Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has so far declined to pick a favourite in the race to succeed him, but when asked to comment on a prominent platform plank of one of the leading candidates, referred to it as ``nuts.'' Kenney was appearing on his provincewide radio show on CHED and CHQR on Saturday when he was asked via text for his opinion of the Alberta sovereignty act, which has been proposed by United Conservative Party leadership candidate Danielle Smith. Smith has said if she wins the leadership, she will bring in a bill this fall to give Alberta the power to ignore federal laws and court ru

Police in Lethbridge are looking for four men accused of assaulting a women earlier this week. The 24-year-old reported she had been assaulted while walking home from work. Police say a verbal altercation with an unknown man escalated after he walked away and returned with three others. Police say the woman was punched in the face and shot in the back with a B-B gun before the four ran away. The woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The suspects are described as being between the ages of 17 and 21.

It's deadline day to buy a ten-dollar Alberta United Conservative membership to vote for the next party leader and premier. The party will then go through the memberships to confirm information and expects to have the final tally on how many have been sold in about two weeks or so. Seven candidates are on the ballot seeking to replace Premier Jason Kenney in the party's top job. The next key date in the race is the second debate, slated for August 30th in Edmonton. Kenney announced in May he was quitting after receiving a lukewarm 51 per cent support in a party leadership review.

A gymnastics coach from southern Alberta who was charged with sexually assaulting a seven-year-old girl at his gym is facing additional charges involving three more girls. Jamie Ellacott, who is 33, was charged last month with sexual assault and sexual interference after an investigation by the Lethbridge Police Service violent crimes unit. Investigators say three other girls, who are 10, 12 and 14, were also sexually assaulted at the Lethbridge Gymnastics Academy in May 2022. Police say Ellacott has been arrested and charged with three additional counts of sexual assault and sexual interferen

The Alberta government is making the monkeypox vaccine available in more communities. Along with Edmonton and Calgary, people can also get the shot in Edson, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Red Deer and St. Paul. Health Canada says there are more than 1,000 confirmed cases in the country, mainly in Quebec and Ontario. The province says there are 19 confirmed cases in Alberta.

Calgary police say they have located part of a stolen bobsled that appeared in the 1993 movie "Cool Runnings" and returned it to its rightful owner. Police say in a social media post that the Jamaican bobsled was stolen in October 2020 from Ranchman's country bar in southeast Calgary, which has since closed. They say officers had been looking for the sled, valued at about $10,000, and finally found part of it in northeast Calgary after receiving a recent tip from the public. Police say it was returned to the owner and officers continue to look for the rest of the sled. It was a gift to the bar

A fire restriction is now in effect for a large part of southwestern Alberta as hot weather hits with no rain in the forecast. The order for the Calgary forest area issued today by Alberta Forestry suspends all fire permits, requires all outdoor fires to be put out and prohibits wood campfires on public land _ particularly the backcountry. Officials say extreme temperatures and dry conditions have persisted in the area with almost no precipitation. They say conditions in the southern part of the Calgary forest area, which runs along the eastern slopes of the Rockies but does not include the Ci

Calgary's Municipal Building reopened to the public yesterday. The move came after a break-in where several fires were set. Police say a man armed with a knife entered the building around 4 a-m last Tuesday and started lighting fires. Although the building has reopened, several service counters inside are still closed. The city is trying to assess the extent of the damage and to estimate repair costs and a timeline for completion. “The Police investigation is still active, and we will not be commenting on the individual or the investigation at this point,” said the City of Calgary.

The Alberta NDP is calling on the province's auditor general to investigate bonuses paid to the chief medical officer of health and other managers for work related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Deena Hinshaw received a record-setting bonus payment of almost 228-thousand dollars last year in addition to her regular salary of more than 591-thousand dollars. In a letter to Auditor General Doug Wylie on Monday, finance critic Shannon Phillips requested a performance audit of the bonus payment structures and processes related to the COVID-19 pandemic response. Phillips also requested a performance