I’ve handled the weather page for more than 17 years as part of my job. We’re a newspaper, so I don’t have a big green screen behind me while I talk about rain, snow and low pressure systems, but I still get to interact with readers who call with weather questions. A couple of weeks […] Read more
Stories by Michelle Houlden
Modern society born from agriculture
The adage that farming is everyone’s bread and butter hit home with me this summer. I’m a third of the way into a book calledGuns, Germs and Steel,by American professor Jared Diamond, that explores why the earliest Europeans and Asians managed to conquer and displace indigenous groups throughout Africa, Australia and the Americas despite often […] Read more
The horse that had an eye for success
The story had all the makings of a made-for-TV-movie: girl meets horse, horse is injured in an accident, girl sticks by horse, horse goes on to win the big championship. It’s a true story that happened to 27-year-old Coaldale, Alta., resident Lorena Laye and her six-year-old horse, Billy. Laye and her husband travelled to a […] Read more
Whither the weather? – Editorial Notebook
Frank McKinny “Kin” Hubbard, an Indiana journalist, humourist and cartoonist, once said, “Don’t knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldn’t start a conversation if it didn’t change once in a while.” He makes a good point. Change is often good. It so happens that our weather page is changing right along with the temperature, […] Read more
Moisture brings optimism
It’s a case of so far, so good. In its spring forecast, which does not include last week’s snowfall, the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration predicted low to moderate drought risk for most of the southern Prairies, despite a warm, dry winter and a lower than normal snow pack. “The cold conditions in January and February […] Read more
El Nino offers little relief for dry Prairies
& Reuters News Agency The Pacific Ocean climate system known as El Nino will bring a milder than normal winter to most of Canada, but little relief for parched prairie fields, says Environment Canada. Two years of hot, dry summers shrivelled crop production in much of Western Canada, and rain and frost this fall have […] Read more
Christmas: just a mouse click away
Christmas sites on the internet are a lot like the names on Santa’s list: there are good ones and bad ones. While we can’t send the bad ones a lump of cyber-coal, we’ve listed a few sites that really sparkle. We’ve visited each site on this list to see if the links work and omitted […] Read more
Millionaires snap up machine of their dreams
Kevin and Carolyn Lawrence are planning a trip next month that most farmers only dream about. The Manor, Sask., couple will be walking into their Farm Credit Corp. office and paying off the loan on their farm. The Lawrences held one of three winning lottery tickets on the April 29 $15 million Lotto 6-49 jackpot […] Read more
Rural life has its own allure, teens say
For many rural teens, the highway running past their home is a one-way road leading out of town after graduation. The lure of the city has captivated a generation of teens. Fewer young people seriously consider the farm a career option these days. But 14 high school students from Beechy, Sask., challenged that mindset. They […] Read more
Rural vs. urban teens: spot the difference
For many teenagers, the stretch between 13 and 19 is to be endured as much as it is to be enjoyed. A chasm seems to grow between teens and their parents as moods become darker and the influence of peer groups grows. For rural parents, there often is an added angst: their sons and daughters […] Read more
