Professional Bull Riders is back in Grande Prairie for the fifth time in the organization’s history.

From September 27th to the 28th, the largest bull-riding league in the world will take over Bonnetts Energy Centre for the PBR Peace Country Invitational.

The event is timely as it is positioned in the final weeks of the 2024 regular season when riders will be competing for crucial points as the race for the 2024 PBR Canadian Championships, and its $100,000 bonus intensifies. Officials suggest that as of September 16th, Canada’s top 15 are only separated by less than 700 points.

Last season’s Cup Series event in Grande Prairie saw PBR Peace Country Invitational golden boy Dakota Buttar going three for three, winning the invitational and vaulting him to the number one position in the country. His win came at a painful price however, as the young rider sustained a broken collarbone during his victory, putting him out of contention for the final month of the regular season, and ultimately slipping to the number three spot.

Now, Buttar sits at number seven in Canada. Despite his placement, Buttar still has the chance to make history during this year’s event. Should he win this season’s title, the cowboy would become the first back-to-back Canadian champ in history.

The City and County of Grande Prairie, along with the MD of Greenview have announced a new initiative to showcase investment opportunities in Northwest Alberta.

The initiative- “Invest NW Alberta,” will operate under the belief that major investments in one municipality can have positive effects across the other two. Officials call the project a joint marketing and promotional effort that will pool resources and share costs for promotions such as advertising, events, and trade shows.

Grande Prairie Mayor Jackie Clayton suggests that activities like trade shows become more impactful when they are completed collaboratively.

“Together with the County of Grande Prairie and the MD of Greenview, we are proud to showcase an area rich in resources, where people can live, work, and play,” she says.

According to project leaders, Alberta’s Northwest is rich with natural resources and thriving communities, so the region offers “immense” potential for businesses and investors alike.

Officials maintain that the initiative will provide direct support to investors to ensure they are taken care of so they can make investment decisions confidently. Additionally, the process has been streamlined for potential investors through a single point of contact in an effort to create a more accessible and attractive decision-making process.

Interested entities can visit the Invest NW Alberta website for more information about opportunities in the Peace Region.

The City of Grande Prairie continued its efforts to implement its attraction and retention strategy over the weekend with a Physician’s Appreciation Barbecue.

According to the city, the evening was “filled with meaningful conversations” between healthcare professionals, in a communal setting. The city says events like the barbecue play a critical role in the attraction and retention strategy as they allow city officials to engage directly with the folks who live and practice in Grande Prairie.

During the barbecue, members of the city council introduced the city’s newest doctors to Grande Prairie’s amenities, recreation opportunities, and more.

The Attraction and Retention strategy was approved in city hall in the summer and comes down to three key areas- information, incentive, and infrastructure that aim to support incentives in hopes of attracting new healthcare workers such as physicians and specialists to the Peace Country.

The city says now is a “crucial” time to move forward with the strategy as Grande Prairie is expected to grow faster than the provincial average of 1.5 per cent as the city’s median age is 34 and a higher number of residents are under 10 than over 60.

The Grande Prairie RCMP is seeking help from the public in identifying a suspect involved in an alleged assault with a weapon that occurred in the early hours of September 13th.

According to police, members of the Grande Prairie RCMP responded to a report of an attempted theft and potential stabbing early Friday morning.

Upon arrival, police found a 46-year-old male victim, suffering from a wound to his arm. As a result, officers employed life-saving measures on the scene and an investigation was launched into what happened.

The victim describes interrupting a suspect who was allegedly rifling through his vehicle before a struggle began. Police suggest the victim attempted to detain the suspect, and was struck with an unknown, edged weapon before the suspect fled the scene on a bicycle.

The suspect is described as a male wearing dark-coloured pants, a black hooded sweatshirt, wearing a large backpack.

Any eyewitnesses or those with security or dash cam footage recorded on September 13th between the hours of 4:50 a.m. and 5:10 a.m. in the area of 107th Avenue between 100th and 99th Street are asked to contact the Grande Prairie RCMP at (780)-830-5701.

Free PD day skates are back at the Dave Barr Community Centre for the third year throughout the fall and into next spring.

According to the City, the ARC Resources free PD day skates are scheduled for one day a month for the next eight months starting on September 20th.

Grande Prairie Mayor Jackie Clayton says the free skates are a significant driver for quality of life in the city, and adds that the days are particularly special for youth to engage in an active lifestyle.

“We’re excited for another year of partnership with ARC Resources to provide more opportunities for recreation in our young community,” she says.

Participants are reminded to bring their own equipment including skates and helmets. Interested residents can pre-register for free skates on the city’s website, and visitors of all ages are encouraged to come out and enjoy free skating in their own backyard.

The Grande Prairie Pirates Men’s Softball Team took home bronze during the 2024 Canadian Championships in Saskatoon, marking the first time an Alberta team has placed in the event since 1999.

Pirates team member Shayne Milligan says the win “feels really good” after getting so close to a medal year after year.

“It feels really good, we’ve been working towards it for many years and we’ve always been very close, but this year we were able to go on a bit of a run and we played very well,” he says. “We had some really good games [and] we actually almost made it to the final.”

Milligan describes his team maintaining a healthy lead late in the game before letting up a few runs and ultimately, losing their chance to compete for the gold. Still, Milligan says the bronze medal was only possible due to his team’s cohesion as players and friends.

“I think the biggest thing that brought us over the edge this year was the fact that this core group has been playing together for many years, and we were out there playing for each other, and it’s a great team dynamic,” he says.

When it comes to the future of the team, Milligan says the guys are mostly focused on just enjoying the win, but eyes are on the prize to medal again next year.

“We’re, we’re soaking it in right now, we haven’t really gone to the table yet to plan for next year, but I assume that we will be taking another run at it next year,” he says.

The Master Men’s team representing Alberta as a whole also brought home a bronze medal during the tournament.

The Grande Prairie RCMP is once again reaching out to the public for help in finding a missing 45-year-old man.

According to police, Justin Radcliffe was last seen on August 27th in the Grande Prairie area. He is believed to be travelling on foot and could be attempting to make his way to British Columbia.

Radcliffe is described as a five-foot-five male weighing approximately 170 pounds, with brown hair, and a tattoo on the left side of his neck.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Radcliffe is asked to contact the Grande Prairie RCMP at (780)-831-5700 or anonymously through Crime Stoppers.

The ongoing road rehabilitation project on 84th Avenue and 116th Street in Grande Prairie is experiencing some delays due to equipment availability.

As a result, the city says full-depth reclamation work scheduled to begin on August 21st is expected to begin on September 14th.

For truck drivers, over-height and heavy loads will be accommodated along 116th Street; however, all other truck traffic will use the 100th Avenue detour. The city maintains that local traffic and pedestrian access remains a priority throughout the project.

The work is now expected to be completed by the end of October, depending on the weather.

The city is reminding residents to allow for extra travel time, follow detours, and respect workers during the project’s duration.

The Beaverlodge Municipal Hospital Emergency Department will be without an onsite physician until 7:00 p.m. this evening.

AHS says nursing staff will remain on-site to provide triage, assessments, and referrals for patients to alternate emergency departments in surrounding communities.

In case of emergency, residents are asked to call 9-1-1 as EMS remains available, and will be re-routed to the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital. For non-emergencies residents are asked to call Health Link at 8-1-1, for 24/7 inquiries.

Additionally, patients seeking care at the ED are asked to remain aware that services could be available at local pharmacies depending on their needs.

The Grande Prairie Cricket Association’s longtime wish just came true during City Council’s Committee of the Whole meeting on September 11th.

Currently, the pitch is located in the Royal Oaks neighbourhood, but during their meeting, council approved the concept of an updated location in the Signature Falls area for the cricket pitch moving ahead to 2025 budget discussions in November.

Cricket has been a hot topic in council chambers for some time, with numerous presentations both for and against expanding the sport in the city.

GPCA Vice President Wagar Khan spoke on the matter during a council meeting back in June, saying cricket is one of the fastest-growing sports in Grande Prairie and serves as a significant driver for diversity, therefore, support from the city is needed for the GPCA to continue expanding its league and programs.

“Year over year we are growing and part of the reason is that there’s a lot of South Asian people and people from all around the world are moving, and they like cricket, they like to play cricket,” he says.

As a result, council also considered supporting the Cricket Association financially, and will now look at buying equipment and tools to better serve the cricket community in Grande Prairie.

Grande Prairie City Council has approved a public consultation project regarding the future of the Bear Creek dam.

According to Mayor Jackie Clayton, the consultation will be conducted in a two-phased approach with the hope that the information gathered will assist the 2026 council with the ultimate decision on handling the dam question.

Clayton says the first phase is all about informing the public about what must happen right away and what can wait, such as a plan to begin armouring the dam, which a study revealed must be done as soon as possible. The first phase also includes a feasibility study which is scheduled for sometime this Fall.

The Mayor adds that the dam requiring major rejuvenation in the next 30 years opens up the question of when to act, as other major projects will require council’s attention within that timeframe.

“30 years, there are other projects, there are a lot of significant pieces of work that will need to be done,” she says.

Additionally, the study carries a $200,000 price tag, which led to some council members voicing their concerns regarding whether a survey that could be irrelevant by the time the project is considered would be worth it.

Still, Clayton maintains that exploring the opportunities and possibilities of the dam is considered a “priority” by her council, and several options, such as removing the dam entirely will be considered in the survey.

“There is everything as an option, from dredging, to removing the dam, [but] those aren’t pieces of work that will get done right away,” she says. “This consultation will come back with information, pricing, et cetera, and from there, administration will go out and engage with the community.”

During their meeting, Councillor Chris Thiessen brought up the idea of “thinking beyond” the current council’s term when it comes to significant projects like the dam, and Mayor Clayton says passing the survey’s findings along to the next council will assist them in making the ultimate decision.

“In order for the next council to make decisions and the council after that, there needs to be some work identified,” she says. “Right now, we’ll wait to see what that report comes back.”

During the consultation portion of the project, council will be looking to members of the public to provide their input on what they would like to see with the dam, before passing that information off to the next council for their consideration in the spring of 2026.

Ticket sales are on now for the 25th Annual Cars For Christmas Mega Lottery and raffle officials are saying they plan on marking the anniversary in a big way.

Raffle Manager Melissa Coulombe says players are in for some unique prizes this time around with the grand prize package valued at more than $215K.

“Like the all-electric GMC Hummer EV 2X Supertruck that is part of the first-place prize,” she says. “Representing five tons of super truck fun, the Hummer EV Pickup is a massive, 1000-horsepower beast unlike anything else on the market.”

More than $473,000 worth of prizes are up for grabs this year, including several early bird prizes.

Funds raised during the lottery directly support community projects which Lottery Chair Sean Gray says makes a positive difference in Grande Prairie and the surrounding area. He says supporters of the event are key in allowing the lottery to return every year.

“This year marks a special milestone, highlighting the vital role of community support in our efforts,” he says. “Each ticket purchased can help us make a real difference in people’s lives.”

The full lineup of vehicle prizes will be on display starting on September 18th, and officials say they are “thrilled” to showcase this year’s prizes while celebrating the event’s 25th anniversary.

Grande Prairie Enforcement Services is continuing its efforts to reduce noise nuisance of noise throughout the city by reminding truck drivers to avoid using retarder brakes within city limits.

The use of engine retarder brakes is prohibited within the City of Grande Prairie under the Noise, Nuisance, and Disturbances Bylaw and carries a $250 fine for violations.

Peace Officer Sergeant Ryan Hoffman says he and his team are stepping up enforcement on noise-related violations this year to improve the quality of life for residents by identifying truck drivers using engine brakes.

“Noise can travel far, especially at night,” he says. “We are urging truck drivers to refrain from using their Jake Brakes within the city as it does affect the enjoyment of residents living in areas near some of the major truck routes around our municipality.”

This announcement comes three months after GPES’ announcement in June, encouraging all drivers to watch out for excessive noise from their vehicles, and saying noise complaints have risen every spring in recent years.

Aquatera customers in Grande Prairie could see an up to 30 per cent reduction in their recycling fees sooner than later.

During their most recent Monday night meeting, Grande Prairie City Council chose to opt-in to the provincial Extended Producer Responsibility recycling program.

Grande Prairie Mayor Jackie Clayton explains that right now, customers in the city have their waste and recycling picked up by a contractor through Aquatera. The change, however, will place the responsibility for collecting waste and recycling onto producers rather than municipalities.

“This will start relatively quickly,” she says. “Other provinces across the country already have this in place.”

Despite the change, Mayor Clayton maintains that services will remain largely the same for residents, but under the new model, glass recycling could be expected depending on the arrangement between the province and the facilitator.

“Really what this will mean is status quo service, potentially with a cost reduction on your bill, potentially about 30 percent but there will be a cost reduction on your recycling portion, [and] glass may be accepted,” she says.

As a result of the change, city administration has been tasked with negotiating a new contract with Aquatera to continue service in the city.

Eastlink Centre will play host to the National Safe Swimming Recovery Program in October.

According to the city, the program aims to address the national lifeguard shortage by covering the cost of lifeguard certifications and providing employment opportunities for young people in the aquatics field.

The program is open to residents of the Grande Prairie region between the ages of 15 and 30, who are Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or protected under the Refugee Act.

The NSSRP also has travel funds available for those who might have difficulty attending certification courses due to commuting costs including bus passes or mileage compensation.

Training begins on October 7th and includes a month-long certification program. The course features education in intermediate first aid, stroke improvement, Bronze Medallion and Bronze Cross certification, and National Lifeguard certification.

Course entry is selective and only ten spots are available. Details on fitness requirements, employment opportunities after certification, and more are available on the city’s website.

The Fairview Health Complex ED will be temporarily without onsite physician coverage for 48 hours this week.

From 7:00 a.m. on September 12th to 7:00 a.m. September 14th, the Fairview ED will be without an in-person doctor due to the inability to secure coverage.

HS says nursing staff will remain on-site to provide triage, assessments, and referrals for patients to alternate emergency departments in surrounding communities.

Residents are asked to call 9-1-1 in case of emergency and EMS will remain available to the community with re-routing to surrounding healthcare centers. For non-emergencies residents are asked to call Health Link at 8-1-1, for 24/7 inquiries.

The clay pigeons didn’t have a chance at the 2024 Greenview Charity Clay Shoot earlier this month as shooters from the corporate, government, and non-profit sectors flocked to Valleyview’s Shot Shell Sporting Clay Range to participate.

The event is an annual affair organized by the MD’s local government to directly support the five food banks operating in Greenview’s communities.

This year saw 126 participants representing a variety of entities who managed to raise nearly $53,000. Reeve of the MD of Greenview Tyler Olsen says the number reflects the continued support of his council and local sponsors and says he is excited to continue growing the event in the future.

“The increase in attendance at our seventh annual Clay Shoot underscores the unwavering support of our local businesses and sponsors,” he says. “We are thrilled to see this event continue to grow and are very pleased with this year’s achievements.”

The next Clay Shoot has yet to be officially scheduled; however, the MD says they look forward to hosting the event “for years to come.”

The City of Grande Prairie has released several progress updates on the ongoing construction on 116th Avenue and 102nd Street.

According to the city, “significant progress” has been made between 102nd Street and 100th Street, and some previously closed roads have opened up for traffic as a result.

The full-depth reclamation work will continue on 116th Avenue in the coming days; however, 102nd Street south of 116th Avenue has opened up for traffic. Despite the reopening, 102nd Street north of 116th Avenue will close on September 11th to allow for continued FDR operations and is likely to remain closed until the 16th.

Additionally, traffic will switch to the eastbound lanes on 116th Avenue to accommodate the next stage of work. Paving operations will follow.

On the transit side, bus stop 820 will remain closed for the duration of the construction project, and riders will continue being redirected to stop 426.

The city maintains that the project remains on track to be completed by the end of September.

The County of Grande Prairie has shared that a local Peace Officer conducted a traffic stop for a driver going more than two-and-a-half times the posted speed limit.

According to the county, a driver was stopped by a Peace Officer on September 7th for allegedly driving 211 kilometres per hour in an 80 kilometre per hour zone, which led to a mandatory court appearance for the driver.

RCMP Media Relations Officer Lou Leroux says driving the posted speed limit is critical in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of not only yourself but others on the road.

“Speed limits are posted based on known and researched road conditions and it’s been proven time and time again that statistically speaking, speed has related to some very serious crashes which sometimes involve deadly injuries,” he says.

When it comes to the incident that occurred in the county, Leroux shares that the driver could be subject to penalties such as license suspension, hefty fines, and even jail time.

“When someone’s so grossly over the posted speed limit, that could involve anything from an arrest for dangerous driving that certainly would make it go up to almost even a criminal code matter,” he says.

Following the incident, Regional Enforcement Services shared that they have observed a “troubling rise” in high-speed violations this year. Leroux says taking care to drive the limit is essential, especially in remote areas like the County of Grande Prairie, as outside influences such as animals on the road can be just as dangerous as other drivers.

“Not to mention when you live sort of in remote or rural areas, despite the fact that it may seem like there’s not many other vehicles on the road, there’s always the danger of having animals crossing,” he says.

Still, Leroux maintains an understanding for folks who might be running late to appointments or engagements; however, he says simple steps like allowing for extra time before leaving the house are important in maintaining safe roads for all who use them.

“Sometimes there’s those days where, you know, you just need to get to where you need to get to and you haven’t provided enough time and I think that’s something that we just like to remind everybody again that you really have to take a step back and make sure you do plan ahead if you need to go somewhere,” he says.

As a result, the County of Grande Prairie is reminding everyone to drive responsibly and obey all posted signs and speed limits.

The City of Grande Prairie is continuing its 2024 Storm Drainage Rehabilitation Program to enhance stormwater infrastructure and public trails in Muskoseepi Park.

This stage of the program, starting on September 11th, includes significant upgrades in three primary areas identified by officials as a top priority.

Work on the outfall and Muskoseepi Trail between 99th and 96th Avenue will see the removal of the existing storm outfall, storm manhole, and a portion of the storm sewer. New installations will include a new outfall, manhole, storm line, a new inlet, landscaping, and repairs. The city says temporary trail closures should be expected as a result.

The trail structure between 89th and 87th Avenue is set to be removed and a new trail further from the creek bank will take its place in an effort to enhance long-term sustainability. Short-duration closures are expected.

The storm outfall near the Heritage Museum will be removed during the project’s duration, and a damaged storm line beneath the structure will be abandoned, triggering the installation of new storm lines from the end of 102nd Avenue and near the museum to a new outfall.

Residents with questions regarding any of the portions of this phase of the project are asked to contact AccessGP by phone at 3-1-1.