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Headlines: May 30, 2025

· The Pulse
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  • The City of Edmonton's spring street sweep and residential parking ban will end on May 30 at 5pm. Crews cleaned more than 6,200 kilometres of roads since sweeping began on April 14. Due to more snow and freeze-thaw cycles this winter, the City used 230% more traction material, resulting in more debris on roadways and more passes at sweeping. Residents who notice roads with high levels of debris can call 311.
  • Ledcor crews have begun major construction on the Capital Line South LRT Extension, which will eventually connect the Heritage Valley transit centre on Ellerslie Road to Century Park along 111 Street. The $1.38 billion project is expected to take four to five years, with Phase 1 including a new underpass, two LRT bridges, and two new stations, the City said in a release.
  • Alberta Health Services announced that a person with a confirmed case of measles recently visited several public areas in Edmonton, including West Edmonton Mall, a Canadian Tire, a Costco, and a Home Depot. The visits occurred between May 18 and May 21, with the visit to the mall on May 19. People may be at risk if they visited these locations at specified times, were born after 1970, and have fewer than two documented shots of a measles vaccine, AHS said. As of May 28, Alberta had recorded 628 measles cases, including 14 active cases.
  • Edmonton is experiencing a forest tent caterpillar outbreak on a scale not seen since the 1980s, CBC reported. Although they are harmless to humans, they can damage trees and are especially drawn to poplars. Mike Jenkins, the City of Edmonton's pest management specialist, said the caterpillars' natural predators will control the population, and others will turn into moths. The City's website has information on how homeowners can control the caterpillars.
  • Some northern Alberta communities, including several First Nations, were issued overnight mandatory evacuation orders due to a complex of wildfires burning near Chipewyan Lake. Swan Hills has been under an evacuation order since May 26. The province has issued a red flag warning for areas north of Edmonton in response to hot, dry, windy conditions, which create high risk for fast-spreading wildfires. Up-to-date information about active fire bans and advisories in Alberta can be found at albertafirebans.ca.
  • The Rockin' Thunder Music Festival is coming to Edmonton for the first time this summer. Billed as a celebration of decades of rock music, the festival will feature headliners, including Def Leppard, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Weezer, and Sam Roberts Band. The all-ages event is happening at the Exhibition Lands from July 11 to 12, with tickets available online.
  • Earlier this month, researcher Jennifer Kelly added a section to her virtual exhibition And Still We Rise: A Black Presence in Alberta, which explores Black history in Alberta from the late 1800s to the 1970s. The latest piece examines newspaper clippings, including from the Edmonton Bulletin and the Edmonton Journal, that show a "sustained opposition" to Black immigration from 1908 to 1920.
  • MacEwan University's Griffins unveiled a new logo on May 28, designed by Curtis Ogrodiuk of Artslinger, a local sports branding design company. Ogrodiuk, a MacEwan alumnus and former Griffins hockey player, said the design reflects the strength and passion of the university's student-athletes. The redesign, the ninth in MacEwan Griffins history, aims to strengthen the connection between athletics, and the wider student body.
  • The Report Card on More and Better Housing, which examined governments based on policies for building homes quickly and sustainably, gave Alberta the lowest score in Canada. While the federal government got a B, and most provinces were in the C range, Alberta got a D+ for its failure to adopt better building codes, encourage factory-built housing, or regulate construction in flood-prone areas, said author Mike Moffatt. The report card is from the Task Force for Housing and Climate, co-chaired by former federal Conservative deputy leader Lisa Raitt, and former Edmonton mayor Don Iveson.
  • The Alberta NDP has launched its campaigns for three byelections, all set for June 23. Party leader Naheed Nenshi is running in Edmonton-Strathcona to fill the seat vacated six months ago by former leader Rachel Notley. Gurtej Singh Brar is running to replace NDP MLA Rod Loyola in Edmonton-Ellerslie, and Bev Toews is running in Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills, where former UCP MLA Nathan Cooper stepped down to become Alberta's representative to the United States. CBC's Jason Markusoff suggested the NDP is still waiting for a "Nenshi wave," after a recent poll found the party's support has slipped in Edmonton and Calgary.