A gardener and a publisher walk into a Farmers’ Market I sow seeds in potting soil. When we were chatting at the market, Jasper Local publisher Andrea Ziegler sowed a seed in my ear, “You should put your gardening tips in writing.” That seed has sprouted. I love growing and foraging for food. And I ...

Mark Hall’s reaction to my article on the newly legalized practice of hunting bears with dogs started with the statement that it ‘relies on emotional rhetoric, selective science, and mischaracterizations that deserve clarification’. I would like to address each of his criticisms in turn. Mark Hall: ...

Make room for mushrooms this September 26-28 in B.C.’s fertile Robson Valley. The Robson Valley Mushroom Festival , spore-headed by longtime Jasperite and recent Robson Valley transplant, Terry Winkler, is returning to Dunster to showcase the magical world of mushrooms. Fun guy Terry Winkler spreadi...

A team of cyclists riding from Alberta’s southern border to where the province meets the Northwest Territories passed through Jasper on Tuesday, August 26. Five riders are endeavouring to complete an 1,800 km ride in just one week, a never-done-before two-wheeled push in the name of Alberta’s search...

A father and son’s five-year journey to summit mighty Mount Robson From a distance, Mount Robson looks like something painted onto the horizon. Mount Robson looms large from the Yellowhead Highway. // Creative Commons Its glaciated ridges and sheer cliffs dwarf everything around it. At 3,954 metres,...

The recent opinion piece published in The Jasper Local raises concerns about the ethics, effectiveness, and motivations behind Alberta’s decision to permit hound-assisted black bear hunting in Caribou Conservation Areas (CCAs).  While the author’s passion for wildlife is commendable, the article unf...

In July, Todd Loewen, the Minister for Alberta’s Forestry and Parks, quietly updated provincial regulations to allow the use of dogs while hunting black bears. His rationale? To help protect endangered woodland caribou populations, because black bears prey on newborn caribou calves. Hunter gatherer ...

Part 3: Seeing the forest floor through the trees In  Part 1 of our Walking Through Fire series , we discussed how post-fire vegetation bounces back. In Part 2 we looked at animals' attraction to fire . But what did the fire uncover about the landscape itself? The Jasper 2024 fire exposed an epic st...

RCMP have charged a Jasper resident with possession of stolen property and dangerous driving. On August 17, Jasper RCMP received multiple reports of a dangerous driver in the Jasper area. That same day, another call came in regarding a collision between a similarly-described vehicle and a semi truck...

Richard Ireland has indicated his intent to run for mayor in Jasper again. The only mayor that the community has ever known filed his notice of intent papers today, August 15, 2025. Reached at his home Friday afternoon, Ireland said he and his family came to the decision to offer his services to the...

Were it not for a life-altering wager, longtime local and raft guide Andre Blanchette-Dube might not have been raised in Jasper. “My parents moved to Jasper because my dad took a bet with his coworkers,” Blanchette-Dube said. “There was a job opportunity as a music teacher and [my dad] applied for t...

Even though the summer sun was sweltering, the mother grizzly kept up the search. Eventually, she poked her nose into the ground and started digging. Within minutes, her head and shoulders had vanished underground, and before long she re-emerged with a wriggling prize in her jaws: a Columbian ground...

Permitting is steadily moving forward in Jasper, according to the Jasper Recovery Coordination Centre (JRCC). At the August 5 regular council meeting, Directory of Recovery Michael Fark updated Jasper Municipal Council on the most recent activity facilitated through the JRCC’s offices. Fark said tha...

A nervous Darren Thom was awake at 5am today (August 12, 2025), eagerly anticipating the arrival of his new home. Nearly three hours later, at 7:50am, a truck towing a large flatbed trailer rounded the corner from Patricia Street onto Ash Avenue. The R4 District's first replacement home, post wildfi...

A week of theatre games hosted by a duo from Edmonton culminated in a Friday afternoon circus performance for the ages (and for all ages). From August 4-8, Marie-Joanne (MJ) Fogue Makou and Steve Jodoin from Unitheatre Edmonton brought big performer energy down the Yellowhead Highway and into the Ja...

Too restrictive regulations? Or insincere insurance companies? The Jasper Local digs into one of the complex elements of rebuilding in a national park Editor's note (Aug 11 5:30 p.m.): This story has been updated to include comment from the Insurance Bureau of Canada When compared to how quickly it ...

En route to Jasper on July 23, 2024, as part of the Banff wildland firefighting team, Sara-Jay (SJ) Nogel was pretty sure she saw her dream going up in smoke .  Flying above Highway 93N, from her seat in the helicopter, SJ saw a dense plume of smoke up the Athabasca River valley, rising over Wabasso...

Two people who illegally harvested morel mushrooms in Jasper National Park have been charged with multiple offences. On May 28, 2025, Parks Canada law enforcement officials responded to reports of illegal mushroom harvesting near Lake Edith. Lake Edith is a tranquil oasis that begs to be explored. B...

At 4:20 p.m. on July 24, 2025—three days after the 100th year anniversary of its first ascent— two men who had been making their way up the steep, crumbly, snow-covered rock of isolated Mount Alberta suddenly ran out of mountain to climb. With radiant smiles shining through the freezing rain, the cl...

The 2024 wildfire exacted a terrible toll on Jasper, but instead of focusing on what’s been lost, Jasper’s next mural will honour The Things That Grew. Starting on August 6, helped along by a series of community events and opportunities for residents to gather, Belgian artist Gijs Vanhee will bring ...