Saskatchewan’s Water Security Agency (WSA) is monitoring conditions after a Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) engine spilled about 800 litres of fuel into the South Saskatchewan River late last week.

The WSA says it was made aware of the spill around 11 p.m. on Thursday through Alberta Environment and Protected Areas.

Saskatoon is downstream from the spill, and the community of Leader, Sask. has already indicated it would stop drawing water from the South Saskatchewan River as it expected the arrival of the fuel plume on Sunday.

In an emailed statement, WSA told CTV News that CPKC rail and the province of Alberta have environmental response teams working to assess and mitigate the situation.

The agency says it currently considers the risk to provincial water supplies “extremely low.”

“Communities that rely on the South Saskatchewan River as a drinking water source have been contacted, and can use water currently stored, or are already using wells that are removed from surface flows,” the WSA said in a statement.

“WSA is monitoring the situation and there is no indication of concern at this time.”

According to WSA spokesperson Leah Clark, given the size of the spill and the distance to Saskatoon — the most populous community in the path of the spill — it’s not believed to pose a threat to human health.

The WSA says the predicted travel time from the spill site to the Saskatchewan border is about five days.

By the agency’s estimate, what remains of the plume could reach Saskatoon by Thursday, Clark said.

The City of Saskatoon said it doesn’t expect the spill will pose a risk to the community’s drinking water.

“Diesel is a volatile substance and lighter than water and it is expected to dissipate long before any of the spilled fuel could reach Saskatoon,” the city said in an advisory Monday afternoon.

“Even if any spilled fuel were to reach Saskatoon after Lake Diefenbaker, the concentration would be far below any level of concern for public consumption. If that were to happen, an expected concentration would be one ten-millionth of a milligram per litre after Lake Diefenbaker — or one part per 10 million litres.

As an added layer of safety, Saskatoon’s raw water intake pumps in water below the surface, “which helps avoid intake of floating substances such as diesel fuel,” the city said.

The Water Security Agency says it’s working with officials in the Ministry of Environment, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA), and Alberta Environment to stay up to date on conditions.

Dozens of roads and highways have been affected by spring flooding across Saskatchewan.

According to Highway Hotline, several routes are closed and travel restrictions are in place as of Sunday morning.

Some of the fully closed including routes include Highway 9 north of Canora, Highway 47 south of Highway 5, Highway 357 near the Assiniboine River Bridge, Highway 310 south of Highway 16, parts of Highway 5 near Buchanan and east of Highway 310, and Highway 25 near St. Louis.

Other closures are reported on Highway 335 west of Highway 35, Birch Road east of Highway 23, Railway Avenue in Brancepeth and Ramsey Bay Access at Highway 2.

Saskatchewan’s Highway Hotline website says some highways remain open but are affected by water on or over the road, including sections of Highway 903, Highway 955, Highway 165 and Highway 312.

Drivers are urged to slow down and use caution.

Both lanes have reopened on Highway 165 south of Beauval, but motorists are warned of a sharp drop off and reduced speed limits.

Meanwhile, the Rural Municipality of Shellbrook has declared a local state of emergency due to rapidly increasing runoff from snowmelt.

In a post on Facebook, the RM says the flooding is putting pressure on municipal infrastructure and limiting access for residents.

The RM warns that water is flowing over several municipal roads and says access may become impassable in some areas.

Highway 5 at risk

In the City of Humboldt, emergency services and Humboldt public works were on location at Highway 5 to the east of Muenster on Saturday.

Mayor Rob Muench posted on social media saying there is a “very high” likelihood that the highway at Wolverine Creek will wash out soon.

“The culverts are not functioning properly and the banks of the highway are eroding quickly,” he wrote.

“The large amount of water on the north side of the highway has the potential to release a large amount of water down the Wolverine Creek, to Humboldt Lake, and then further downstream across Highway 20.”

RM of Paddockwood

The RM of Paddockwood issued a notice on Sunday morning advising all residents and drivers of “critical road failures” and closures in place.

Among the closed roads were Paddockwood Grid roughly 2 kilometres south of the Village of Paddockwood, Grid 791 (east of Paddockwood) and Hanson Hill/TWP 520 to traffic east of the Paddockwood.

A social media post from the RM said Paddockwood Grid is “completely undermined” and not safe to drive over, adding that crews were sent to barricade it.

The surface of Grid 791 was also undermined and no supporting structure remains beneath it, according to the RM. Hanson Hill suffered from a “total collapse” and is not passable.

A loss suffered by a northern Saskatchewan housing authority, which was previously reported to be “over $5,000,” has now been revealed to total $331,000.

In a loss report published Monday, the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation (SHC) reported the update to its 2023-24 report. The misappropriation of funds from 2019 to June 2023 included payments made to a fake vendor for work orders that were not completed.

According to the province, a manager with the Cumberland House Housing Authority was terminated in relation to the loss. A police investigation is ongoing, and an insurance company has accepted a claim for an amount that is under review.

The $331,000 fraud was not the only loss reported by SHC. A general manager with the Prince Albert Housing Authority was fired after they were found to be reimbursing themselves by altering invoices to the tune of $18,500 from 2020 to February of 2025. This was also previously reported to be in excess of $5,000.

They pleaded guilty and were sentenced to a four-month conditional sentence following by two years of probation. The former manager is required to pay back the $18,500 by Dec. 31, 2027. The SHC says $9,000 has been recovered so far.

Lastly, the La Ronge Regional Housing Authority lost $35,142.60 in March after banking information was changed by someone impersonating a supplier of the organization. The payments were then redirected to an inappropriate bank account.

A police investigation is underway.

Additionally, the Crown Investments Corporation (CIC) provided an update on a previously reported fuel theft scheme at SaskEnergy. The province reported $10,218.66 as the updated total of the loss.

The fuel thefts were mainly perpetrated in the Crown’s construction department.

According to CIC, the incidents have been reported to police and SaskEnergy is in the process of implementing enhanced controls in respect to fuel purchases.

Work has officially begun at the future site of Bell Canada’s AI date centre near Regina.

In a written update issued Monday, the company revealed early work at the site began on April 21, a day after the development was given the green light by the Rural Municipality of Sherwood.

The 300-megawatt facility is projected to cost $1.7 billion to build and generate up to $12 billion in long-term economic value.

Bell Canada highlighted eight Prairie-based companies that have been engaged in early construction efforts. They include Hipperson Construction, Soletanche Bachy Canada, Ardel Steel, Amrize, and Watermark consulting out of Regina as well as Maxie’s Excavating and Red Pelican out of Saskatoon.

Pre-engineered components will be manufactured by Behlen Industries based out of Brandon, Man.

“This project is about more than just building critical digital infrastructure – it’s about creating sustained opportunities for Saskatchewan, its workers and communities,” Bell AI Fabric President Dan Rink said in the update.

“When we committed to making this home to Canada’s largest purpose-built AI data centre, we also committed to doing it with the people and companies who know this ground.”

According to Bell, the telecom convened its first meeting with its Workforce Steering Committee with George Gordon Developments Ltd. which focused on advancing Indigenous procurement, workforce development and education partnerships.

The first portion of the facility, dubbed a “data hall,” is expected to come online in the first half of 2027.

A 34-year-old man in Regina is facing several charges after allegedly attacking several police officers, and attempting to disarm one, following a disturbance at a residential home.

The Regina Police Service (RPS) said its officers responded to a report of a disturbance around Ottawa Place in the Churchill Downs neighbourhood on Monday, May 4 at around 12:15 a.m.

According to a news release, the individual who called police claimed a man inside the home was acting erratically, damaging property, and had access to firearms.

“Officers arrived on scene, ensured the complainant and two children safely exited the home and ordered the suspect to exit the residence as well,” RPS explained. “The suspect did not comply. Nearly two hours later, the suspect broke a basement window, exited the residence, and despite officer commands, fled from the scene.”

The man was then tracked by Regina Police Service’s Canine Unit. Police say he was caught a little while later after jumping over fences but was bitten on the lower leg by the police dog.

RPS said he began punching and kicking the dog with his free leg as officers attempted to subdue him.

The police service said he then reached towards one of the officers’ duty belts and attempted to take their weapon.

“Officers stopped him and the suspect began assaulting the officers, punching them multiple times and attempting to kick them,” the news release read. “The suspect was eventually taken into custody. EMS transported him to hospital where he was treated for minor injuries consistent with a dog bite.”

The 34-year-old now faces charges for mischief under $5,000, resisting arrest, disarming a peace officer and four counts of assaulting a peace officer.

The province is pushing back against the federal government’s mandatory gun buyback program with new legislation to protect gun owners.

Amended and enacted as of Friday, The Saskatchewan Firearms Amendment Act, 2026, allows gun owners and businesses to apply for certificates of exemption and continue possessing and storing their lawfully-owned and prohibited firearms on behalf of the province.

“Saskatchewan property owners know that nobody’s coming for their gun,” Minister of Justice and Attorney General Tim McLeod said Monday announcing the changes.

To receive a certificate, residents or businesses must request an appraisal, or certificate of value, through the province’s new Firearms Verification and Appraisal Service — operated by the Saskatchewan Firearms Office.

To do so, gun owners can log in or create a Saskatchewan Account and then request an appraisal. The firearms office will then verify the gun is impacted by federal legislation, and provide certificates of value outlining what compensation firearms owners should receive from the federal government.

McLeod says this will legally protect law-abiding gun owners from what he called “a flawed program.”

“In order to seize a firearm in this province, you need to be a licensed seizure agent — and there are none,” McLeod said.

“A firearm is deemed worthless by the federal government. We call that a seizure. If a firearm is now deemed seized, that entitles the owner to fair market value, not the arbitrary value that the federal government might be putting on that gun.”

After years of talks, Ottawa formally launched its Assault-Style Firearms Compensation Program to obtain the more than 2,500 makes and models of assault-style firearms banned since May 2020.

The program requires businesses and gun owners to safely dispose of or permanently deactivate their assault-style firearms before the amnesty period ends on October 30, 2026.

The new provincial process will protect gun owners from criminal prosecution for possessing illegal firearms once the October deadline passes. McLeod says the federal government has made it clear to the provinces there is limited funding and a cap on compensation being offered, which is expected to be much lower than full market value.

Without full compensation, the province plans to keep those guns with their owners.

“When the individual would have to be satisfied with whatever compensation is being offered, and inform, through the process, the Saskatchewan Firearms Office before it could be seized or destroyed,” Saskatchewan Firearms Office Commissioner Blaine Beaven said.

Police are pleased the legislation will prevent using resources to seize guns and abide by the program, while allowing them to focus on the guns that are moving through the province illegally and are being used in crimes.

“It all comes down to prioritization,” said Patrick Nogier, the President of the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police.

“What can we do to make sure that the precious resources that we have with front line policing can concentrate on the things that really mean [something] to our communities?”

Nogier, the chief of the Prince Albert Police Service, says 220 guns were taken off the street in 2024 and 2025 in his community. That is where resources should be focused, he stressed.

“If you start comparing the number of firearms that are coming off the streets that are being used for a criminal purpose — that’s more than enough to keep a fully funded unit busy 24/7, 365 days out of the year,” Nogier said.

Beaven said the province isn’t able to handle applications for estates. When a gun owner dies, the executor of the estate doesn’t need to have a gun license to lawfully possess the firearms being passed down. However, without that license, the province isn’t able to track down who has those guns and can’t issue a certificate.

“The intention will be for those firearms, we’ll be taking them into storage,” Beaven said. “So people don’t have to worry about being criminalized for possessing prohibited firearms.”

McLeod says while the federal government has jurisdiction over firearms legislation, the province has jurisdiction over personal property legislation. If guns are being taken away, he says the federal government better be prepared to pay what the gun is worth.

“Unfortunately, the federal government, they know that these firearms are worth more than what they’re offering,” McLeod said.

Now that Saskatchewan has officially opened for application of exemptions, McLeod expects other provinces across the country to follow with similar legislation.

A swath of southern Saskatchewan is facing dry and windy conditions, creating the perfect recipe for a tinder box.

The fire department in Kenaston was busy over the weekend, responding to a handful of fires in a 48-hour span.

Kenaston Fire Chief Brad Owen said the current dry conditions are making it easy for even a small fire to grow large very quickly.

“We’ve had some warm days and driving winds, so, yeah, once a fire starts it very quickly and easily spreads through that top surface, dry layer and it can really take off quick,” he noted.

The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency’s Fire Weather Index is currently painted red and yellow when it comes to the southern part of the province, with much of the lower half of Saskatchewan at high to extreme risk of fires.

That includes Melville, where Fire Chief Aaron Buckingham says the city recently had to put out a large blaze.

“We had a fairly substantial grass fire on Friday last week, and it was traveling at a speed that wasn’t terribly bad, bad enough, fueled by the winds. But a week from now, if we get no rain, that fire would have been much, much worse,” he explained.

The dry conditions have caused first nations like Muscowpetung Saulteaux Nation and Cowessess First Nation to enact fire bans in their respective communities.

Kenaston and Melville are not currently under any fire bans.

But if no moisture comes within the next week or so, the communities will consider putting some sort of a ban in place.

“We may put a full fire ban, meaning no, no incinerators, no burning barrels, that kind of stuff,” Buckingham said. “Which is more of a rural thing than a city thing of course, because most cities have prohibiting factors around doing any kind of burning like that in their cities.”

The fire chief added that some parts of southern Saskatchewan have received pockets of moisture over the past few days, which will help the overall situation slightly.

However, the ideal conditions in the eyes of any firefighter would be a wet spring followed by some immediate heat leading into summer.

Following the death of an 11-year-old boy late last year, the Government of Saskatchewan intends to tighten up regulations surrounding carbon monoxide safety.

During question period on Monday afternoon, Government Relations Minister Eric Schmalz revealed the province will soon make the announcement to ensure the death of Henry Losco is not repeated.

“We are really looking forward to that announcement, and we are happy to see the NDP and the government working together towards this,” Henry’s mother, Marina Hills told reporters at the Legislature on Monday.

“We feel this is important because we want to save lives.”

Regina Fire and Protective Services found that the monoxide leak that led to Henry’s death was caused by a delayed ignition and explosion which damaged one of the building’s boilers – causing carbon monoxide to leak into the building.

Hills said she and her husband Sergio Losco, want to ensure that all units in multi-residential buildings have carbon monoxide detectors.

Speaking to reporters, Minister Schmalz said the province has been reviewing regulatory amendments in hopes of providing future direction on implementation.

Schmalz indicated that the forthcoming changes would be ambitious in addressing current gaps.

“We are going to lead the country after this regulation amendment happens,” he said.

“I’ve committed to Marina and Sergio that I will take this to my federal, provincial and territorial meetings this summer and discuss it with my colleagues across the country to ensure that they’re aware of what we’re doing in Saskatchewan and to tell the story of Henry and his family.”

Schmalz added that the implementation of the changes would give landlords enough time to phase them in.

Saskatchewan NDP MLA Erika Ritchie said her party had been working on a bill alongside the Losco family to address the issue of carbon monoxide safety but ultimately decided to stand the bill down in light of Schmalz’ outreach to the family.

“I’ve been deeply moved and motivated and just so impressed by how Henry’s family have worked to both deal with the loss of their son, but then also work to see that no family has to go through what they’ve gone through and deal with tragic loss through carbon monoxide poisoning,” Ritchie said.

Schmalz said the changes can be signed as an order of council. The minister is scheduled to make his announcement at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

EVO Radio Network – Scheduled Maintenance Notice

EVO Radio will be conducting a network-wide server migration and infrastructure update beginning Saturday, January 17, 2026 at 3:00 AM, with work expected to be completed by Sunday, January 18, 2026 at 8:00 PM.

During this maintenance window, the following services may be temporarily offline or intermittently inaccessible at various points:

Websites

• https://z1035.evoradio.ca/

• https://979thecowboy.evoradio.ca/

• https://101therockhound.evoradio.ca/

• https://887thegoat.evoradio.ca/

• https://advertiseraccess.evoradio.ca/

• https://vipclub.evoradio.ca/

• https://evomcorp.com/

• https://djspinderella.evomcorp.com/

Live Broadcasting

• Z103.5

• 979 The Cowboy

• 101 The Rockhound

• Classic 88.7 The Goat

Stream Relay Network

• All Stream Relay services will be unavailable during the migration.

Because this update involves server transfers, database installations, and name server changes, exact downtime periods cannot be guaranteed. Individual service interruptions may vary, with some components taking up to several hours to complete.

Our support and technical teams will work to keep all stations and websites online for as long as possible and will restore services immediately as each system becomes available. Broadcast services and station websites will be prioritized, followed by additional network services.

We appreciate your patience and understanding as we complete these upgrades, which are designed to improve performance, reliability, and long-term stability across the EVO Radio Network.

Thank you for your continued support,
EVO Radio Network

🎉 Update Completed Successfully! 🎉

We are thrilled to announce that our scheduled network update has been completed without any issues! 🚀 All our broadcast stations, streams, and websites are now fully operational and running better than ever.

What’s New?

Here’s what you can expect from this update:
✅ Improved Audio Player – No more interruptions or cutting off! Enjoy seamless streaming on our websites.
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Fully Operational Services:

🎵 Stations:

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🌐 Websites:

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• EVO Media Corporation – https://evomcorp.com/
• DJ Spinderella – https://djspinderella.evomcorp.com/

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Thank you for your patience and understanding during this process. We’re committed to providing you with the best listening experience possible and appreciate your support!

🎧 Happy Listening!
The EVO Radio & EVO Media Corporation Team