I thought I came up with a pretty good metaphor for 2020 in Alberta the other day when I accidentally pepper-sprayed myself. It was particularly apt, because not only did I mace myself, I got my neighbour, too. Luckily, the can was pointing at the ground when I unintentionally popped the safety and ...

You many have noticed things are rather…strained…at Jasper Municipal Council meetings these days. While perhaps not immediately apparent, anyone who has been viewing the public meetings over Zoom the last couple of months will have noticed an uptick in tension amongst participants. Not being privy t...

Bob Covey // The Jasper Local Newspaper Fright night in Alberta came early this year. October 31 in Jasper had its fair share of ghosts and ghouls, but the real scares were being conjured up at the Alberta Legislature a week prior. Minister of Finance Travis Toews wasn’t donning a costume when he ro...

Update: Council has passed a motion reducing the town’s speed limit to 40 km/hr Whenever classic editorial fodder such as the changing of municipal speed zones are up for community debate, the old timey newspaperman in me can’t wait to wade in. Usually, after uncrossing my arms and loudly cracking m...

It’s 2 a.m. and Marissa Kidd is on her couch, nursing her newborn son. Kidd is tired—her baby boy is only a few days old and she’s hardly slept. But she’s also restless. There’s something on her mind, something that’s been brought sharply into focus ever since her second child was born. What’s troub...

Most mornings, if I’m on the ball, just before our toddler pulls out all of her toys and books and crafts and games and spreads them all over the floor, I try to get us outside. This has been much easier as of late, what with the winter finally relenting. Bundling isn’t as critical. Arguments about ...

Jasper candidate leaning on her core values Paula Cackett’s life is full on these days. The 29-year-old Jasperite is running for political office in the upcoming provincial election. As such, she’s got a bag full of lanyards, buttons and pamphlets, promoting her party’s messages. She’s got a truck f...

The Municipality of Jasper wants the community’s input on cannabis. When cannabis becomes legal in Alberta later this summer, some decisions on how to regulate the drug’s use and sale will be left up to municipalities. To help inform recommendations to council,a cannabis working group is proposing t...

While Parks Canada is questioning a long-term Jasperite’s need to live in this community, Stef Dolan’s family is questioning the rules which define eligible residency in a national park. Dolan, who’s called Jasper home for 33 years, has been looking for a work-around ever since Jasper National Park ...

Bob Covey, editor Just when I thought Jasper wasn’t some regressive backwater, living in isolation from the rest of the civilized world, the community shows its true colours. Rainbow crosswalk debates. How is this a thing? Let’s review, shall we? First, a local community organization, inspired by ot...