News

What makes a runner?

I used to think people who ran marathons were a few beers short of a six-pack. Seriously, who would run 42 km on purpose? That’s the equivalent of running to Sylvan Lake and back. And that’s just on race day.

Marathoners pound the pavement for hours at a time, day after day, before they even approach the start line. It’s a certain kind of madness that I never quite understood. READ

Escapee to serve time in maximum security prison

A federal prison inmate serving a life sentence for murder received a five-year prison sentence after pleading guilty on Friday to assaulting a corrections officer and stealing the van she was driving. READ

City to keep using Avitrol for pigeon control

The City of Red Deer will continue to use a pesticide to stop pigeons from roosting at a downtown municipal building, despite widespread claims it’s inhumane and affects other bird species. READ

Risk from wildfires outstripping ability to respond: Slave Lake report

EDMONTON — A report into last spring’s Slave Lake disaster says Alberta’s forest fires danger has grown to the point where it’s beginning to outstrip the province’s ability to respond to it. READ

Fleig testifies he heard shots, denies pulling the trigger

A Red Deer drug dealer accused of ordering the gangland-style execution of a man outside an Inglewood house three years ago said he was close enough to hear the shots but had nothing to do with the crime. READ

Ex-judge to hear G20 report police misconduct charges

TORONTO — A retired judge will hear misconduct charges levelled against dozens of Toronto police officers arising out of the tumultuous G20 summit two years ago, Chief Bill Blair announced Friday. READ

Quebec student bill ‘worst law’ since War Measures Act: law professor

MONTREAL — There were warnings Friday from Quebec’s legal community that the government’s strict legislation aimed at ending the student crisis has gone too far. READ

Federal election result overturned in Toronto riding due to clerical irregularities

TORONTO — Enough suspect votes were cast due to clerical errors to warrant overturning last year’s federal election result in a Toronto riding, an Ontario judge said in an unprecedented ruling Friday. READ

Former Red Deer man charged in 1998 sex assault

Police have charged a transient former Red Deer resident with sex assault 14 years after an 18-year-old local woman was violently assaulted near the 67th Street cemetery. READ

Li granted brief escorted trips from mental hospital

WINNIPEG — A man who beheaded and cannibalized a fellow passenger on a Greyhound bus in Manitoba has won his bid to leave the grounds of the mental hospital where he is being kept. READ

Bill brings heavy fines, protest rules to control students

QUEBEC — Emergency legislation aimed at stamping out a turbulent student crisis in Quebec contains provisions for heavy fines for students and their federations. READ

Fleig's rights violated, statement to police inadmissible: judge

A conspiracy to commit murder charge was dropped on Thursday against a Red Deer man accused of a gangland-style murder three years ago. READ

‘Anti-flocking agent’ used to control pigeons has controversial past

A controversial pesticide that has been banned through much of Europe and in New York City is being used to keep pigeons away from Red Deer’s downtown bus terminal. READ

Red Deer police find stash of date rape drug

A Red Deer man was charged after police discovered a quantity of the date rape drug during a search warrant on a house in Oriole Park on Wednesday. READ

Historic mural aims to bring heritage of community to life

A new historic mural capturing the images of days gone by was recently erected on the north side of the City of Red Deer water treatment plant building. READ

City RCMP holding town hall meeting today

Red Deer city RCMP will hold its biannual Town Hall meeting and barbecue today. READ

Cellphone captures footage of sex assault of sleeping woman

Cellphone surveillance proved to be the undoing of a man who was taking advantage of his roommate while she slept. READ

Sylvan Lake approves construction of Memorial Trail

Construction on Memorial Trail will begin as soon as the provincial government ponies up the promised $4.5 million for the job. READ

Fire bans aim to stamp out human-caused blazes

The May long weekend is often defined by the smoky smell of a campfire. But some backcountry campers may have to forgo that pleasure this weekend as a fire ban for all forested areas across Alberta has been issued, including parts of Mountain View and Ponoka counties. READ