Weekly News Recap: May 9, 2025

Weekly News Recap: May 9, 2025

Greg Powell, the founder of STARS air ambulance, died this week at age 77 in Okotoks. (Government of Alberta)

Recognize the seeds that are planted as you journey through your life, because you never know when you’re going to reach back in your memory and pull together an idea, a concept and make it happen – all because you paid attention to what was going on around you when you were young. - Dr. Greg Powell

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • The fly-tipped sofa: how an abandoned couch changed a small village – in pictures (The Guardian) BTW, for Canadian readers, 'fly-tipping' is UK language for illegal dumping. All this to say, I love what they have done with this! "A sofa was dumped in the middle of Lydbrook, a village in Gloucestershire, and every time Alex Elton-Wall walked past it he found himself smiling. While he’s clear he doesn’t condone fly-tipping, the cream-coloured two-seater looked 'really funny,' he says, perched on a patch of waste ground, next to a road, the woods as a scenic backdrop. As an amateur photographer, he spotted an opportunity."

  • 'Breakfast on the Bridges': a monthly Portland commuter tradition (NPR) This! This is another reason why Portland is great. " If you choose to commute by bike, there is a lot you might encounter on your morning ride – nice things like spring flowers … or not so nice things, like angry motorists. But on the last Friday of each month, in Portland, Oregon, you'll also come across fresh-brewed coffee, doughnuts and other early morning treats."

  • VIDEO: Missing three fingers, this teen musician has spent years mastering the piano (CBC) CANADIAN STORY #Perseverance "When Colin Zhang got a piano on his third birthday, his father wasn’t sure he’d be able to play it. But in the 14 years since then, Zhang’s physical limitations haven’t stopped him."

  • VIDEO: Unique lodge to provide a safe, comfortable home for Indigenous elders in Alberta (CBC) ALBERTA STORY #LoveThis "After years of planning and building, a new Indigenous elders lodge is about to open near the Rocky Mountain community of Grande Cache, Alta. 'It feels good to be here,' said Winston Delorme, surveying progress on the 17,200-square-foot Kikinow Elders Lodge."

  • VIDEO: Watch these bobcat sisters being released into the wild in B.C., 10 months after they were found orphaned (CBC) BRITISH COLUMBIA STORY #Beautiful "Two orphaned bobcat sisters were released into the wild near Powell River, B.C. [...] 10 months after they were found malnourished near a logging road. Last July, Merrilee Prior from the Powell River Orphaned Wildlife Society (PROWLS) says she got a call about two kittens being found by someone driving up a logging road near the Sunshine Coast city. Prior says the kittens were perhaps two weeks old, and their mother had been killed a day or two prior. Their eyes had just opened, and the two bobcats were 'very, very hungry.' "

  • VIDEO: 11 Awesome Animal Kingdom Moms (Mental Floss) Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers and mothers to be out there. "From carrying their young for years to feeding their babies poop, some animal moms just go above and beyond."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. STARS air ambulance founder Greg Powell dies at 77 (CBC) CALGARY STORY Thousands of Canadians are alive today because of this man. RIP Dr. Powell, we will not see your like again. "STARS air ambulance announced [...] that its founder and former CEO, Greg Powell, died earlier this week. Powell, 77, died [...] at Foothills Hospice in Okotoks, with his family by his side."

  2. VIDEO: Ahead of conclave, this Italian tailor is making 3 different sizes of cassocks (CBC) "After a fat pope comes a skinny pope — Dopo un papa grasso, viene un papa magro, the old Vatican saying goes. Raniero Mancinelli is taking no chances. In a cramped backroom atelier just steps from St. Peter's Basilica, the 86-year-old ecclesiastical tailor is sewing not one but three white papal cassocks — small, medium and large — hedging his bets on who might step onto the balcony when the white smoke rises."

  3. LISTEN: Amnesty International chief on the fight for human rights (CBC) CANADIAN CONTENT "Dr. Agnès Callamard has been a leader in the human rights sector for decades, and since 2021 has worked in the role of Secretary General for Amnesty International. She [discusses] doing human rights work at this difficult historical moment, the future of international law, Canada's role on the world stage, the question of genocide, and some of the lessons that can be drawn from the world's most precarious frontiers."

  4. Greece’s first digital donation church sparks national buzz (Premier Christian News) Welcome to 2025! "A Roman Catholic cathedral in Athens has drawn national attention after installing a contactless payment device for church donations. This is a first for any church in Greece, as reported by AFP. Located in the Cathedral Basilica of St Dionysius the Areopagite, the Point of Sale (POS) device allows worshippers to tap their cards to donate as little as one cent, up to €1,000 (£851.70)."

  5. Why more Canadians are getting divorced later in life (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "Canada has the second lowest divorce rate in the G7. But the amount of grey divorces, married couples older than 50 breaking up, has been on the rise for decades, according to Statistics Canada."

  6. Meet Andrea and Alexandra McManus. (Alberta Cancer Foundation) CALGARY STORY Andrea is one of the co-founders of ViTreo. We and the world are very grateful that she and her daughter are cancer survivors. #OwnCancer "In 2004, days before her 50th birthday, Andrea McManus [...] was diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer. Nearly 20 years later, at the end of 2023, her daughter Alexandra was also diagnosed with breast cancer at age 33. Two decades ago, Andrea joined the MA41 clinical trial, where she received dose-dense treatment."

  7. Dissident to fight board vote delay in court after Parkland, Sunoco ink $9.1B US deal (CBC) CALGARY STORY "Parkland Corp.'s biggest shareholder is going to court after the Calgary company announced a $9.1-billion US takeover by Sunoco LP and delayed a meeting where it was to face down investors pushing for a boardroom overhaul."

  8. New roller skating initiative brings retro fun to Cold Lake (CBC) COLD LAKE STORY I love roller skating. "When Linda Folkard first thought about starting a roller skating group in Cold Lake, she was simply looking for a fun indoor activity to break up the long winter months. But it wasn't long before she got the idea rolling. Folkard said Cold Lake, almost 300 kilometres northeast of Edmonton, has long and unforgiving winters and she saw a void in activities for adults who may not want to brave the cold."

  9. U.S. Department of Education tells Harvard it will freeze billions in future grants, aid (CBC) #NoWords "The U.S. Department of Education informed Harvard University [...] that it was freezing billions of dollars in future research grants and other aid until the nation's oldest and wealthiest college concedes to a number of demands from the Trump administration, a senior department official said. The move represents the latest salvo from a Trump administration willing to use the power of the federal purse to force institutions, from law firms to universities, to make sweeping policy changes or else lose billions of dollars in federal grants and contracts."

  10. CAA names 10 worst roads in Saskatchewan (CBC) SASKATCHEWAN STORY Been there. It's true. "The Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) has released its annual list of the worst roads in Saskatchewan. CAA says it asked drivers, cyclists and pedestrians from April 8 to April 29 about the worst roads in the province and, out of more than 1,200 roads that received votes, 10 were chosen. Crumbling pavements, potholes, lack of maintenance and insufficient signs were some of the factors considered."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. The Shoes You Buy Will Last Longer If You Just Understand This (Primer Magazine) I wish someone had shared this with me when I was 20. Now I know but I have wasted a lot on 'bad' shoes.

  2. You're drinking water wrong: Why doctors say temperature matters more than you think (Upworthy) You might want to skip the ice cubes.

  3. The Art and Science of Decanting Wine (The Robb Report) A life skill to be sure.

  4. What's The Actual Difference Between Garlic Powder And Granulated Garlic? (The Takeout) A wee bit kitchen nerdy. You're welcome.

  5. Make The Perfect Hot Dog (Popular Mechanics) Mmmm...I love a good grilled hot dog but there are also other great ways to cook them as this article shares.

  6. There's only one laundry cycle you ever need no matter what's being washed, expert says (Upworthy) I sort my clothes by fabric type not by colour.

  7. What Makes the Octopus So Worthy of Our Eternal Fascination (Literary Hub) They are truly amazing.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. Imperial Oil donates $37M research lab to SAIT, largest-ever corporate gift to an Alberta post-secondary (Calgary Herald) CALGARY STORY #Woot "Imperial Oil Ltd. has gifted a $37-million research facility to the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, the single largest corporate gift to a post-secondary institution in Alberta, according to SAIT. The 40,000-square-foot Imperial Energy Innovation Centre will support the expansion of SAIT’s energy innovation applied research, and aims to create opportunities for collaborative industry research and student training."

  2. $5M donation will create 115 'highly supportive' housing units in London (London Free Press) LONDON STORY "The Canadian Mental Health Association Thames Valley Addiction and Mental Health Services announced the funding Monday for two new apartment buildings. The agency is 'incredibly grateful for this substantial investment' from the London Community Foundation’s health and homelessness fund for change, chief executive Pam Tobin said in a release [...] The health and homelessness fund was seeded by a $25 million donation from a London family who wishes to remain anonymous."

  3. Toronto Symphony Orchestra Announces $1 Million Gift to Support New Music Commissions (Toronto Symphony Orchestra) TORONTO STORY "Generous contribution from Peter and Margie Kelk fuels the TSO’s commitment to contemporary composition and the launch of major new works."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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