Trevor Laplante, teachers and Rebecca Strong were among the city's big newsmakers. (File photos/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Year enders

Year in review: A look at Prince Albert’s top stories of 2024

Jan 1, 2025 | 10:00 AM

As 2024 draws to a close, paNOW is taking a look back on the most important and impactful local stories of the year, as selected by our reporters and editorial staff.

10) Rebecca Strong wins Canada’s Got Talent – While millions of people watched from the comfort of their living rooms, Rebecca Strong wiped tears from her eyes. May’s big contest announcement led to multiple appearances and gigs for the Stony Rapids woman and praise from all over the country. A special welcome home celebration was also held in Prince Albert.

Strong told paNOW she hoped her showing on Canada’s Got Talent would inspire other Indigenous singers to chase their dreams.

Last October, Strong received the Saskatchewan Indigenous Music Association’s William Ahenakew award, which recognizes artists who trailblaze and pave the way for future Indigenous performers.

9) JSCN inquest – Following the horrific events that occurred in September, 2022 at James Smith Cree Nation and nearby community of Weldon, two public inquests were held.

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There were 14 recommendations altogether after the inquest into the 11 killings Myles Sanderson, though some overlapped with each other. Eleven recommendations were directed at RCMP by the jury and presiding coroner Blaine Beaven, with the goal of preventing similar deaths in the future.

In the second inquest, which looked into the circumstances surrounding the in-custody death of Sanderson, three recommendations were made to the RCMP by the jury.

Bernie Herman was in handcuffs when escorted from Court of King’s Bench last January. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

8) Bernie Herman sentencing – A former Saskatchewan Mountie, responsible for the death of his young lover Braden Herman, received an 11-year prison sentence for manslaughter. Bernie’s Herman’s sentencing hearing in June followed the verdict delivered in January. Last year’s emotional trial played out like a Hollywood movie and there were graphic descriptions of an abusive relationship that ended in a small clearing south of Little Red River Park. By way of Bernie’s revolver, Braden Herman was shot once in the chest area and was naked when found by police. It was Bernie who told police where they could find the body and had claimed he acted in self-defence. And while he stated Braden was raising some sort of weapon, there was no evidence provided as to what he was holding, if anything.

7) Ronald McDonald House – Design plans were unveiled in June for a new Ronald McDonald House. The spacious 12-room building will include a large kitchen area, rooms for gaming and fitness, and when families need some fresh air, they can tour the various walking paths. The total cost of the project is around $8 million and throughout the year, a number of fundraising announcements were made. Construction is expected to start in 2025 and take about 18 months.

An open house was held at the EA Rawlinson Centre. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

Among the more recent donations was $100,000 from the Northern Lights Community Development Corporation and $50,000 thanks to ticket sales from the Broadway North Jr. production of Willy Wonka Jr. Mann Northway donated a 2025 Chevrolet Equinox, which will be for the organization’s use.

6) Hospital – a number of significant announcements were made this year with respect to the planned expansion of the Victoria Hospital. In February, PCL Construction Management Inc. (PCL), which led the ‘Design Early Works Phase’ of the project, was officially awarded the design-build agreement. In May, Premier Scott Moe, Health Minister Everett Hindley and other local government representatives were on hand for a ground-breaking ceremony. December’s Give a Little Life Day radiothon helped raise over $260,000 for new equipment.

5) Yard updates – With the construction of a new swimming pool and twin pad ice arena, The Yard District saw a building boom of private businesses nearby. McDonalds, Fire House Subs, the SaskTel Store, a Best Western, a liquor store and a Marriott Hotel are either built, or in the process of being built. Several other developments have also been planned or are almost done but not officially announced.

The pool/arena will be named the Lake Country Co-op Leisure Centre, thanks to a $10 million sponsorship and is scheduled to open in March or April of 2025.

A drone image taken last summer. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

4) Unrest in the classroom – Earlier this year, when contract talks earlier between the government and the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation broke down, the resulting rotating strikes had a big impact on the community. In addition to parents scrambling to find day care, extra curricular events were cancelled. Local teachers remained quite visible and carrying a sign in one hand and a hot cup of coffee or Thermos in the other walked in freezing cold temperatures and held protests along 15th ST. E. The rotating strikes ended and events resumed with the announcement of mediation.

Meanwhile provincial legislation, banning cellphones in the classroom, was met with some mixed reception. While some students agreed cellphones were a distraction, others felt phones could serve a purpose in learning and parents questioned policy in case of emergencies.

3) PA forestry announcement – In September, Premier Scott Moe paid a visit to Prince Albert and confirmed construction of a new OSB mill. Construction on the $400 million plant is anticipated to begin in 2025 and finish in 2027. It’s expected to create an estimated 800 direct and indirect jobs. The province has allocated nearly 1.2 million cubic metres of timber to One Sky Forest Products. It was soon after confirmed the old pulp mill would not be re-opening.

2) Election fever – This past year saw both a provincial and municipal election. On Oct. 28, the Sask. Party won a fifth consecutive majority and that included victories in both Carlton and Northcote. Sask. Rivers, which had been represented by the Sask. United Party, also went green under new MLA Eric Schmalz. November’s municipal election in Prince Albert saw a changing of the guard with Bill Powalinskly defeating the city’s longest serving mayor, Greg Dionne. The look of city council as a whole saw big change with four new councillors.

After 12 years under Greg Dionne, Prince Albert’s newly elected mayor is Bill Powalinsky. (Susan McNeil/paNOW Staff)

1) Random acts of violence – The death of Trevor Laplante in July and the robbery/shooting of Orlan Peterson in October, sparked community outrage and calls for action.

Laplante, a well liked member of the city’s sports community and a longtime employee at McDonald’s, was found deceased in a shopping cart. The person alleged responsible, Michael Robert Bird, has no known connection to Laplante.

A three-day preliminary hearing has been set for March 12 to 14 at Prince Albert Provincial Court. At Bird’s first court appearance, a rally was outside the courthouse and over 30 members of the community attended including Laplante’s family members.

Maureen Palagian, left, holds a picture of her deceased brother Trevor and stands with Jeff Perehudoff, who organized a rally to call for justice in the case. (Susan McNeil/paNOW Staff)

For Orlan Peterson, the random act of violence targeting him happened when he was at a job site north of Prince Albert and was alone, when robbed of his vehicle. Before fleeing, the suspects forced Peterson into a trailer and shot him in the upper arm. Roughly an hour later, he sought out help and was found by a passing tow truck driver. While there’s been multiple names released in connection to the incident, it’s still not clear who pulled the trigger.

One of those suspects is Dallas Fulton, who has been listed as a missing person and was last seen in the Thunder Rapids area. The other two suspects, Angus Heathen and Melissa McCallum, are both in custody with pending court dates.

Orlan’s son Josh Peterson disclosed to paNOW his father has always been an optimistic man, and found the bright side of things.

“Like this morning, he was happy to watch the sun come up so he’s an amazing resilient person, how he’s always able to find the silver lining in a cloud,” Josh said.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @nigelmaxwell