Show Segments

8:30 – Powerful storms tore through Saskatchewan over the weekend, causing havoc at Craven and tearing the roofs from buildings and toppling campers in the Town of Eston, southwest of Saskatoon. Funnel clouds were spotted around the province, and the Tim McGraw concert at Country Thunder Saskatchewan was cancelled as lightning came too close for comfort. Eston Mayor Al Heron joins John now to discuss the extent of the damage there.

LIVE: Al Heron, Eston Mayor.

9:00 – The Hour of the Big Stories… Open Session

10:00 – Saskatchewan is playing host to hundreds of evacuees after a raging wildfire in northern Ontario prompted the evacuation of the Pikangikum First Nation, an Ojibwe community about 500 km north of Thunder Bay. More than 300 arrived Friday in Regina, and another 300 evacuees were expected to arrive in Saskatoon over the weekend. Premier Scott Moe said the province would take as many as 2,000 temporary residents during the fire, but that may not be necessary as rains reduced the size of the wildfire over the weekend prompting the evacuation to be put on hold. Cindy Fuchs, vice president with the Saskatchewan Red Cross, has been assisting during the evacuation efforts. She joins John now with an update.

LIVE: Cindy Fuchs, Vice President of the Saskatchewan Red Cross.

11:00 – A University of Alberta study is examining drive-thru bans in Canada, which have already been enacted in at least 27 Canadian communities with various measures. Co-author Candace Nykiforuk says the decisions were often made in order to promote healthy eating, promote walking and cycling, help level the playing field for smaller restaurants, and encourage people to leave their cars and interact directly with each other. Would your community benefit from a drive-thru ban? Would you eat healthier if drive-thru wasn’t an option? Give us a call at 1-877-332-8255 and join the conversation.

12:00 – The Gasper family from Rosetown were killed in a two-vehicle collision in June of 2018. Troy, 26, Carissa, 28, and their children Kael, 6, Shea, 4, and Maks, 2, died when their SUV collided with another vehicle head-on near Elrose in a crash that also claimed the life of 71-year-old Carolynne Gould of Swift Current. Since then, a foundation has been established in the Gasper family’s name to support community projects dedicated to bringing families together through play. The foundation’s first project, a splash park in Rosetown, is set to open July 23rd in a park near where Troy grew up. Foundation secretary Danielle Pearce says she was overwhelmed by the community response which helped raise more than $350,000 in under a year, and she joins John to discuss the project.

LIVE: Danielle Pearce, secretary for the Gasper Family Foundation.