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Austin Animal Center audit finds poor conditions, challenges with 'no kill' policy

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:45:22 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin City Council members on the Audit and Finance committee will walk through an audit done on the Austin Animal Center Wednesday which shows the municipal shelter is facing many challenges. Austin City Council asked for the audit in July of 2022, KXAN previously reported.The audit focused on why the shelter is overcrowded, why intake has been restricted since September 2022, if the animal shelter is treating animals well and if the City of Austin's set "no kill" rate is sustainable. Austin’s animal shelter took in thousands fewer pets last year, so why is intake restricted? The City released a draft audit this week which found the following: The City's animal welfare priorities conflict with each otherAAC is not finding enough homes for animals and is overcrowded Relationships inside AAC and with groups outside of it are "strained"AAC is not doing well managing dataIt provided several recommendations to the City Manager and Don Bland, the Chief Animal Servic...

'Struggling to eat:' Thousands of Texans wait months for SNAP benefits

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:45:22 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas' Democratic Congressional Delegation is urging the federal government to take "corrective action" against the state Health and Human Services Commission, citing delays in processing food assistance applications that whistleblowers say have denied food assistance to thousands.In a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Monday, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett and 12 other U.S. House Democrats said Texas has failed to comply with federal requirements by delaying the administration of aid under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. They said Texas has not met a 30-day requirement for states to process SNAP applications and recertification since July 2021. KXAN INVESTIGATION: SNAP applications processing faster, backlog and concerns over benefit cuts continues The group of Texas Democrats alleges that families waited over 100 days for their applications to be assigned for review. Whistleblower employees inside the agency worry that wait could reach 200 days...

Sammy Walker appears to have everything for Wild but a cap-friendly contract

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:45:22 GMT

Head coach Dean Evason has had nothing but good things to say about how the Wild’s prospects have played in training camp, from their innate skill to the ways they handle themselves on the ice.But, he said Monday, “There are some guys that are obviously closer than others.”One of them is Sammy Walker, the wing from Edina who has been the early breakout star of camp, and the former Gophers center started early.In the last game of the Tom Kurvers Prospects Showcase at TRIA Rink, playing wing, he scored a hat trick in the weekend’s final game, a 7-4 victory over Chicago on Sept. 17. After three days of camp, Walker had two goals and an assist in a 4-3 preseason victory at Colorado on Sunday.“Just a real good start for him, right?” Evason said. “He should have confidence with the way that he played when he was here.”Walker, 24, didn’t travel with the Wild for Tuesday night’s preseason game at Dallas. He played nine games with the club last April, earning a goal and an assist, and came i...

District Energy marks 40 years in St. Paul with new hydrogen generator

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:45:22 GMT

When oil prices more than quadrupled during the national energy crisis of the 1970s, downtown St. Paul’s coal-powered steam plant was already creaking toward the end of its functional life.Alarmed as much by rising energy costs as by the rising steam seeping up through cracks in the downtown sidewalk, then-Mayor George Latimer convinced city building owners to back a new downtown-specific utility that would seek innovative ways to heat structures and keep energy prices steady. The St. Paul District Energy system roared to life 40 years ago this month — September 1983 — with the downtown Central Library, now known as the George Latimer Central Library, as its first client.Ken Smith, CEO of District Energy St. Paul, talks about the nonprofit’s net zero carbon goals. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)“It was established to be a model for the nation,” said Ken Smith, chief executive officer of District Energy, during a plant tour on Tuesday.The nonprofit ut...

Senate ag committee investigating the roots of soil health in Canada

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:45:22 GMT

By Trevor BuschSunny South [email protected] part of an effort to better understand soil health on the Canadian prairies, the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry recently completed a fact-finding mission in Western Canada.In late August, senators met with farmers and ranchers throughout the region to examine soil conditions, identify ways to improve soil health, address the effects of climate change and help Canadian producers become sustainability leaders.“The impetus for the whole study really comes from the heart and soul of our committee chair Rob Black. Rob spent his whole life working in agriculture and agricultural education,” said Senator Paula Simons, who hails from Alberta and was part of the tour as a committee representative. “For him, the state of the Canadian soil has been a concern for a long time. And he wanted us to do a follow up to the quite well known in his day Senate report, the Sparrow Report, which came out in 1984, which was the first look...

Supports available for struggling ag producers

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:45:22 GMT

By Trevor BuschSunny South [email protected] struggling producers dealing with the effects of drought across the region, support is available and can be accessed through provincial programs.Taber-Warner MLA Grant Hunter pointed out it has been a tough harvest season for some producers in areas of the riding.“There’s lots of places that are dry land that were really struggling. It depends upon where you’re at in the riding. Some places got lucky, they got some million dollar rains and they were okay.”Hunter explained the reasoning behind the declaration of agricultural disasters by various municipalities in 2023, including the M.D. of Taber.“All it does is, it’s a flag to the provincial and federal governments that we need to keep watching it. And it doesn’t – it’s just a flag, it’s just an indicator that we’ve got some problems here, and that we need to be aware of it.”Separate from crop insurance, AgriStability is a program producers can access if they need help.“S...

We tell the stories that matter to you

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:45:22 GMT

Main Street has changed. There was a time when you could find just about everything needed at a locally-owned shop. If it didn’t have exactly what you were looking for, an employee would help you source it.Customer service and loyalty to community: These are ideals diminished in an era of big box stores and one-click shopping, business dominated by the largest corporations in the world. Today, there are far fewer decision-makers on Main Street. It means fewer businesses to sponsor a local team, or help fundraise for a new fire truck, equipment for the local hospital or school trip.Through all this turbulence, we are still here with a single powerful focus. We tell the stories that matter to you. It is what makes this community newspaper unique. Some media have a global focus. Some are national or provincial. We only care about you.There are more than 865 of us across this country. You might be surprised there are so many community papers still publishing, in many cases thriving, in ...

Quarterly crime stats in Picture Butte suggest crime is down

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:45:22 GMT

By Erika MathieuSunny South NewsRCMP Staff Sergeant of the Coaldale and Picture Butte RCMP detachments, Mike Numan gave a delegation to Picture Butte town council  during the Sept. 11 meeting.“As far as statistics go, (for) this part of the detachment and surrounding area, the numbers are very low,” Numan said.Numan said the data shows, “either crime is down, or people aren’t reporting it still,” and added, “I honestly think crime is decreasing here, which is good.” However, he clarified that the report includes statistics which cover the entire detachment area and are not specific to the town of Picture Butte.However, Numan said  activity in the first eight months of 2023 has resulted in the creation of 255 files involving Picture Butte, including various crimes, traffic violations, and other incidents and offences. Highlights include 16 traffic collisions, 40 provincial traffic offences, as well as five mental health-related calls, and 34 non-moving traffic-related tickets.Numan m...

Copperheads take 1-1 record away from opening weekend of regular season

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:45:22 GMT

By Garrett SimmonsSunny South NewsThe Coaldale Copperheads are off to a 1-1 start in Heritage Junior Hockey League play.Coaldale capped off opening weekend on Sunday with a 5-4 loss at home against the Medicine Hat Cubs.Saturday’s home opener featured a 6-5 win over the High River Flyers.Coaldale raced out to a 2-0 lead in Saturday’s game, as Nathan Verloop’s goal opened the scoring for the Copperheads for the 2023/2024 season, at the 13:32 mark of the first. Adam Kennedy and Koden Lazar had the assists.Drew Constant made it 2-0 on a goal assisted by Nolan Price. High River made it 2-1 after two periods, before the fireworks really started in the third.The Flyers kicked off the scoring in the final frame with an early goal to tie it at two, and then took the lead with a shorthanded goal.The lead didn’t last long, as Caden Heins scored on the powerplay to tie it at three, as Price and Griffin McCulloch drew helpers. Riley Potts made it 4-3 on a goal from Rylan Millo and Brandon Creig...

Housing Needs Assessment Report shows local impact of national issue

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:45:22 GMT

By Erika MathieuSunny South NewsCoaldale council received a report on current housing needs within the town, during the Sept. 11 regular council meeting.In the fall of 2022, Coaldale town council met with the board of the Green Acres Foundation (GAF), a regional seniors non-profit housing management body, to learn about all of the steps involved in obtaining grant funding to work towards building more seniors housing in Coaldale. In order to move forward GAF indicated that one of the next steps would be to prepare and undergo an official Housing Needs Assessment (HNA). Following this discussion, Town Administration began preparing an official HNA through the Government of Alberta’s Affordable Housing Needs Assessment tool, which is administered by the Ministry of Seniors, Community and Social Services.According to Town Administration, receiving Council’s official endorsement of the HNA is the final step in the HNA process. Once Council has approved the HNA, Administration will submi...