• Diamond Valley council approved its 2025 operating budget on Dec. 4 with a property tax increase of 5.81 per cent. Cuts were made, including to community events, after it was determined that an increase of more than 10 per cent would be needed to keep service levels the same.
• Foothills County council approved a 1.97 per cent tax increase during its annual budget meeting on Dec. 4. The budget included funding for two new positions in the information technology department, bringing the total to five, to address growing needs for service and increasing cybersecurity.
• Okotoks skip Atina Ford Johnston and Team Alberta won gold at the 2024 Everest Canadian Senior Curling Championships on Dec. 7 in Moncton, N.B. with a 5-4 win over Ontario’s Team Jo-Ann Rizzo. As national champions, Team Alberta advances to the World Senior Curling Championships next spring.
• In the wake of Rocky View County voting to withdraw from the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board on Dec. 10, Foothills County Reeve Delilah Miller said her council will likely follow suit. Miller said Foothills County has long been vocal about the regional growth plan favouring urban members over rural ones.
• Christmas concerts in support of the Okotoks Food Bank on Dec. 10 and 11 raised a whopping $105,000. The sold-out concerts brought 900 people to Okotoks Evangelical Free Church to hear from 10 musical acts, including guitarist Calum Graham and country duo The Charms.
• Okotoks swimmer Finlay Knox, a two-time Olympian, broke his own Canadian record in the 200m individual medley on Dec. 10 to secure the bronze medal at the Short Course World Aquatics Swimming Championships in Budapest, Hungary. It was Knox’s first major competition since making four finals at the Paris Olympics.
• Developers answered questions about a $4-billion data centre proposed near High River during an open house for the project on Dec. 11. Proposed for a 260-acre parcel immediately east of Highway 2 in Foothills County, the data centre would include five two-storey buildings and create 300 jobs when completed.
• The federal government is throwing its support behind a regional water project being undertaken by Okotoks and Foothills County. A $5.8-million grant for the Foothills-Okotoks Regional Water Project was announced by Housing, communities and Infrastructure Canada on Dec. 12.
• Okotoks checked in at No. 59 on The Globe and Mail’s list of most livable cities in Canada. The 2024 list, which ranks 448 communities with populations in excess of 10,000 people, saw Okotoks move up six spots from its 2023 ranking. Okotoks was listed as the sixth most livable city in Alberta.
• The Carstar Okotoks Bisons ran their win streak in the Heritage Junior Hockey League to nine games with victories over Coaldale and Medicine Hat on Dec. 13 and 14, respectively. The divisional triumphs also extended the Bisons’ streak of games without a regulation loss to 13 and moved them seven points up on Medicine Hat atop the South Division.
• Holiday shoppers were treated to a one-of-a-kind experience at the Okotoks Walmart on Dec. 14 when members of the Salvation Army's Calgary-based Glenmore Temple Band performed in the men’s section. Formed in 1892, the band of volunteer musicians has been a frequent sight at community events across the region for over 100 years.
