A wind warning was issued for parts of southern Saskatchewan, with gusts of up to 100 kilometres per hour (km/h) possible in some areas on Saturday.

The initial warning included Regina and Moose Jaw, as well as the RMs of Hillsborough, Baildon, Abernethy, Antler, Mount Pleasant and Argyle, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) said on Friday afternoon. 

According to ECCC, an Alberta clipper system was the cause of the strong winds.

Sustained winds of 60 km/hr to 70 km/hr and gusts of 90 km/hr to 100 km/hr gusts were expected for the afternoon, but will ease later on Saturday night, the weather agency said.

Around noon on Saturday ECCC said gusts in Regina were 95 km/h and 81 km/h in Moose Jaw. 

Wind warnings are only issued when there is a significant risk of damage. 

In Regina Saturday morning large trees could be seen knocked down in yards along Dewdney Avenue near Brown Street as well as on Queen Street and downtown. 

Several unplanned power outages have also been reported by SaskPower, including one east of Regina affecting White City, Emerald Park, Balgonie and Pilot Butte.   

Reports of a semi overturned north of the city along the bypass were also being reported on the Highway Hotline Saturday morning.

According to Regina Fire, the semi rolled one mile north of Dewdney Avenue along the bypass. A minor diesel leak was contained by crews on scene and the driver was not hurt. 

There were also reports of another semi rollover along the Highway 10 overpass at Balgonie. RCMP said the overpass was closed on Saturday afternoon. 

At 4 p.m. Saturday RCMP said another overturned semi was also causing delays on the Highway 1 overpass at Highway 33. 

Regina police are investigating after guns were fired at two homes last week, with one home being shot at on multiple occasions.

Officers were first called to a home on Bard Crescent on Sept. 28 for a report that shots were fired at the home during the overnight hours.

According to a Regina police news release, bullet holes were seen in the front window of the home.

Police said a second call came from the same house the following morning on Sept. 29 when a person said once again shots had been fired at the home.

Officers found multiple new bullet holes at the front of the house, the release said.

Later in the morning on Sept. 29 police received a call that a home on the 300 block of Halifax Street had been shot at. Once again the caller believed it had happened during the overnight hours.

Regina police are asking anyone with information that may assist their investigation to call them or Crime Stoppers.

Police did not say if anyone was injured in the incidents or not

A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to further regulate fluoride in drinking water because high levels could pose a risk to the intellectual development of children.

U.S. District Judge Edward Chen cautioned that its not certain that the amount of fluoride typically added to water is causing lower IQ in kids, but he concluded that mounting research points to an unreasonable risk that it could be. He ordered the EPA to take steps to lower that risk, but didn’t say what those measures should be.

Its the first time a federal judge has made a determination about the neurodevelopmental risks to children of the recommended U.S. water fluoride level, said Ashley Malin, a University of Florida researcher who has studied the effect of higher fluoride levels in pregnant women.

She called it “the most historic ruling in the U.S. fluoridation debate that we’ve ever seen.”

The judges ruling is another striking dissent to a practice that has been hailed as one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century. Fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Last month, a federal agency determined “with moderate confidence” that there is a link between higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ in kids. The National Toxicology Program based its conclusion on studies involving fluoride levels at about twice the recommended limit for drinking water.

The EPA — a defendant in the lawsuit — argued that it wasnt clear what impact fluoride exposure might have at lower levels. But the agency is required to make sure there is a margin between the hazard level and exposure level. And “if there is an insufficient margin, then the chemical poses a risk,” Chen wrote in his 80-page ruling Tuesday.

“Simply put, the risk to health at exposure levels in United States drinking water is sufficiently high to trigger regulatory response by the EPA” under federal law, he wrote.

An EPA spokesperson, Jeff Landis, said the agency was reviewing the decision but offered no further comment.

In 1950, federal officials endorsed water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay, and they continued to promote it even after fluoride toothpaste brands hit the market several years later.

Fluoride can come from a number of sources, but drinking water is the main source for Americans, researchers say. Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population currently gets fluoridated drinking water, according to CDC data.

Since 2015, federal health officials have recommended a fluoridation level of 0.7 milligrams per litre of water. For five decades before that, the recommended upper range was 1.2. The World Health Organization has set a safe limit for fluoride in drinking water of 1.5.

Separately, the EPA has a longstanding requirement that water systems cannot have more than four milligrams of fluoride per liter of water. That standard is designed to prevent skeletal fluorosis, a potentially crippling disorder which causes weaker bones, stiffness and pain.

But in the last two decades, studies have suggested a different problem: a link between fluoride and brain development. Researchers wondered about the impact on developing fetuses and very young children who might ingest water with baby formula. Studies in animals showed fluoride could impact neurochemistry cell function in brain regions responsible for learning, memory, executive function and behavior.

The court case, argued in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, started in 2017. The lead plaintiff was Food & Water Watch, a not-for-profit environmental advocacy organization. Chen paused the proceedings in 2020 to await the results of the National Toxicology Program report, but he heard lawyers arguments about the case earlier this year.

“In our view, the only effective way to eliminate the risk from adding fluoride chemicals to water is to stop adding them,” said Michael Connett, the plaintiffs lead attorney, in an email Wednesday.

WARNING: The following story contains details that readers may find disturbing.

A 32-year-old Saskatchewan man living in the United States has pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography after the U.S Department of Justice says he unknowingly provided videos of toddlers and prepubescent boys being raped by adult men to an FBI agent he thought was a pedophile.

According to the U.S Department of Justice and the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, 32-year-old Matthew Norman Ballek from Saskatchewan contacted an undercover agent thinking he was communicating with a pedophile and expressed an interest in child pornography in January 2024.

Ballek then sent an FBI agent three video files that depicted adult men raping toddler and prepubescent boys before he was arrested in the District of Columbia on Feb. 7, 2024, a news release said. 

The agent was said to be monitoring an online dating app that law enforcement said it learned was sometimes used by people who have a sexual interest in children.

According to the release, the FBI also seized Ballek’s phone which it said contained 10 videos and at least 21 pictures of child pornography.

The release says Ballek has remained in custody in the U.S. since his arrest.

He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, the release said.

“In addition, Ballek must pay mandatory restitution of at least $3,000 to any identified victim. The statutory sentences for federal offenses are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only. Any sentence will be determined by the Court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors,” the release said.

Ballek will also be required to register as a sex offender and be subject to possible deportation from the United States, the release said.

The U.S. Department of Justice did not say where in Saskatchewan Ballek was originally from, but reports say he has ties to Outlook. 

A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for March 21, 2025.

Two-year-old Wells was born with a genetic condition, a condition that affects his mobility.

This impacts his ability to move, walk, crawl. He is unable to do those things,” said Chaydin Hodnefield, Wells’ mom.

On Friday, Wells was gifted a new toy car, something that will give him a little bit of independence.

We go for walks all the time by our house and his best friends are his two puppies, so now we can go rip around with his puppies. Itll be awesome,” said Lane Hodnefield, Wells’ dad.

It was all made possible by Variety - The Children’s Charity of Alberta’s Go Baby Go program.

Go Baby Go program is a toddler mobility program for kids that have limited mobility to give them a way to interact with the peers around them, as well as have the option of having a vehicle, a little bit of independence and a lot of fun,” said Kari Richardson, the Director of Partnerships for Variety.

The program began in 2019, and more than 300 toy cars have been gifted to date. Each car has been customized for each child and their needs.

Weve built 3D head pieces. We move up the gas pedal technology, we move it up to more of a hand technology, so weve got buttons and switches that weve adapted,” Richardson explained.

Theres a lot of toys out there, but theres not many that are specific to him and its nice to see him have something that he can use and thats for him,” said Wells’ dad. 

A man has died in hospital from injuries sustained after being struck by a vehicle on Monday.

Around 1 p.m., officers were called to the intersection  of Albert Street and 1st Avenue North for the report of a motor vehicle collision, according to a news release from the Regina Police Service (RPS).

When police arrived, they found a seriously injured man who was soon taken to hospital for treatment. He died in hospital on Wednesday, according to police.

The driver of the vehicle remained on scene.

No charges have been laid at this time, but police said the investigation continues.

Hundreds of Saskatchewan nurses and their supporters rallied outside the legislative building on Thursday calling for action to ongoing staffing shortages and hospital overcrowding around the province.

According to a September survey referenced by the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN), 86 per cent of registered nurses are reporting patient risk due to staff shortages. The survey also found that 60 per cent of registered nurses have considered leaving the profession in the last 12 months.

“It’s a perfect storm for a catastrophe in the making,” SUN president Tracy Zambory said in a news release. “I hear from SUN members lamenting their career choice almost daily, describing their severe moral distress from being unable to provide the safe care patients need or saying they’ve never wanted to leave the profession more.”

According to Zambory, Saskatchewan is short about 700 full-time registered nurses. 

The union has called for greater frontline engagement aimed at nurse retention and recruitment for the past two years.

Zambory said it’s not uncommon to see beds lining hospital hallways and critical care happening in waiting room chairs due to ongoing overcapacity issues.

According to Zambory, emergency rooms are routinely 200 per cent over capacity. SUN data also indicated that the emergency room at Saskatoons Royal University Hospital reached 350 per cent capacity on Tuesday night. 

“It’s not only big city emergencies; patients are suffering everywhere – postponed surgeries, excessive and stressful waits for lifesaving diagnostics and treatments, and widespread rural service disruptions,” she said in the release.

SUN represents 11,000 Registered Nurses, Registered Psychiatric Nurses, and Nurse Practitioners in the province.

Speaking at a campaign announcement in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Party leader Scott Moe said hospital overcrowding is a challenge, and he is committed to working with healthcare professionals to improve the system, if re-elected.

We will commit to ensuring that happens into the future, Moe said. And we are starting to have results, but theres more work to do.

NDP candidate Vicki Mowat says Moe cant be trusted to fix the health care system and promised that an NDP government would open the Saskatoon hospital 24 hours a day and hire more workers. 

Moe says more staff are being hired thanks to a program the Sask. Party launched in 2022 . 

Saskatchewan is expecting its first widespread frost of the season Thursday night and Friday morning, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).

Many parts of central and southeast Saskatchewan will see temperatures fall below the freezing mark, ECCC says.

Reginas expected overnight low Thursday night is -3 C, Saskatoons is -4 C, according to ECCC.  

“Finally seeing our first widespread frost in Saskatchewan after a mild start to fall,” ECCC said on X on Thursday.

According to ECCC, the average first frost for Regina is Sept. 14. Saskatoon’s is Sept. 15.

Other average first frost dates, according to ECCC:

•  Kindersley – Sept. 20
•  Estevan – Sept. 17
•  Prince Albert – Sept. 15
•  Swift Current – Sept. 19

Milder temperatures are expected to return next week. Daytime highs in Regina could hit 25 C Tuesday and Wednesday, while Saskatoon could also see highs in the low 20s early next week, according to ECCC’s Thursday afternoon forecast.

Notice of Broadcast Disruption – July 3, 2024

On July 3, 2024, at 10:49 PM, Broadcast Center 01 experienced a power outage due to a passing thunderstorm. To safeguard our equipment from potential power surges, we decided to temporarily suspend our broadcasts. This interruption affected Z103.5, 979 The Cowboy, and 101 The Rockhound.

Additionally, our Live To Air Broadcast from Union Nightclub on Z103.5 encountered an issue, resulting in no audio being transmitted.

We are pleased to report that Broadcast Center 02, which transmits Classic 88.7 The Goat, was not affected by this outage.

All broadcasts have now resumed and are operating normally. If you experience any issues, please report them on our website.

Thank you for your understanding, 

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