KENDAL, Sask. — It’s a sport that makes riders feel like outlaws from the Wild West. Cowboy mounted shooting comes complete with revolvers, horses and gunpowder. However, the guns are loaded with black powder blanks with a range of three metres and the bandits are in the form of balloons. “Every kid wanted to be […] Read more
Stories by Christalee Froese
‘I’m too young to die:’ survivor
It crossed Louis Giroux’s mind as he stepped down from his tractor on a September day in 1979 that he should turn off the power take-off. But it was harvest, time was of the essence and he was confident that unplugging his pull-type combine would take just a few seconds. Those few seconds are ones […] Read more
Cost of big farming challenges prairie family
MONTMARTRE, Sask. – Vaughn Johnson leans forward in his kitchen chair and quickens the pace of his speech as the topic of zero-till seeding comes up. “This was a whole new way of thinking,” said the 42-year-old farmer. Sowing directly into stubble and fertilizing with one pass were developments that changed the way Johnson farmed […] Read more
Specialized training keeps athletes close to home
Cory Niefer is one of the best air rifle competitors in the world but he is far more focused on his athletes than on his own accomplishments. “I always believed that I was a better coach than an athlete, but I’m an OK athlete as well,” said the native of Yorkton, Sask., and coach of […] Read more
New tips can spark better management
KENDAL, Sask. – It’s apparently never late too to teach old cattle producers new tricks. Bill Ripplinger has raised cattle for more than 30 years, but he learned something new during a forage workshop held Aug. 5 near Kendal. “I did learn that certain areas should be grazed earlier in the season to get the […] Read more
Banana belt’s ideas bear fruit
MELITA, Man. – They’ve gone bananas over a banana in Melita, Man. The community of 1,100 residents has been dubbed the banana belt due to its occasional above-average Canadian temperatures, so a group charged with promoting tourism there plan to erect a 30-foot-tall banana at the entrance to the town this month. The banana statue […] Read more
Trainers ready to ride after devastating fire
KENDAL, Sask. – When Cain and Roberta Quam surveyed the aftermath of a fire that destroyed their horse training facility, they thought that life as they had known it for the last 11 years was over. “Initially I thought, ‘I’m done, I can’t do this again,’ ” said Cain Quam, one of Canada’s top horse […] Read more
Sask. adopts single integrated library system
A new library system for Saskatchewan will bring higher late fees for some but is expected to also vastly improve service. Zenon Zuzak, president of the Saskatchewan Information and Library Services Consortium, said the province-wide system, featuring one library card for all of Saskatchewan’s 320 libraries, will streamline service, triple access to material and create […] Read more
Making sense of place
MONTMARTRE, Sask. – As mayor of a small Saskatchewan town, Wayne Myren has led his town to the cover of newspapers for its economic development accomplishments. Last year, Ogema won international awards from China for its development activities. Most importantly, Myren and his neighbours have brought the town back from the brink, saving their school, […] Read more
Moving experience: shopping the highway
MONTMARTRE, Sask. – A group of rural women has come up with a moving idea that they say will put the fun back into the Christmas season. The first annual Women on Wheels bus tour will hit the road Dec. 5, taking urban shoppers to three Saskatchewan towns for a taste of rural hospitality. “I […] Read more
