Red Deer Minute: Issue 229

Red Deer Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Red Deer politics

📅 This Week In Red Deer: 📅

• This morning at 10:30 am, there will be a City Council Organizational Meeting. The new Mayor and Council will be sworn in, and then Councillors will discuss citizen representative appointments to committees, quasi-judicial and external boards, and Red Deer Downtown Business Association board appointments. Additional agenda items include approval of Council meeting dates for 2026 and Deputy Mayor appointments for 2025/2026.
  
  
• The Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools Board has sworn in its newly elected trustees. Chris Andrew, a veteran educator and past Parish Council Chair, was appointed Board Chair, while returning trustee Cynthia Leyson will serve as Vice-Chair. Other trustees include Cathy Bouchard, Murray Hollman, Brenda MacDonald, Marty Reed, and Ed Wiper, representing various wards. During the swearing-in ceremony, trustees were also assigned to board committees and designated as school liaisons for each of the 21 schools. Andrew emphasized the board’s commitment to advancing Catholic education, advocating for a system that nurtures both faith and learning, while Leyson brings extensive parish and community experience to her role.
  
  
• Researchers at Red Deer Polytechnic have developed a virtual reality (VR) training program for wheelchair curling athletes. Jennifer Dornstauder and Prateeksha Aggarwal, working with Curling Canada, led the project with contributions from students in animation, programming, and kinesiology. The VR system simulates realistic body and rock movements, detailed ice and arena graphics, and strategic gameplay, allowing athletes to train remotely and access coaching without needing to be on the ice. The program also models the Paralympic arena environment to help athletes acclimate to larger, louder, and busier competition settings, improving depth perception and readiness. The initiative supports Canada’s wheelchair curlers as they prepare for the 2026 Paralympics in Milano-Corina, Italy, offering a flexible, immersive, and practical training tool previously unavailable in para sports.
  
  
• Visits to food banks in Alberta have risen sharply, with the Red Deer Food Bank seeing a 140% increase since 2019, outpacing the provincial average of 134% and the national increase of 99%. The surge is driven by factors such as inflation and housing costs. Many users are employed but still struggle to make ends meet, and seniors’ use of the service has also grown. The Red Deer Food Bank plans to convert its distribution centre into a grocery-style model in the new year to allow clients more choice and reduce food waste. Its largest annual fundraiser, Stuff-A-Bus, will take place at Parkland Mall from November 20th to 22nd, with community donations helping to maintain supplies.
  
  
• The City of Red Deer’s annual Toys for Tickets campaign returns this November, allowing residents to pay parking fines by donating a new toy of equal or greater value. Donations will be delivered to the Red Deer Christmas Bureau in early December to ensure local children receive gifts for the holidays. Toys must be new, unwrapped, in original packaging, and include a store receipt. The Christmas Bureau notes that gifts for older children (ages 10–17) are most needed, including items like sports equipment, electronics, art kits, and musical instruments. Since 2007, the program has collected over 15,000 toys. Donations can be dropped off at City Hall until December 5th, and anyone wishing to contribute without a ticket can donate directly to the Christmas Bureau.

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

What will you be looking for as this new Council gets to work?

Reply and let us know!

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