Grade 12 students from Sparwood Secondary School presented capstone projects to Sparwood council Tuesday night, calling for stronger youth representation in local decision making, better support for coaches and improved access to training spaces.

Sparwood residents were invited to spend Feb. 16 outdoors at Centennial Plaza for Winterfest, with daytime games and snacks followed by a free glow skate and fireworks after dusk.

KPSquared officially opened The Nest in Crowsnest Pass on Feb. 12 with a Blackfoot blessing by Aileen Bastien of Piikani Nation. The centre offers extended hours and a booking model leaders said is designed for shift work and non-traditional schedules.

Castle Mountain Resort’s first high speed chairlift officially opened to the public this week with the Stagecoach Express launching after a Feb. 10 soft opening and a Feb. 11 ceremony. The new high speed quad adds 22 trails and opens terrain that was previously reserved for the resort’s cat skiing operation.

Crowsnest Pass council approved two land use by law amendments Feb. 10 after hearings on a Blairmore rezoning tied to a cemetery boundary and tourism accommodation plus a housing focused rezoning in East Coleman. The meeting also saw council reject a proposed change to the Chinook Intermunicipal Subdivision and Development Appeal Board panel size.

KPSquared will host a Feb. 12 grand opening for its Blairmore childcare centre. CEO Kyla Penner says extended hours, seven day operations and flexible booking are designed for shift work and rural families, with an inclusive unit to support children needing extra care.

The Ukrainian bandura is more than an instrument. For generations, travelling kobzari carried history in song. Russian imperial restrictions and Soviet repression sought to silence them. Today, the bandura’s revival has become another note in Ukraine’s resilience. 

From a cozy home in the Crowsnest Pass, Iryna reflects on Ukraine’s winter of blackouts and bitter cold as strikes hit the energy system. Through Kyiv and Odesa, she shares survival, humour and the stubborn will to keep living.

On Friday, Jan. 30, musicians and community members gathered for the opening of a special exhibit on the second floor of the Crowsnest Museum celebrating the 100 year history of the Crowsnest Community Orchestra. The evening featured selections by a five string ensemble and charcuterie provided by Country Encounters.

A longtime fundraiser is set to return to the Crowsnest Pass Public Art Gallery on Feb. 7, with organizers encouraging people to arrive early before the chili and pottery bowls run out. Curator Ryanna Kizan said the Chili Bowl Festival has run for more than 20 years, offering volunteer made chili and take-home bowls donated by the Pass Pottery Club, with proceeds supporting the gallery’s children and adult programming.

The Crowsnest Conservation Society asked Crowsnest Pass council on Jan. 27 to consider reviving a former Agricultural Services Board, exploring participation in the Waterton Biosphere region and looking at options for a new municipal park along the Crowsnest River. The group highlighted membership growth and said it brought $50,000 in grants into the community between 2021 and 2025, alongside interpretive signage, school projects and planned stream monitoring this year.

Seven year old Carter Otteson achieved what many dart players chase for years when he threw a 180 at the Bellevue Legion on Jan. 18. The score, made by hitting three triple 20s in a row, drew cheers from league members and marked a milestone for the young player, who has been throwing darts since age three.

Chad Kennedy spoke to a packed room at the Coleman Seniors Centre on Jan. 22 about living with post traumatic stress disorder and the experiences that led him to launch the Sea to Sea for PTSD campaign, sharing a deeply personal account of trauma, recovery and the ongoing need for accessible mental health supports.

The Pass Herald is set to expand its civic reporting after being approved for a reporter position through Canada’s Local Journalism Initiative, a move expected to strengthen coverage in underserved communities such as Sparwood through 2026 and 2027.

The Crowsnest Pass Taxpayers Association used a public meeting to outline Alberta municipal candidate residency rules and a court application challenging whether Colleen MacDonald met the six consecutive months requirement before nomination. Association president Carmen Roman said the presentation was educational, while MacDonald said the matter is before the Court of King’s Bench and no decision has been rendered.

The Southwest Alberta Skateboard Society says a $475,000 provincial CFEP large grant notified on Jan. 9, 2026 has pushed the Flummerfelt Park skatepark project to its fundraising target, with construction now projected to begin around July 2026 and run 13 to 16 weeks.

A long vacant commercial building near one of Blairmore’s primary entrances has been redeveloped into four two bedroom ground level rental apartments and a new Paws Claws Hooves pet food store, with Greenmore Corporation saying the suites will be ready for lease starting Feb. 1, 2026.

Grant Hunter became Alberta’s Minister of Environment and Protected Areas on January 2, 2026 after Rebecca Schulz resigned from cabinet, a change that arrives as coal related and watershed protection issues on the Eastern Slopes continue drawing intense public attention across the Highway 3 corridor.  

The Community Foundation of Lethbridge and Southwestern Alberta opened its spring grant intake Monday with $520,000 available across its Community Priorities and Henry S. Varley Fund and Rural Life Fund, with applications due by 4:00 p.m. on March 16, 2026.

In the final editorial of 2025, the Pass Herald looked back on years of weekly storytelling, local business support, and the Shop Local momentum that helped make 2025 one of its strongest advertising years in a long time. The column also highlighted a major step ahead: a Documenters program launching in 2026, developed with Mount Royal University to strengthen transparency and expand coverage of public meetings.