Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Province forecasts $819.4M deficit
One year after presenting a barely balanced budget, the Saskatchewan government is projecting a deficit approaching $1 billion for 2026-27. The provincial budget tabled on Wednesday by Finance Minister Jim Reiter forecasts an $819.4-million deficit,...
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THE TOP BOVINE VET
For a Regina-born man who was just recognized for his long veterinary career in the bovine industry, it all started on a farm in Tisdale. Murray Jelinski said he was exposed to agriculture as a child on his grandparents' farm, and it led to a passion...
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Fans can get a taste of Hogwarts
Cloaked diners arriving at The Barn at Wind's Edge are greeted by the familiar score from the Harry Potter films as they move through a series of themed spaces inspired by the wizarding world. A luggage trolley holds a trunk and travel items beside a...
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GETTING READY FOR WILDFIRES
Kari Lentowicz of Denare Beach is a volunteer firefighter with 20 years of experience in emergency preparedness. Last year she stayed to fight wildfires, which destroyed her home. She's now working to ensure the province is better prepared for wildfires.
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A ROYAL WELCOME
King Charles III greets Sturgeon Lake First Nation Chief Christine Longjohn, who was among seven Saskatchewan chiefs at Buckingham Palace in London this week to meet the king and reaffirm the continued relationship with Treaty 6 First Nations.
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CO-CAPTAIN CANADA
Prince Albert's Brittany Hudak, competing in her fourth Paralympic Winter Games, placed sixth this week in the Para Biathlon Women's Sprint Standing and fifth in the Para Biathlon Women's Individual Standing at the Milano-cortina 2026 Winter...
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$1.125 million in funding announced for group that helps people leave gangs
Amber Pelletier has experienced rock bottom. Now, she can proudly say she's fought through it, thanks in large part to a local Saskatoon organization. STR8 UP started 20 years ago, providing support for people wanting to escape from gangs and pursue a...
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Go Diva a ride-share option for women, 2SLGBTQ+
Saskatoon entrepreneur Cheri Uthe is hoping to carve out space for anyone who has ever questioned whether their identity might jeopardize getting a safe ride home. Frustrated by often being the last of her friend group to be dropped off by a shared...
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THE HOUSE IS NOW IN SESSION
After a three-month break, MLAS returned to the Saskatchewan Legislative Building this week. From the upcoming budget to important legislative motions, it promises to be a lively spring session. Nykole King has the details on what to expect.
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PROGRAM EXTENDED
Saskatchewan is extending its tuition support program for Ukrainian post-secondary students displaced by the war in their home country. “It honestly means a lot for me and the other students because we feel welcomed in this country, in this province,”...
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HOLD YOUR HORSES!
Snowboarder Grayson Currie, 10, does a backflip during his first skijoring event at Optimist Hill on March 1. The event, where skiers and snowboarders are pulled by horses along a groomed track, drew roughly twice as many spectators as last year.
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Cameco agrees to $2.6B deal with India
A $2.6-billion supply deal with India represents a “pivotal role” for mining giant Cameco Corp. over the next decade, the company's CEO said after Prime Minister Mark Carney's first official visit to the country. Under terms of the agreement, which...
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Ukrainians worry about soon-to-expire visas as war with Russia continues
Ganna Maksymenko messages her daughter, Anastasiia Maksymenko, first thing every morning and again before going to sleep each night. The message is a lifeline for the Regina woman to make sure her 24-year-old daughter is safe since returning to...
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`This is a wake-up call to all of us'
On the fourth anniversary of Russia launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Yevheniia Kostiv vividly remembers the night in 2022 when she, her husband and her small son hid in their bathroom as the sounds of bombing grew louder. It was the only...
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Premier on trade, tariffs, and a post-trump America
At an NSBA luncheon in Saskatoon on Tuesday, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe discussed a range of topics, from travelling to India to future trade with the U.S., but also economic uncertainty. He said one of the best recruitment tools in Saskatchewan...
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Saskatchewan travellers facing uncertainty amid violence in Mexico
As chaos hit the streets of Puerto Vallarta, Nick Faye took shelter in a Mexican hotel while awaiting news on when he could return home to Regina. In a phone interview from the popular tourist destination, Faye told the Regina Leader-post on Monday...
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Empathy and art: food bank auction coming to Saskatoon on March 27
Local artists looking for ways to support the community are teaming up with the Saskatoon Food Bank & Learning Centre to bring an art auction to the city. Vicki Chapman-mager, artist and co-founder of Art Posse, said the group is made up of volunteers...
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`IT DOESN'T ALWAYS GO YOUR WAY'
Regina's Mark Mcmorris, competing in his fourth Winter Games, finished off the podium in Milancortina for the first time in his celebrated Olympic slopestyle career. The 32-year-old, who placed eighth on Wednesday, was chasing his fourth Olympic medal....
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Tire recycler `prepared to move on'
The president and co-founder of a renowned tire recycling company in Saskatchewan is expressing relief that a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the provincial government has been settled. The Saskatchewan government announced this week that it has...
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Clothing factory has plenty to cheer about
Inside an unassuming building on First Avenue, there is a room dedicated to printing backward and sticky-side-up rhinestone overlays that will eventually be applied to competitive cheerleading uniforms — a product this Saskatoon company specializes...
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Toys “R” Us brought `magic' to kids
Chelsea Gursky has felt a special pride towards the Toys “R” Us store in the heart of downtown Saskatoon since cutting the opening-day ribbon 33 years ago. Gursky and her family arrived early to the official opening in October 1992. While she was...
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`I ran over, and I held him'
A Saskatchewan Roughriders flag hangs in Shelley Quist's office at Tumbler Ridge Community Health Centre. There, on the afternoon of Feb. 10, Quist lived a reality out of nightmares: An active shooter was loose while her 17-year-old son, Darian, was...
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IT'S THE LOVE OF A LIFETIME
Neva and Erwin Miller, seen here at the All Seniors Care retirement home in Regina, truly have a love that has spanned generations. The couple has been married for 68 years. has their story.
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La Loche school shares `solidarity'
Just over a decade after a school shooting stunned the Saskatchewan village of La Loche, the community is sharing condolences with a small British Columbia town following one of the worst school shootings in Canadian history. Police continue to...
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U of S research team takes on Saskatoon berry breeding
Inside fruit breeder Anže Švara's lab at the University of Saskatchewan is a circular machine with slots sized to fit the humble Saskatoon berry. Once placed in the slots, a small probe will slowly crush each berry while recording pressure levels. The...
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Community sentence for ex-officer
Former police officer Robert Semenchuck will serve a community jail term for using information from confidential Regina Police Service files to pursue personal relationships with more than 30 women. In a verbal decision delivered in a Regina...
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HOMETOWN PROUD
Saskatoon native Emily Clark of Team Canada skates in preliminary round women's hockey action against Switzerland at the Milan-cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games. The Canadians and Team USA are heavy favourites to meet again for the gold medal.
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HELP FOR NEW MOMS
Sara Beckel, left, is the province's first maternal mental-health co-ordinator. Elita Paterson is the longtime co-chair of the Saskatchewan Perinatal Health Network. Both are using their personal experience to support mental-health care for mothers .
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MAMBA MOVES
Canadian Elite Basketball League president Ty Mazereeuw, left, and Saskatoon Mamba owner Jason Ribeiro speak at a news conference at Merlis Belsher Place. The announcement introduced the team's new Saskatoon Mamba rebrand.
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City ponders action after explosion of tree disease
The number of Dutch elm disease cases in Saskatoon almost quadrupled between 2024 and 2025, increasing 10 times since 2023, according to a city report. An additional $1.7 million is being sought for urban forestry and pest management capital funding....
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Trump threat hits home for prof
Each time Inuk education professor Karla Jessen Williamson prepares a course for students at the University of Saskatchewan, she ensures she can also deliver her lectures in her first language, Inuktitut. “I make absolutely certain that I can actually...
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FOR HEALTHY HEARTS
Dr. Chris Pekrul gives members of the media a tour of the newly renovated Walter and Margaret Mcnabb Interventional Cardiology Suite at Royal University Hospital. The $5.5-million, donor-funded renovation improves life-saving heart care.
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FRONT-LINE FUNDING
Chief Cam Mcbride speaks during an announcement at police headquarters confirming the Saskatoon Police Service will receive $1.85 million from the province to help enhance front-line policing capacity and improve response times. It's part of the Safer...
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NEWLY RENOVATED
From left: Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill, elder Nora Mcadam and St. Paul's Hospital Foundation CEO Lecina Hicke lead a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of the newly renovated hospital front entrance and the Kikâwînaw wîki Healing Centre.
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Gun shops stuck with banned stock
Aaron Strauss estimates he has more than $50,000 worth of firearms just sitting in the stockroom of his Regina store, Cache Tactical Supply Inc. It's illegal to sell the merchandise, but he also can't return it after the Canadian government introduced...
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Parents of boy killed by carbon monoxide want answers
Marina Hills doesn't plan on stopping until she receives justice for her 11-year-old son who died from a carbon monoxide leak in the family's fourth-floor downtown Regina apartment. Henry Losco was “brilliant” and “creative,” said his father, Sergio,...
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`Investing in the lives of people'
Saskatoon Mayor Cynthia Block said Friday that 73 newly built affordable housing units at Métis Veterans Plaza highlight the pressing need for more housing amid this week's extreme cold snap. “It is dangerously cold out,” Block said while standing...
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NOW THAT'S BRISK
With temperatures dipping well below normal, a pedestrian makes a bone-chilling walk across the Broadway Bridge. According to Environment Canada, the daily high temperatures through Saturday are expected to be around -30 C, with overnight lows...
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OFF TO THE SCOTTIES
The decade-long drought is over for Jolene Campbell. In the final game of the Saskatchewan women's curling championship earlier this month in Melville, Campbell and her Regina squad defeated Jana Tisdale and her Regina rink 4-3 to earn the provincial...
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Moe takes a trade deal victory lap
With the support of the federal government, Saskatchewan's trade relationship with China has largely been restored, said Premier Scott Moe hours after landing back in the Prairies from a federal delegation to Beijing. Moe travelled with Prime Minister...
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Ford `disappointed' in China deal
Ontario Premier Doug Ford continued this week to blast Canada's recent trade agreement with China, noting that he and Canadian automakers only learned of the deal a few hours before it was announced. “I found out about this deal, and the auto...
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Local Iranians echo voices of protesters back home
Mitra Sabetghadam knows exactly what it's like to be cut off from the outside world because of the actions of an oppressive regime. In 2019, during a crackdown on protesters by Iran's clerical government (triggered by an abrupt fuel price increase),...
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A CENTENARIAN AND THEN SOME
Edith Bernard of the Rural Municipality of Brokenshell is a living history of Saskatchewan. She's seen it all — electricity and phones coming to Prairie households, as motor vehicles replaced the horses and buggies she always preferred. Bernard...
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U.S. takeover brings mixed feelings
Seeing images of the bombed Fuerte Tiuna — a major military complex in Venezuela's capital of Caracas — after the U.S. takeover on Jan. 3 struck a personal chord with Regina's Asnoldo Prieto. Growing up, his father was in the army, and Fuerte Tiuna...
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Family wants answers after patient dies in altercation
One of the last things Trevor Dubois said to his brother Ryan was “I got this, bro.” He was expressing his optimism that he could beat brain cancer. Dubois was receiving medical care at Saskatoon's Royal University Hospital when he died last Friday...
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A CHILLING TALE
Film historian Tom Mcgill stands with a vintage projector at his home theatre in Regina. The projector is one of two he had that were used years ago in the community hall of Abbey. The other? That's now in Antarctica, where it's on display in a theatre...
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The Wizard of many instruments
It isn't just Weldon Gray who lights up when he shows off one of the many banjos he's built over the years, pointing out every detail of the instrument's construction and intricate decoration. With the flick of a switch, the banjo lights up, too. And...
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`A FAR BETTER POSITION'
With 2026 underway, Saskatoon's police chief says the Saskatoon Police Service will continue to adapt to a growing city after a year that saw mostly success amid some obstacles. “I've been telling lots of people it's 90 per cent awesome, 10 per cent...
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THE YEAR IN PICTURES
University of Saskatchewan Huskies celebrate their Canada West Women's Basketball Championship win against the UBC Thunderbirds at the PAC in Saskatoon in March. More of Michelle Berg's best pictures of 2025 are inside.
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Stoicheff reflects on decade-long tenure as U of S president
After a decade as president of the University of Saskatchewan, Peter Stoicheff is moving on. While packing up his art-lined office, he met with the Starphoenix to discuss evolution around fundraising, enrolment, diversity and his go-to spot for...
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These entrepreneurs are betting on `boring' business
After a two-month deep dive into Youtube research, Saskatoon's 28-year-old Caleb Smith decided to go all-in on starting a business in a line of work lacking a flashy reputation: household and commercial cleaning. “I wanted to start a business, but I...
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BACK TO CORE BUSINESS
The world's largest potash producer has been shedding multimillion-dollar assets and fine-tuning its focus on its core business — the fertilizer minerals that are plentiful in Saskatchewan and hot commodities around the world. Over the past year...
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Turning chaos into Christmas cards
The magic starts with a neatly folded 12-by-8-foot blanket-like backdrop featuring a festive holiday fireplace scene. As photographer Jennifer Veitch uses spring clamps to secure the cosy backdrop to a vertical stand in her small but functional...
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How Saskatoon gets in the spirit
Twinkling stars on the revamped Broadway Bridge, poinsettias along 25th Street and festive banners on 20th Street and Second Avenue downtown — some pole-mounted, others illuminating Saskatoon's dark winter skies. The city's holiday decor is the kind...
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SASKABILITIES SUCCESS
Jen Buchan has enjoyed being a regular attendee at Saskabilities' Regina day program for the past two decades and also volunteers at the Sunrise Public Library. Saskabilities is celebrating 75 years of support for people in the province with...
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GET THAT ROCK A ROLLIN'
Saskatoon's Team Kleiter teammates Matthew Hall and Trevor Johnstone sweep as Ryan Kleiter positions his broom to guide their shot during Grand Slam of Curling action against Switzerland's Yannick Schwaller. The event runs until Sunday at Merlis...
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VICTIMS REMEMBERED
Members of the public lay flowers at a memorial at Bondi Pavilion after the mass shooting at a Hanukkah event in Sydney, Australia. Among the victims of the terror attack that killed at least 15 people was an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor who died...
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Five new ministers join Moe's provincial team
The Saskatchewan government announced a year-end shuffle as it welcomed five newly elected MLAS into the cabinet, including a new minister responsible for public safety. In a ceremony at Government House, Premier Scott Moe greeted the five first-time...
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BHP HAS A MINE OF ITS OWN
At dawn, from a distance of a few kilometres, the mine looks like a futuristic city being assembled on a flat, barren landscape. Its aura is otherworldly. Bright lights are everywhere across the wide expanse of land. Towering construction cranes rise...
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STILL A DRIVING FORCE
Jerome Engele is the longest-serving staff member of the Saskatoon Blades. He has filled a variety of roles for the WHL team over the past five decades: head coach, assistant coach, off-ice analyst, computer programmer — and backup bus driver.
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Trump floats idea of `severe' tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump has signalled he could impose fresh tariffs on Canadian fertilizer, drawing seemingly different levels of concern and urgency from Saskatchewan's premier and Opposition leader. The president is facing mounting pressure to...
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A CLEAN SHEET
A Meewasin Valley Authority employee floods the Cameco Meewasin Skating Rink at Nutrien Plaza, beside the Delta Hotels Bessborough. The popular rink is scheduled to open to the general public on Thursday.
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Sask. women speak up about violence
During a bustling last day of classes at the University of Regina, advocates paused routines to honour the 14 women targeted by a gunman at l'école Polytechnique de Montréal on Dec. 6, 1989. With her organization handing out red roses to students in a...
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FOOD COST CONCERNS
Students from multiple high schools recently collected thousands of items for the Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre. The organization's executive director says an expected rise in food costs will put even more pressure on families. The latest...
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`NO ONE LISTENED'
Saskatchewan firefighter Trevor Sewap still hasn't gone out on the lake since a wildfire raged through the Denare Beach area in the summer. He can't even look at the barren islands spotting the water, where fire hopped a path toward homes and people's...
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Closure leaves patients scrambling
About 5,000 patients in Regina are now searching for a new family doctor after a clinic that received government money closed over the weekend. The Gardens Community Health Centre, which offered a range of services for families, shut its doors Sunday...
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HIV prevention guidelines updated
A coalition of doctors across Canada is releasing a new guideline for prescribing medications that can prevent HIV infection, with a strong focus on increasing the promotion and awareness of the expanding class of drugs. New data released by the...
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PEACEKEEPERS GET OK
City council has approved a pilot program offering a culturally sensitive approach to supporting the city's homeless population in downtown Saskatoon. The funding was greenlit during budget deliberations Thursday night at city hall, with...
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Step 1: Focus on Alberta prosperity
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith credited former prime minister Justin Trudeau for creating the independence movement in her province, thanks to a litany of nine “bad laws” — and his successor, Mark Carney, for taking the wind out of separatism with...
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Sask. projects $427-million deficit
After early projections narrowly placed Saskatchewan in the black for the 2025-26 budget, the province now expects to be in the red to the tune of nearly half a billion dollars. The province is now projecting a deficit of $427 million, citing expenses...
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LIGHT UP FOR A CAUSE
Light displays illuminate the BHP Enchanted Forest at the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo. The displays, which draw thousands of visitors while raising money for the Zoo Foundation and Saskatoon City Hospital Foundation, run until Jan. 4.
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AN UNLUCKY SEVEN
University of Saskatchewan Huskies linger on the field after being defeated 30-16 by the Montreal Carabins in the 2025 Vanier Cup at Mosaic Stadium in Regina. The Huskies have lost their last seven Vanier Cup appearances.
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FESTIVAL OF TREES
Rhonda Reddekopp and her daughter, Cydney Bochek, decorate a tree at the Western Development Museum Festival of Trees, honouring Abe Reddekopp, who died in 2013. It's their 14th year contributing to the event to support Saskatoon City Hospital.
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CHAMPIONS AGAIN
Following a last-minute 21-18 victory over the Okanagan Sun, the Saskatoon Hilltops erupted in celebration on the turf at SMF Field after clinching the program's 24th Canadian Junior Football League title with their Canadian Bowl victory.
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