As Jasperites rebuild and new windows are installed in reconstructed homes, now seems like an opportune time to have a conversation about bird-friendly windows. Bird-window collisions happen when birds can't distinguish between windows and the habitat those windows may be reflecting—trees or sky, fo...

Jasper Local readers are worldly enough to know the biggest bird on earth (ostrich), as well as the the smallest (bee hummingbird ). Most know the the fastest flyer (peregrine falcon) and the most clever birds ( corvids )… But this time of year, it’s pertinent to ascertain what’s the most… Christmas...

CN is not relocating its crew change terminal out of Jasper after all. The company has reconsidered its plans and is not proceeding at this time with the relocation to Hinton, it has announced. “After further consideration, we have decided to not proceed at this time with the relocation of crew chan...

All interim housing units at the museum site are now fully occupied, according to the Jasper Recovery Coordination Centre (JRCC). Michael Fark, Jasper's Directory of Recovery, also told council on Tuesday (Dec. 16) that the Patricia Circle and United Church sites will be occupied in February. Interi...

After weeks of deliberations and hearing multiple requests to reduce the tax burden, Jasper Municipal Council has passed its 2026 operational and capital budgets. Council managed to trim $150,000 from its interim budget and will use $149,000 from the fixed asset reserve to mitigate the Municipality ...

Council is sending its administrative team back to the drawing board on Jasper’s 2026 municipal budget. In asking for more information about the 2026 budget, council is hoping to create more transparency— and perhaps a bit of savings—on the proposed 10 per cent increase to local municipal taxes. Dur...

Our Seniors know their way around They’re the ones who built our town. Through their sweat, through their toil They planted roots in rocky soil. The streets, the stores, the homes, the parks the businesses where commerce sparks. But far beyond and deeper still they paved a path with social skill. Wi...

Jasper council is leaning toward supporting a proposed provincial electoral district that would have it join Banff and Canmore. On Tuesday (Dec. 9), committee of the whole recommended that council direct the mayor to provide a written submission supporting this change. Council will discuss this matt...

Council conforms to all but one of administration's recommendations as ongoing wildfire recovery guides MOJ's 2026 budget A tied vote defeated a motion to reduce the municipal tax requisition by two percent at councils’ 2026 budget meeting last month. As such, the proposed tax increase for 2026 is c...

Principal among the gathering spaces that were lost in the 2024 Jasper Wildfire were the Jasper Anglican Church and its former neighbour, the McCready Centre. The Anglican Church at the corner of Miette Ave and Geikie St was a cultural institution in Jasper that hosted many theatrical productions si...

CN is making considerable changes to its Jasper Yard, but the $12 million investment does not change the way the Jasper Yard operates, the company says. Jasperites may have noticed a bustle of activity in the Jasper Yard in recent months: sources close to the work, whose identities the Jasper Local ...

Two retired Jasper educators were braving the cold in the name of Alberta’s public school system this past weekend. On Sunday, former principal and recently-retired school board trustee, Dale Karpluk, stood alongside retired language arts and social studies teacher, Sandy Cox, outside of the Jasper ...

Festive decorating that's fun and affordable It all started when it ended. Autumn’s rich jewel tones had faded, withered and dropped to the ground. Gone were the ruby reds, citrine yellows, emerald greens and amber oranges. Sparkling snow diamonds under sapphire skies were weeks away. The lack of co...

A downtown commercial building fire that was contained quickly after being reported offers important fire-safety lessons. Oily rags not being disposed of properly caused the Jasper Fire Department to respond to a business fire last week. On Thursday, November 20, at around 7:30 a.m., 9-1-1 dispatche...

God, I was tired. And we still had to hike out. The author on a Mount Christie expedition in 2005, around the same time he celebrated his 60th year. // Liam Harrap I had wanted to see 60 in with a flourish, not a walking stick and a sit on a bench in the Park. That was the reason I was so tired. I h...

I Smell a Rat! Let’s get one thing out of the way right now – muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) are not rats. Muskrats and rats are both rodents, but muskrats are actually more closely related to the meadow voles you can see scampering about in Jasper’s wet meadows... Muskrats are in the family Cricetid...

Positions created to facilitate Jasper’s recovery from the 2024 wildfire will be fully funded to the end of their respective terms. The announcement was part of the Tuesday, November 18 Committee of the Whole meeting update from the Jasper Recovery Coordination Centre (JRCC). Director of Recovery, M...

Funding requests from community groups, arts organizations, business advocates, service centres, foundations and festivals went before Jasper Municipal Council November 18.  The annual appeals for support—this year from 11 different groups—were the first items that the recently-elected council has d...

Nature may look chaotic, but it is, in fact, very well organized. So says artist Dee McLean. “We mess with it at our peril,” she says. A scientific illustrator, painter, children’s book author, exhibit curator and former cricket coach, McLean uses art as a vehicle to engage her audience with science...

Jasperites turned out in the hundreds to observe Remembrance Day ceremonies at the Jasper Activity Centre on November 11. Captain (retired) Greg Key from The Jasper Legion emceed the event, noting that the hostilities of the First World War ceased on November 11, 1918, at 11 a.m.—the eleventh hour o...