people in over 35 countries.Final num...

Coaldale basketball player signs with Pronghorns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:35 GMT

By Erika MathieuSunny South NewsThe University of Lethbridge has signed Carson Bartsch of Coaldale to play for the university’s men’s basketball team this fall.The accomplished player recently graduated from Kate Andrews High School after a successful high school athletic career.This past June, Bartsch received the 2022-2023 Career Athlete Award from Kate Andrews in addition to various Athlete of the Month awards at the school. Earlier this year, Bartsch was a recipient of the second team all-star award during the Southern Alberta Interscholastic Administrative Council (SAIAC) League awards night held at Chinook High School in Lethbridge. These awards are voted on by all coaches within the SAISC League comprising the Southern Alberta High School Football League, Southern Alberta High School Volleyball League, Southern Alberta High School Girls Basketball League, and the Southern Alberta High School 4A Boys Basketball League.On Aug. 15 the University of Lethbridge’s athletics announc...

“Farming in the Dustbowl” exhibition on display at Coaldale Public Library

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:35 GMT

By Erika MathieuSunny South NewsThe Coaldale Public Library is displaying the works of artist Carol Bromley Meeres until August 30.The exhibit, made possible by the Travelling Exhibition Program (TREX) is a program organized through the Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA) which brings travelling exhibitions to various venues across Alberta, including small towns such as Coaldale, where residents might not otherwise have regular access to gallery spaces, and a bid to make art more accessible.Alberta-born visual artist Carol Bromley Meeres’ work takes on environmental and social issues, and her work explores colour, texture and historical mediums such as cyanotypes which impart a unique texture and detail on her work.The current series, entitled, “Farming in the Dustbowl” references this time in history in a thoroughly-researched and detailed collection of images.Nearly 100 years ago, in the 1930’s the prairies were subjected to a period of severe drought, which came to be known as ...

Greenwood ASP amendment approved

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:35 GMT

By Nikki JamiesonSunny South NewsSome driveways in Coalhurst can be increased following a recent ASP amendment approval.Coalhurst town council discussed the amendment during their regular Aug. 15 meeting.Bylaw 433-22 would amend Bylaw 389-17, or The Greenwood Estates Area Structure Plan, to increase the driveway widths from 5.5 meters to 5.8 meters.The Town had previously received an application from property owners to obtain a Land Use Bylaw waiver for their property in order to allow the existing 5.8-meter-wide driveway to stay in place. The LUB currently allows for driveway widths of 5.5 meters. The waiver was not granted based on the driveway widths, as the Greenwood Estates ASP sets driveway widths at a maximum of 5.5 meters only. An amendment to the ASP would be required in order to allow for the oversized driveway to remain, and it would apply to all properties within the development.An application was then made to amend the ASP to increase the driveway widths. Council had pe...

Lethbridge-Coaldale Foodgrains growing project celebrates 40th anniversary

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:35 GMT

By Erika MathieuSunny South NewsThe Lethbridge-Coaldale Foodgrains Growing Project has added another successful year to the books.The Lethbridge-Coaldale Foodgrains project held their annual harvest and barbecue event just north of the Alberta AG Centre in Coaldale on August 15. Hundreds of attendees gathered despite the dry summer heat to enjoy the free ATB barbecue and witness the enormous combines take to the field to harvest this year’s barley crop, with proceeds going toward the Canadian Foodgrains Bank to help fight hunger globally.The Canadian Foodgrains Bank is celebrating it’s 40th anniversary in 2023, and has raised $1.1 billion to fight global hunger and support sustainable farming initiatives around the world.Over the past 15 years, the Lethbridge-Coaldale chapter alone has raised $2 million. However, the federal government matches donations 4:1, bringing the grand total for the Lethbridge-Coaldale Foodgrains project to over $10.4 million in total contributions.Alberta’s...

Affordable housing in Nobleford to become new municipal offices

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:35 GMT

By Erika MathieuSunny South NewsEarlier this year, residents of the Rose Butte Apartments, a seniors housing complex in Nobleford, were served “relocation” notices and told the building was being sold by the Province of Alberta.Under government ownership, the apartments were managed by Green Acres Foundation, who were not interested in purchasing the building. The Rose Butte Apartments are among the first properties sold under the Province of Alberta’s new “Stronger Foundations” housing strategy and has been purchased by the Town of Nobleford to be converted into municipal offices and house the new council chambers once renovations are complete.In the fall of 2022, the Province of Alberta announced their plans to transfer or sell off the majority of affordable housing properties owned and managed by Province over the next ten years. The Ministry of Seniors and Housing released the Affordable Housing Asset Management Framework (AHAMF).As outlined in the framework, in most cases, cert...

Engagement tools being considered for Coalhurst budget

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:35 GMT

By Nikki JamiesonSunny South NewsThe Town of Coalhurst is considering ways to engage residents for future budget consultations.Town administration has been working on a new annual budget process which includes residents in a consultation process, rather than providing residents with an informative campaign after the budget has been passed. They presented Coalhurst town council with two possible platform options they could utilize for this during their regular Aug. 15 meeting: Citizen Budget and SurveyMonkey.Citizen Budget is an interactive engagement tool that will ask users to show their funding preferences for municipal areas. A user enters their assessment information and using a slider function, can adjust what their individual tax bill would look like based on where they would like to see funding increases. The tool can be run throughout the year, with the results remaining on the landing page, allowing them to be accessed at later dates. A demo had been provided to council and...