MUENSTER, Sask. – The 16 Benedictine monks at St. Peter’s Abbey faced an invasion of women this spring. From May 26 to June 5, the 108-year-old abbey in central Saskatchewan hosted 250 women from across the West. They slept in the dorm rooms, ate their meals in the dining hall and were welcome to join […] Read more
Stories by Diane Rogers
Info on limestone kilns wanted
A University of Saskatchewan archeology student is looking into a past spring ritual. Lyndsay Stokalko wants help from prairie residents as she researches her thesis on lime kilns. Settlers used the kilns to create quicklime for use in mortar and plaster to whitewash their houses’ exteriors and interiors every spring. She wants to find old […] Read more
Fresh ideas spring from school closing
SASKATOON – A decade after the school closed in Margo, Sask., a census found that 90 people were left in the village and most were senior citizens. The school had had two teachers and 12 students from kindergarten to Grade 12 when it closed. But today the village has re-energized itself. Dawn Wallin, a member […] Read more
Guidance needed for digital world
SASKATOON – Schools should teach students how to be good digital citizens. And if that worries parents, too bad, say education professors from Brandon University. Teaching kids to use social media safely should be part of a school’s duty, they told a session at the 16th National Congress on Rural Education in Canada held March […] Read more
Rural education the focus of congress
SASKATOON – Students turned the tables on teachers at the three-day National Congress on Rural Education in Canada. A dozen student journalists from Fort Qu’Appelle, Lumsden and Wolseley in Saskatchewan’s Prairie Valley School Division used cameras and computers to record speakers and events at the congress. The reports were then posted in a daily newsletter […] Read more
Wet weather wreaks havoc for fruit growers
SASK ATOON – The tropical storms that Keith Jorgenson had seen while teaching in Africa couldn’t compare with the downpour that drenched his orchard near Aberdeen, Sask., this year. The storm at the end of June dropped 150 millimetres of rain in two hours. It filled the farm’s six metre deep dugout and seeped into […] Read more
Higher CPP payments will help improve golden years: expert
SASKATOON – An economic consultant says Alberta’s finance minister is wrong to reject suggestions to expand Canada Pension Plan coverage. Monica Townson visited Saskatoon while on a Canadian Labour Congress speaking tour to promote a plan to improve Canadian retirement income. She said Alberta’s Ted Morton is rejecting it for right wing ideological reasons. The […] Read more
Fit to be dried
Canning and freezing are still popular ways to save excess produce, but some gardeners are turning to dehydration. Beate Epp, who plants a big garden every year near Dundurn, Sask., says she still uses her freezer but also bought a dehydrator because she and her husband are vegetarians and prefer raw food. She said she […] Read more
Leathery for fruit, crispy for vegetables
Drying is one of the oldest ways to preserve food, according to a report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Drying makes fruit and vegetables lighter, smaller and less likely to spoil. The moisture content of fresh food ranges from 20 to 90 percent, which is usually dried to below 20 percent moisture. […] Read more
Rural groups told to join forces
A study of rural organizations in southeastern Saskatchewan has found a strong spirit of independence. However, that drive for autonomy may be harming their chance to be stronger by working in partnerships, said Jonathan Anuik, a PhD candidate in the University of Saskatchewan’s history department. Anuik and fellow researcher Heather Williamson, a psychology student, outlined […] Read more
