A regional economic development group is looking well beyond traditional promotion as it explores new opportunities that could shape the future of Crowsnest Pass and the wider southwest Alberta region.

Crowsnest Pass council approved support for Lemonade Day and appointed Mayor Pat Rypien to the ARCH committee Tuesday night, but turned down a separate grant request for a sensory barefoot path after debate over whether it fit the municipality’s funding rules.

Crowsnest Pass council put off a final decision on the municipality’s 2026 property tax rate bylaw Tuesday, April 14, choosing instead to hold a special meeting set the following week after a lengthy discussion about what residents will see on their tax bills.

A land use bylaw amendment aimed at creating a new accommodation category for historic buildings moved ahead Tuesday night, giving a boost to a proposal tied to the former Coleman school.

Crowsnest Pass residents could face planned power shutoffs in extreme wildfire conditions under a growing safety strategy outlined to council Tuesday night by AltaLink and FortisAlberta.

Sparwood council has formally adopted two amendment bylaws tied to the community’s new curbside recycling program and upcoming food waste diversion pilot.

Sparwood council approved funding support for a new arts and culture event, renewed key municipal service contracts and signalled support for discounted recreation fitness classes during its April 7 meeting.

Sparwood Mayor David Wilks announced during the April 7 regular council meeting that he will resign effective May 1 as he and his wife prepare to move to Lethbridge, Alberta.

Sparwood council accepted the district’s 2025 draft financial statements on April 7 after hearing the municipality received a clean audit opinion and ended the year with an accumulated surplus of $118.5 million.

The Crowsnest Pass Repair Cafe is set to return on Saturday, April 11, with organizers hoping a longer day and growing public awareness will bring more people through the doors.

District of Sparwood council scheduled a special meeting for Tuesday, March 31 at 6 p.m. in council chambers at the municipal office on Spruce Avenue, with the published agenda showing little public business before a planned closed session.

Elk Valley Resources says a new socioeconomic analysis shows its operations remain a major driver of employment, wages and tax revenue across southeastern British Columbia and beyond, including in nearby Crowsnest Pass. The report, released April 1, was commissioned by EVR and prepared by KPMG using 2024 data.

A regional wildfire preparedness event returning to Jaffray on May 1 is being positioned as more than a family friendly spring outing. For residents across the Elk Valley and South Country, organizers say the third annual Ember Stomp is meant to provide practical, local information that could make a real difference when wildfire risk rises.

Crowsnest Pass council’s March 24 public input period brought a wide range of con-cerns to the table, from healthcare recruitment efforts to criticism over council conduct and an explanation from a landowner involved in logging near a local heron rookery.

The Oldman Watershed Council told Crowsnest Pass council on March 24 that water quality in the mountain headwaters remains strong, but drought on the land could still become a major concern in 2026.

Ever since I was a youngster I have had a fascination with caves. It has never left me and I find myself inevitably drawn to any dark shadow or interesting feature of any depth in a rock face. I guess that is why I didn’t “bat” an eye when I went to work 2 1/2  miles underground  in the Vicary Mine while in college. Spelunking is probably a in-bred after effect of my coal mining family history.

There is a map on the table in Edmonton that could soon change the political shape of southern Alberta.

If adopted, the Electoral Boundaries Commission’s final report will not eliminate Livingstone Macleod, but it will significantly redraw it. And this is not a minor adjustment. It is a real shift in which communities belong together and how this region is represented moving forward. 

Crowsnest Pass council, in a tie vote, defeated a motion that would have allowed administration to use up to $100,000 from the mill rate stabilization reserve to support hiring a municipal recruitment firm as the municipality continues efforts to fill two senior vacancies that have remained open, one for four months and one for up to six months.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada returned to Crowsnest Pass council on March 24 with an update on its local work, ranging from invasive species control to fire mitigation and wildlife connectivity monitoring along Highway 3.

Recently I posted an image on social media from a marvelous history book entitled “Michel Memories” that resonated really well within facebook land. That is to say; it drew out memories which people readily shared. I have discovered that this is a wonderful way to connect us all , on just about any subject.  A facebook post done on the old Crowsnest Lake dance hall (now gone) some time back drew almost a hundred responses and some lovely personal memories that I got to share in a column.