The bighorn sheep is Alberta’s official mammal, and when you’re in Jasper National Park, they’re one of a handful of species that you can dependably spot. Typically, visitors see bighorns on the side of the road, where they congregate in several well-known locations to lap up minerals found in road ...

View Post Kirsten Schmitten is a Master Interpreter, and owner of the locally-based company All Things Wild .   She loves the questions folks ask, especially when they stump her.  Contact the The Jasper Local to ask your Wild Question. Master Interpreter Kirsten Schmitten answers All Questions Wild....

I love living in Alberta and having the Canadian Rockies in my backyard. I am fortunate to get away from the hustle and bustle of the big city and within hours be surrounded by the breathtaking beauty of the mountains. As an Albertan, my go to has always been Jasper, where its rustic charm and small...

My watch claimed it was morning, but as I walked towards my snowmobile it was still dark. The snow crunched loudly beneath my boots, as it does when the thermometer dips below -30℃, and when I drew breath, I could feel the crispness of the frigid air as it entered my lungs. I swung my arms in a vain...

UPDATED (11:33 p.m. MST): ATCO is reporting that power has been restored throughout the townsite. More than 800 Jasper residents were without electricity on the year’s longest night . ATCO Electric technicians are still investigating the cause of a power outage that began at 7:10 p.m. Power was lost...

Conceptual policies have less severe restrictions on food prep areas, PHA size and access points  Parks Canada has revised deeply unpopular amendments to proposed Private Home Accommodation regulations. But questions persist as the agency solicits public feedback on the conceptual policies. The prop...

A recent crime spree has left several Jasperites with one hole in their vehicles’ exhaust manifolds, and another in their pockets. Since December 17, local police have had four reports of catalytic converter thefts, said Cst. Yanick MacLean of the Jasper RCMP detachment. In a small town, that’s a di...

With sale of Mountain Galleries, Jasper artist and filmmaker is reflecting on a life lived in art As a 10-year-old girl, Wendy Wacko never struggled with what she would do when she grew up. “I always knew I wanted to live a life in art,” she said. Some six decades later, the Jasper-based arts promot...

Simone Heinrich is always excited when she has a chance encounter with a pine marten.  Pine martens—or American martens, as they’re officially known—are members of the weasel family. They’re known for their quickness and agility, which, as Simone will testify, makes them hard to photograph. “I’ve sp...

Jasper’s Fred Kreiner will be the NDP candidate for West Yellowhead in Alberta’s next provincial election.  Kreiner won the nomination on December 8 after collecting more votes than Brule’s Lavone Olson in a local constituency election.  Kreiner is a former principal and French immersion teacher who...

RCMP have determined that criminal charges are not warranted in the 2020 Columbia Icefields Ice Explorer rollover that killed three people.  Jasper RCMP have completed their investigation into the accident and determined the evidence gathered and reviewed did not meet the threshold for criminal char...

A man who piloted a drone in the vicinity of a wildfire in Jasper National Park has been handed down a $10,000 fine. Judge Jeffrey Champion issued the penalty for the contravention of the Canadian National Parks Act during Provincial Court hearings on December 8. “It could have been a tragedy,” Cham...

Jasper’s top official got a warm welcome in the gallery of Canada’s Upper House last month.  Mayor Richard Ireland was part of a Rocky Mountain delegation in Ottawa on November 22 when he was introduced in the Canadian Senate as a longterm colleague and dear friend of former Banff mayor, now-Canadia...

Jasper municipal council passed its 2023 budget on December 6 with a $1.08 million or 4.45 per cent increase over the 2022 tax requisition. All of council voted in favour. To a residential ratepayer who owns a home assessed at $900,000, the increase represents a $105 annual jump; to an urban-commerc...

Three backcountry users in Jasper National Park were given hefty fines for entering areas closed for caribou conservation. On November 24 Jasper Provincial Court heard that last spring, three individuals were charged by Parks Canada law enforcement officers for trespassing in delayed-access areas. A...

Council has moved forward a 2023 budget with a four-and-a-half per cent increase to Jasper’s tax requisition. The budget adds new resources to address council’s stated priority of increasing internal capacity to advance housing in Jasper. If approved, the budget would also bring online a position to...

Three Jasperites have been recognized as Citizen Community Builders by the Alberta Municipalities association and the provincial government. Firefighters Kelly Dawson and Mathew Conte, along with municipal councillor Kathleen Waxer, were presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal o...

Casey Paterson is using Jasper’s Moonlight Madness festivities for a good cause. The nine-year-old Jasperite will be setting up at Mettra Pharmacy on November 25 to collect socks through his charity program, Warm Feet, Warm Hearts. Working in collaboration with Boyle Street Community Services and th...

After an award winning season debuting their hit play From Jasper, With Love, local theatre stars Pieter Van Loon and Joost Tijssen are helping Jasper youth take the stage. Since November 18, and continuing until December 16, the duo have been featuring winter acting classes for teens. In the meanti...

A 2023 proposed budget with 12 new “base” staff positions and five “optional enhancement” positions has been advanced by Jasper municipal council for further deliberation. At their November 15 and 16 budgetary meetings, council discussed each of the positions in depth. Some of the costs of the incre...