Red Deer Minute: Issue 238

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

📅 This Week In Red Deer: 📅

• Happy New Year! As 2026 gets underway, Common Sense Red Deer is ready to make this the year that common sense takes center stage in our city. Your support and engagement make it possible for us to push for smarter decisions, lower taxes, and greater accountability at City Hall. This year, we’ll continue speaking up for practical solutions that benefit all Red Deerians and ensure our city’s leaders are focused on the priorities that matter most. Wishing you and your family a happy, healthy, and successful year ahead!
  
  
• On Thursday, at 5:00 pm, there will be a meeting of the Policing Committee. The Committee will receive verbal updates on several items, including the Terms of Reference/Policy Manual, Committee Training & Orientation, Public Engagement, the Annual Performance Plan, the RCMP Quarterly Report, and the timing of Committee meetings.
  
  
• Red Deer Public Schools (RDPS) reported a year of growth and innovation for 2024-2025, serving 11,414 students across 30 sites with a $126 million budget. The Division introduced hands-on programs like the Fire Academy, Veterinary Tech Assistant Program, and ESports courses, while upgrading hairstyling apprenticeship labs to provide industry-standard training. Teachers and administrators participated in professional learning and collaboration initiatives to strengthen teaching practices. Indigenous education remained a priority, with ceremonies celebrating Indigenous graduates, visits from Elders and knowledge keepers, and partnerships with local Indigenous organizations to guide culturally responsive programming. RDPS also emphasized community engagement, addressing diverse socio-economic and linguistic needs. 
  
  
• The Red Deer Dream Centre is looking to expand its capacity by adding more beds at its downtown Red Deer facility. The addiction recovery centre for men recently added five privately funded beds, all of which have remained full. Executive Director Darryl Wilkie said the centre has space for up to 31 beds and is seeking stable support from donors, businesses, and potentially the Province to make additional beds affordable through sliding-scale pricing. The Centre may also benefit from future provincial funding decisions. Clients can stay for up to 12 months, accessing programs that address physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of addiction. In 2025, 34 clients graduated from the program. Wilkie said many participants come from across Alberta, often seeking longer-term recovery after shorter programs proved insufficient. 
  
  
• Red Deer residents can recycle their real Christmas trees at 11 City drop-off locations, where Parks crews will collect them and repurpose them into mulch. The program runs until the end of January, and residents are asked to remove all decorations, including tinsel, before dropping off their trees. Locations include sites in Bower, Clearview Ridge, Davenport, Downtown, Eastview Estates, Ironstone, Kentwood West, Normandeau, Oriole Park, Vanier, and West Park. More information is available on the City's website.

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

If you could suggest a New Year’s resolution for Council, what would it be? 

Share your ideas with us!

🪙 This Week’s Sponsor: 🪙

This week's sponsor is you! We don't have big corporate backers, so if you like what you're reading, please consider making a donation or signing up as a monthly member.

Having said that, if you are a local business and are interested in being a sponsor, send us an email and we'll talk!