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Ellison’s office to host meeting on proposed twin mergers of Duluth/Wisconsin health systems

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:10:48 GMT

The Minnesota attorney general’s office will host a hearing on the proposed separate mergers of two Duluth-based health care systems with Wisconsin-based systems.The public can weigh in on the proposed mergers between Essentia Health and Marshfield Clinic Health System and between St. Luke’s and Aspirus Health at an Oct. 25 meeting from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the University of Minnesota Duluth Kirby Center’s Rafters Room.The public can also comment on the mergers online or by calling 651-296-3353 (metro area) or 800-657-3787 (greater Minnesota).The office, led by Attorney General Keith Ellison, was given additional authority under the state’s new health care entity transaction law to consider whether a health care transaction is in the public interest. If he determines that it is not, he can seek court intervention.“Every Minnesotan deserves high-quality health care that they can afford, access and depend on, and every Minnesotan deserves the opportunity to provide input on health care t...

Campbell featured as one of News Media Canada’s “Champions”

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:10:48 GMT

By Trevor BuschSunny South [email protected] Sunny South News publisher Coleen Campbell has stepped back from the media industry enjoying a well-deserved semi-retirement, but her more than four decades serving newspapers in Western Canada are never far removed from her mind.“We enjoyed that adrenaline with deadlines and complicated stories and everything else. It was challenging for sure. But that’s enjoyable.”To celebrate National Newspaper Week (Oct. 1-7), News Media Canada has launched a new digital book, “Champions”, and Campbell is featured as one of the 24 industry moguls detailed in the publication.Campbell recently sat down for an interview with Southern Alberta Newspapers, and you can still sense the rising tide of enthusiasm in her voice as she hearkens back to those early days starting out as a cub reporter for The Taber Times.   “I started in Taber, I got my journalism diploma at SAIT and started right off the bat and stayed there for a long, long time R...

News Media Canada celebrating industry mavericks in “Champions”

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:10:48 GMT

By Trevor BuschSunny South [email protected] celebration of National Newspaper Week (Oct. 1-7), News Media Canada has launched a new digital book, “Champions”, highlighting outstanding individuals throughout Canada’s media landscape that help advance the flag of truth.The limited-edition bilingual publication launched this week and features 24 inspirational stories focused on notable Canadians from the news media industry. Those singled out are a diverse collection of hardworking individuals who have shown their commitment to championing the truth by providing people in Canada with trustworthy, accurate news to keep them informed and communities connected.“So we’ve been involved with producing our National Newspaper Week programmes since 2018. Now this is the 83rd National Newspaper Week, so it’s not new. And we really decided back in 2018 to make it a much larger project and try to get newspapers across the country involved in celebrating and raising the awareness on the ...

Budget meetings scheduled for fall 2023

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:10:48 GMT

By Erika MathieuSunny South NewsCoaldale council has begun deliberations for next year, with the dates for the remaining meetings for 2023 tentatively scheduled for this fall/winter.Kicking off the process, the Town held a special council meeting on Sept. 20 to discuss budget meetings over the next few months.In addition to the regularly scheduled regular council meetings, special council meetings have been scheduled for  Nov. 1, Nov. 15 and Nov. 30.The purpose of the Sept. 20 meeting was to review current municipal service levels and refresh council with foundational knowledge pertaining to the budget process which they will use to guide their decisions during the deliberations. As well, the early overview provided Council with an opportunity to discuss desired levels of service in Coaldale across each of the six budget departments.The first of the budget presentations was presented by Town of Coaldale’s Chief Financial Officer, (CFO) Kyle Beauchamp, who also presented a quarterly ...

Former Coaldale student receives ATB Financial Canadian Masters Scholarship

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:10:48 GMT

By Erika MathieuSunny South NewsA former student of Kate Andrews High School, Sarah Peters is the recipient of the 2023 ATB Financial Canadian Masters Scholarship.The scholarship, established in 2014, is presented annually to a curler and first-year post-secondary student from the southern Alberta region attending an accredited post-secondary program. In 2014, Coaldale hosted the Canadian Masters Curling Tournament. At the time, ATB Financial stepped up as a major sponsor for the event, and donated $10,000 to help plan and get the Canadians Masters underway.Roger Hohm served as a co-chair of the 2014 Masters and said the committee and ATB came to an agreement that if the event was profitable, a portion of the profit would then be carved out into a scholarship fund geared toward assisting community-minded student-curlers with post-secondary funding in the coming years.Hohm said while academics is a factor in choosing a recipient of the scholarship, the selection committee is looking ...

Southern Accord chorus celebrates 25 years of harmony

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:10:48 GMT

By Erika MathieuSunny South NewsThe Southern Accord Chorus is celebrating 25 years of music magic.In celebration of the significant milestone, the local women’s a cappella chorus is gearing up for their upcoming event, “Harmony Connections- Celebrating 25 years with Our Community.”The event will take place in Lethbridge on Sat. Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. at the College Drive Community Church, just 10 minutes from their long-time rehearsal space in Lethbridge County at the McNally Community Centre.The organization is currently home to 28 members, many of whom travel from Vauxhall, and even as far as Milk River, in order to attend the in-person rehearsals.In 2022, Southern Accord received two medals at the Region 26 Sweet Adelines virtual contest, placing in third for small choruses and fifth out of all chorus sizes in Western Canada. In addition to hearing the musical stylings of Southern Accord, attendees will get to experience the rhythm and music of the U of L Global Drums, who will be joi...

Rural and Indigenous sites to play vital role in growing tourism industry in Alberta

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:10:48 GMT

By Erika MathieuSunny South NewsContinued efforts and funding into rural and Indigenous tourist destinations and experiences continue to be a prioritize for the Minister of Tourism and Sport, Joseph Schow.In a recent release recognizing World Tourism Day on Sept. 27, Minister Schow said rural and Indigenous destinations will continue to play a critical role in building the tourism industry, and continues to be a key focus of Travel Alberta’s in distributing funding supports to build capacity in those areas.“There is so much potential in rural tourism, agri-tourism, and Indigenous tourism, which benefits people from across the province,” through the creation of jobs and careers in tourism.Included in this is also Alberta’s growing agri-tourism sector, which leverages the province’s unique agricultural identity and production sites as a selling point in marketing Alberta as a premier travel destination. The “essential component(s)” of rural and Indigenous tourism are expected to conti...

ACP grant application for Highway 3 potable water study

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:10:48 GMT

By Nikki JamiesonSunny South NewsCoaldale will be taking the lead for a regional potable water grant application.During their regular Sept. 25 meeting, Coaldale town council discussed a resolution to establish Coaldale as the managing partner for a $200,000 funding application under the Alberta Community Partnership (ACP) program.The grant would be for the Regional Water Concept Development Study project.“This study will examine regional potable water solutions along the Highway 3 corridor,” said Jonathan Wensveen, manager of government relations for the Town. “This project is taking place in collaboration with the counties and municipalities situated along the Highway 3 Corridor, led by Taber-Warner MLA and Parliamentary Secretary for Agrifood Development, Grant Hunter.”Wensveen said that they had received a letter of support from Premier Danielle Smith, that was signed by four other MLAs, including Hunter, Lethbridge-East MLA Nathan Neudorf, Cardston-Siksika MLA Joseph Schow and C...

County councillor elected president of Lethbridge & District Exhibition’s board of directors

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:10:48 GMT

By Erika MathieuSunny South NewsMark Sayers has been elected to serve as the 57th president of the Lethbridge & District Exhibition’s (LDE) board of directors.He will serve in this role for one term, until February 2025, which coincides with his 10th year of service on the LDE’s board of directors.A recent press release issued by LDE notes Sayers’ strong ties to business and agriculture communities in southern Alberta, including the Coaldale & District Agricultural Society. In 2018, he was inducted into the 4-H Alberta Hall of Fame after 30 years of involvement with the organization at the regional, district, provincial, and club levels.Sayers also sits on Lethbridge County Council, and is the Lethbridge delegate for UFA.Sayers highlighted his long history of involvement with the LDE and said, “I am proud to take on the role of president.”He continued, “this organization is growing and changing, which makes me excited for the future and all we will be able to accomplish.”Let...

Community Satisfaction Survey results in for Coaldale

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:10:48 GMT

By Nikki JamiesonSunny South NewsLow uptake on a recent Coaldale survey means the Town can’t take the results as the town’s general opinion.During their regular Sept. 25 meeting, Coaldale town council reviewed the results of the 2023 Community Satisfaction Survey.The survey, which ran from the beginning of June to the end of July, aimed to gather information and opinions on Town services, facilities and finances, and ultimately act as an useful planning tool for the Town. The survey was first approved by council in July 2022, and for this year’s survey, a total of 74 responses were gathered. Of those responses, five were submitted in paper form while the remaining 69 were submitted online. In addition, four of the survey responses were from non-Coaldale residents, so they were filtered from the overall results.A total of 16 questions/statements were posed in the survey, centering around Town programs/service levels, taxes, how the Town is being run, communication and quality of life...