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'Wizard of Oz' park to reopen in North Carolina for festival

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:15:46 GMT

Correction: This article has been updated to include information about the park's initial operation between 1970 and 1980.BEECH MOUNTAIN, N.C. (WJZY) - Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high … a "Wizard of Oz"-themed festival is kicking off on a North Carolina mountain.Land of Oz, in Avery county, is hosting the Autumn at Oz Festival this September, dropping visitors into the center of Oz for food, fun, crafts and an "immersive theatrical experience" — complete with a yellow brick road.There will also be plenty of photo opportunities, according to Land of Oz.The park originally opened in June 1970 and was fully operational for about a decade. During that time, a fire destroyed two of the Emerald City-themed buildings in 1975, though new management was able to get Land of Oz up and running again by 1976. The amusement park later shut down completely in 1980. Forever stamps, First-Class Mail could become more expensive this summer: Here’s why In the late '80s, parts of the park h...

Dakota County unveils upgraded license center in Burnsville

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:15:46 GMT

The Burnsville License Center reopened on Monday after four months of construction.Burnsville’s remodeled License Center, located at 1101 County Road 42, features more public seating, improved security measures, cosmetic upgrades like lighting and carpet and an extra workstation, per a news release.“We want the customer service experience to be excellent, and I think people are going to like what they see,” said Dakota County Board Chair Liz Workman, who also represents Burnsville, at Monday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.Last year, the licensing center saw nearly 44,000 customers and issued more than 19,000 driver’s licenses and more than 13,000 vehicle tab renewals, noted the release.Related ArticlesLocal News | Eagan officer released from hospital, continuing recovery at home after squad crash Local News | Lakeland couple hospitalized with carbon-monoxide poisoning after power outage leaves thousands in dark Local News | Rosemount sports dome...

Wild might have to start Marco Rossi in Game 1 next week. Is he ready?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:15:46 GMT

NASHVILLE — Marco Rossi’s biggest mistake since being recalled from the minors also happens to be his biggest sign of growth.In his highly anticipated NHL return earlier this week, Rossi tried to spring Ryan Hartman with an aggressive pass through the neutral zone. It resulted in turnover for the Wild, and a few seconds later, the Chicago Blackhawks cashed in on the other end for an easy goal.Though it wasn’t the right play at the time, and it’s something that has since been corrected, coach Dean Evason was actually encouraged by Rossi’s decision.“He tried,” Evason said. “Do we want him to make a cross ice sauce pass? No. Did he have the confidence to do it? Yeah.”That’s a good sign as Rossi tries to establish himself as a regular in the NHL. His confidence was nowhere to be found earlier this season as he struggled to produce after making the team out of training camp.That was enough to get Rossi sent down to the Iowa Wild of th...

Grocery executive profits while Canadians struggle with inflation

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:15:46 GMT

The executive board of Loblaws Companies has approved a 10 per cent pay raise, after referring to grocery mogul and billionaire president of Loblaw Companies Ltd., Galen Weston, as  “underpaid.”As the majority of Canadians continue to reel from inflation and the economic and social fallout of COVID, Galen Weston will receive an additional $1.2 million in compensation this year, bringing his yearly salary to $11.79 million. The verbiage “underpaid,” has been a confounding assertion for many. Given that the Weston family owns over 78 million shares (valued at $14 billion), and that Galen Weston himself owns stock options in Loblaws and George Weston is valued at over $40 million, using the word “underpaid” to describe Weston is nothing more than ludicrous hyperbole.The announcement is terrible timing, given that Loblaw Companies Ltd. has been doubling down on repairing their public image as the mascot for driving grocery prices sky-high in recent years. In January 2023, Loblaws Compan...

County plays crucial role in growing region’s tourism industry

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:15:46 GMT

By Erika MathieuSunny South NewsTourism Lethbridge is gearing up for the 2023 spring and summer tourism season, and doubling down on positioning the region as a premier destination for locally grown and produced food and beverages.“We promote ourselves as Canada’s Premier Food Corridor and Canada’s agriculture destination, so it just makes sense that we are active in that,” explained CEO of Tourism Lethbridge, Erin Crane.Crane said more than ever before food and beverage plays into a tourist’s visitor experience. “It’s huge.  Everybody eats and now when they’re looking at destinations, most travellers are looking for experiences and a lot of that ties into food and beverage.”In 2022, Tourism Lethbridge launched Canada’s Food tours featuring pre-prepared and custom itineraries for self-driven food tours. The eight-hour self-driven tour begins in Lethbridge and provides visitors with information on local experiences and products made locally and all over Lethbridge County. Part of Tou...

Province announces $10 million investment into rural tourism

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:15:46 GMT

By Erika MathieuSunny South NewsRural tourism initiatives will receive $10 million in the next two years to develop experiences in the regions outside of Alberta’s most popular destinations.The funding will focus on environmentally-sustainable attractions and work to increase visibility for “lesser-known” tourism destinations which have been marked with high growth potential. Government of Alberta statistics report that only 30 per cent of tourism spending is taking place outside of the Canadian Rockies and the large urban centres of Calgary and Edmonton.The Province has identified the funding as an action step to, “grow the tourism industry to a $20-billion opportunity over the next 10 years and developing rural tourism is a key contributor to realizing that goal.”CEO of Travel Alberta, David Goldstein, said the investment in rural tourism will, “drive economic development, support cultural preservation and create year-round employment opportunities for young people.”Travel Alberta...

Lethbridge County hears construction update on Chin Reservoir expansion

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:15:46 GMT

By Erika MathieuSunny South NewsTravis Geremia, of St. Mary River Irrigation District (SMRID), and Jeff Olitch of MPE Engineering, appeared as a delegation before Lethbridge County Council on April 6 to discuss the Chin Reservoir expansion project. Geremia is the structural engineer overseeing the project, and Olitch is the prime consultant of MPE overseeing project management.The speakers shared updated schedules and timelines for the $133 million project.The five stages of the complete project include relocation of the existing east dam, raising the reservoir, raising the west dam to accommodate raising of the full supply level (FSL), replacement of Chin conduits which were originally installed in 1951, and replacement of the Chin chute due to age and condition of infrastructure.Olitch explained current reservoir storage is 154,000 acre-feet but, “raising of the FSL and expansion will increase storage by 103,000 acre-feet,” adding that enlarging the reservoir will increase the wat...

Pertussis outbreak expands in South, Central Zones

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:15:46 GMT

An outbreak of pertussis (Whooping Cough) declared Jan. 26, 2023 in the South Zone of Alberta Health Services (AHS) has continued to grow. There are now 114 identified cases, including a small number in Central Zone.The majority of cases have been children under age 18 years, with 72 per cent being between one and nine years old. During the course of this outbreak five children have required hospitalization.There have been four cases in total in Willingdon and Red Deer in the Central Zone.The remainder of cases are in South Zone, impacting the communities of the County of Lethbridge, Coaldale, Taber, Vauxhall, Grassy Lake, Bow Island, County of Forty Mile, Seven Persons, and Fort Macleod.Many of these communities have significantly low childhood immunization rates and there is evidence of transmission within households, community events and gatherings and at some schools. AHS is issuing a reminder to all people of the importance of immunization, particularly in small children, to pr...

St. Joseph’s teacher nominated for Edwin Parr Award

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:15:46 GMT

By Erika MathieuSunny South NewsThe Holy Spirit Catholic School Division has nominated Zara Johnson for the 2022-2023 Edwin Parr teaching award.Across the province, each school board may nominate one first year teacher in their division. Nominations are put forward by the school administrators/principal to recognize the efforts of a first-year teacher who has demonstrated an outstanding impact in the early stages of their teaching career.Zara Johnson is a grade one teacher at St. Joseph’s School in Coaldale. Originally from Golden B.C., she completed her Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education at the University of Lethbridge before getting hired on with HSCSD.With a focus on fostering a supportive and creative classroom, Holy Spirit Catholic School Division made a statement following the announcement describing Johnson’s work as a teacher.Deputy Superintendent for HSCSD, Michelle MacKinnon, said Johnson has already shown an impressive commitment to St. Joseph’s and the community ...

STARS update at Coalhurst Council

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:15:46 GMT

By Nikki JamiesonSunny South NewsThe following are selected briefs from the regular April 3 meeting of Coalhurst town council.CAO reportHighlights of the CAO report include:• Shawn Patience will be Coalhurst’s new CAO. He will be taking over from the interim CAO, Jeffrey Coffman.• A member of the Coaldale RCMP hosted a Community Safety Meeting presentation and answered questions from the public. A reminder that if you experience crime, to call the RCMP information line before turning to social media.• Feedback was received from a recent Public Open House around The Wetlands. Those who stopped in provided great information and feedback. An online survey on the topic closed on April 1, and the survey results will be presented to council at their regular April 18 meeting.• The Town has been approved for a Fire Services Training Grant, which will offset firefighter costs associated with NFPA 1001 Level 1, NFPA 1031 Fire Inspector Levels 1 & 2, and NFPA 1072 Hazmat training sessions....