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Members of Medicine Hat City council will head to Moose Jaw tomorrow for an annual strategic planning session. The meetings will give aldermen and the mayor a chance to present their individual ideas for the upcoming year, discuss the various ideas and create a general plan of attack. Council members will also tour Moose Jaw’s new arena—Mosaic Place—to look at everything from cement to seating to find out if there are any shortcuts where the city can save money. Another reason the meeting is being held in Moose Jaw is because of the city’s endeavors to rejuvenate their downtown core. Aldermen and the mayor will be back in the Gas City on Monday to begin the budget process.

Hatters will get a bit of a break on their electricity bills this month. The city has set their utilities rates for the month of February—charging 13.64 cents per kilowatt hour, down from January’s all time high of 14.81 cents. Natural gas will cost you $2.14 cents per gigajoule—down 84 cents from last month. The rates are calculated based on an average of several other communities.

Seven people are facing drug trafficking charges after an investigation by City police and the RCMP. Investigators determined that drugs were being sold from a residence in the Dominion Street SE area of Medicine Hat. A search warrant was executed where officer seized 37.5 grams of crack cocaine worth an estimated street value of 75 hundred dollars. Police also seized 63 hundred dollars cash. Seven people from Medicine Hat, Brooks, and Calgary —ranging in age from 22 to 52 were arrested and charged.

A 25 year old man charged with pointing a handgun at several people at the Medicine Hat College will be back in court today. City police say several people got into an argument at the Primrose Drive student residence on the weekend. One person left and allegedly returned wearing a mask and brandishing a gun. Dustin Satterthwaite faces several weapons-related charges.

At least 74 people were killed and hundreds injured after a soccer match in the Egyptian city of Port Said (Sigh-eed). The tragedy took place last night following an Egyptian league match between Al-Masry the home team and Al-Ahly based in Cairo. Tons of soccer fans were crushed to death while others were fatally stabbed or suffocated after being trapped in a long narrow corridor trying to flee rival fans armed with knives, clubs and stones. It was the deadliest soccer violence since 1996. Egyptian activists have accused the police and military of failing to intervene to stop the mayhem.  The Egyptian government has launched an investigation into what happened.

Rescuers have pulled more than 230 survivors from the sea off Papua New Guinea’s east coast after a ferry sank with as many as 350 people on board. An airplane from Australia, three helicopters and eight ships scoured the area scoured the area after the ferry went down—16 kilometres from shore. Most of the passengers were students and trainee teachers—the students ranged from pre-school age to high schoolers. Officials say the ferry capsized in rough seas and sank four hours later.

Rock 105.3 Sports….

James Reimer stopped all 25 shots he faced as the Toronto Maple Leafs shut out Pittsburgh 1-0. Elsewhere in the NHL, Ryan Callahan scored the decisive shootout goal as the Rangers got past Buffalo 1-0, the Panthers doubled up the Capitals 4-2, Dallas dumped Anaheim 6-2 and it was the Kings over the Blue Jackets 3-2. Tonight, the Oilers are home to Chicago.

The Medicine Hat Tigers are getting set to hit the road this weekend. The Tigers are in Prince Albert tomorrow night to face the Raiders. Saturday, they travel to Saskatoon to take on the Blades.

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have released veteran tailback Avon Cobourne. The Ti-Cats also released defensive end Luc Mullinder and offensive lineman Simeon Rottier.

Baseball news, the Toronto Blue Jays have signed veteran reliever Francisco Cordero to a 4.5 million dollar one year contract.

The busiest intersection in Medicine Hat could soon be getting an overpass. Alberta’s Transportation Minister Ray Danyluk was in the Gas City yesterday visiting the Dunmore Road and Trans Canada Highway intersection and hinted that funding for an overpass could be included in next week’s provincial budget. Danyluk says he wanted to talk about the project and see how they could speed it up. Preliminary engineering work has already been done for the intersection all the project is waiting for is funding—which could come February 9^th. In the last two years there have been 147 collisions at the Dunmore Road/Trans Canada intersection.

The town of Redcliff says it broke election laws governing public agency donations to public parties. Redcliff did an internal investigation after Elections Alberta requested municipalities review older records to see if any of their officials attended PC Party functions on the government’s dime. Redcliff’s town manager said a number of councilors paid just over 200 dollars each to attend a dinner by former Premier Ed Stelmach in 2007 and then submitted receipts for money back from the town. Publicly funded bodies like school boards and municipalities have been barred from contributing to political parties since 2004.

An eight death in Alberta has been linked to tainted ecstasy. Red Deer RCMP say preliminary toxicology results point to ecstasy laced with PMMA as a factor in the death of a 38 year old man in December. Calgary Police have confirmed seven tainted ecstasy deaths since last July and are awaiting test results on the weekend death of another man and two women who were hospitalized after suffering apparent drug overdoes. Police say they’ve received numerous tips, but there’s not enough information to narrow down a source or dealer of the tainted drug.

The former chair of the Taber Police Commission has pleaded guilty to two child pornography charges. Curtis Paradee was arrested last June following an investigation between Alberta police and the US Department of Homeland Security. It followed allegations from a girl south of the border who claimed to e involved in a cyber relationship with an older man. Paradee admitted to communicating with a person under the age of 18 on the internet and one count of accessing child pornography. Seven other charges—including possession and distribution of child porn were dropped. The 42 year old will be back in court next Tuesday to set a date for sentencing.

Mexican authorities are standing by their arrest in the savage beating of Canadian tourist Sheila Nabb. 28 year old Jose Quintero told a local newspaper he was forced to sign a confession he never read. Quintero admitted he hit Nabb in a hotel elevator, but denied he wanted to kill her and said he never expected to be charged with attempted murder. According to the Canadian Press, Quintero described being forced to sign two confessions-including one stating he meant to kill Nabb as authorities allegedly swore at him telling him to stop asking questions and sign the document because it’s late and we want to go home. Quintero says he has no idea what his confession says and added that he was never allowed to read it or speak with a lawyer.

Rock 105.3 Sports…..

Emerson Etem scored a hat trick, but it wasn’t enough as the Medicine Hat Tigers fell 6-3 to the visiting Red Deer Rebels last night. Etem’s hat trick was his 5^th of the season and brought his season total to 47 goals—a new career high. Last night’s loss prevent goalie Tyler Bunz from his milestone 106^th career win—he remains tied at 105 with Matt Keetley. The Tigers hit the road this weekend—they’re in Prince Albert Friday and take on the Blades in Saskatoon on Saturday.

Taylor Hall scored the game winner in the third period as the Edmonton Oilers held on to be the Colorado Avalanche 3-2. Devan Dubnyk made 31 saves in the win. Elsewhere in the NHL, the Calgary Flames fell 3-1 to Detroit, Vancouver defeated Chicago 3-2, Pittsburgh downed Toronto 5-4 in a shootout, Buffalo beat Montreal 3-1, Winnipeg got past Philadelphia 2-1 in a shootout and Boston rallied to a 4-3 win over Ottawa.

The Pittsburgh Penguins say Sidney Crosby is suffering from a soft-tissue neck injury and not a past or present neck fracture. A spinal trauma expert says the soft-tissue injury could be causing neurological symptoms. Pittsburgh’s GM is hopeful that Crosby can return later this season if the neck treatment is successful.

The City of Medicine Hat has approved a 48.6 million dollar deal to buy oil producing properties from Chinook Energy and a minority private partner. The deal will see the city-owned energy division acquire 68 working wells on a block of leases located east of Manyberries. Officials say the purchase will contribute to the sustainability of the City’s natural gas utility by creating a greater mix between natural gas and oil. Oil production is set to increase to 17 percent of the City’s mix—-up from 9 percent. It could translate to an extra 6 to 8 million flowing into city coffers each year for the next three years and beyond.

City police have arrested a 56 year old Medicine Hat man and charged him with numerous drug and property crime offences. After receiving numerous complaints, police executed a search warrant last Friday in the 200 block of 13^th Avenue Southeast. Police seized around 35 hundred dollars in drugs and 25 hundred dollars in stolen property. 56 year old Dale Norwood was arrested and then released on a recognizance but was rearrested the following day. Police say a second warrant was issued after they received more information about the man and the subsequent raid netted a small amount of crack cocaine. Norwood was released again on a recognizance. He’s facing a number of drug and property charges in connection with the raids. Norwood will make a court appearance today.

For the first time since 2004 the number of sexually transmitted infections has dropped in Alberta. A 2010 report released yesterday showed there were over 16 thousand new cases of STIs in the province, down from over 17 thousand the year before. The report also showed a drop in the rate of HIV and Aids for the second year in a row. Officials say increased awareness, treatment and key staffing have contributed to the decrease. Health minister Fred Horne says he’s encouraged that work of public health officials is starting to pay off, but he says sexually transmitted infections remain an ongoing and serious public health concern.

Calgary police have linked a seventh death to ecstasy laced with PMMA. Test results revealed a young man found dead on the SAIT campus earlier this month had the toxic additive in his system. Police are still looking into a suspected overdose on the weekend as well as another incident involving two women from Edmonton.  Investigators are working to follow-up on a number of leads to determine the source of the drugs containing PMMA.

Four men are facing charges following a drug trafficking investigation by the Medicine Hat Police Service and Redcliff RCMP. Police conducted a traffic stop on the Trans-Canada last Wednesday and found 57 grams of cocaine worth around 56 hundred dollars. Police charged Medicine Hat Resident Rene Luedee, Redcliff resident Brian Gougeon, and Norman Playter of Calgary with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. Gougeon and Playter are known residents of the Outlaws motorcycle gang. All three men will be in court next week.

Details on the death of a disabled Calgary man in provincial care have been made public. The report lays the blame for the man’s death squarely on the group home where he was living. The 35 year old died last November after he was scalded in a bathtub. He suffered burns to over 20 percent of his body while being bathed by a caregiver. He spent 5 weeks in hospital before succumbing to his injuries. The report into the man’s death found several breaches of protocol. It says the caregiver who scalded the man had quit the week before, but came back because the home couldn’t’ find anyone to do her work. The province says a lot of changes need to be made and that it will pay for temperature regulators on bathtubs and step up inspections of group home facilities.

Grass roots programs aimed at fighting gang activity are getting a helping hand from the Alberta government. One million dollars will be given to programs that encourage and support community based action to reduce gang crime and violence in Alberta. Officials say gang activity is most likely to turn up in rural, remote and aboriginal communities. The funding announcement is part of the province’s safe community’s initiative.

Rock 105.3 Sports….

The Medicine Hat Tigers are home to the Red Deer Rebels tonight. Tigers goalie Tyler Bunz will get his second shot at making franchise history—he’s currently tied with Matt Keetley with 105 regular season wins. The puck drops tonight at 7 at the Arena.

The Carolina Hurricanes have signed defenceman Tim Gleason to a four year contract extension. The deal will pay the 29 year old 3.5 next season, 4.5 million in 2013-14 and 3.5 million the next season. The deal also has a full no-trade clause in the first two years.

NHL action tonight—Calgary hosts Detroit and Edmonton is home to Colorado.

A 25 year old student was arrested and banned from Medicine Hat College campus after an incident on the weekend. City police were called out to a residence on Primrose Drive Friday night for a weapons complaint. Several college students were involved in a verbal dispute—one man left and then returned masked with a handgun. He banged on the window of the residence with the handgun at which point several students went outside and a fight broke out. The 25 year old was arrested and charged with several offences. He’s currently in custody and will be in court this week. College officials spent the weekend speaking to students and alerting them of the incident. The student has been evicted from residence and is banned from campus according to College policy.

Darren Hirsch is the PC party’s new candidate for Medicine Hat in the upcoming election. Hirsh beat out three other candidates—Dr. Linda Rossler, Ian Baird and Dan Hein at the nomination meeting at Higdon Hall on Saturday. Constituency members cast 398 ballots and passed a motion to unanimously support Hirsch as their Tory candidate. Hirsch says if he’s elected he’ll tackle the issue of the Dunmore Road overpass as well as the hospital expansion.

A special session of City Council has been set for today. The only thing on the agenda is an “energy item.” The agenda doesn’t reveal any more information other than the meeting is regarding energy. A city spokesman says that once the announcement is made at the  5pm meeting it will become evident why the background is being kept under wraps.

Hundreds of mourners in Vulcan attended funeral services for murder victim Otto Bunty Loose Sunday afternoon. Shops and services were closed for hours as over 600 people attended the service to remember the life of Loose. The 77 year old retired farmer was kidnapped from his home January 8^th and his body was found in a wooded area near Claresholm six days later. Timmy Douglas Engel is charged with first degree murder in connection with the kidnapping and dismemberment of Loose.

A Mexican man arrested in connection with the brutal beating of Canadian tourist Sheila Nabb could face up to 14 years in prison if convicted. 28 year old Jose Ramon Acosta Quintero admitted to attacking Nabb in an elevator at the 5 star Mazatlan resort where she was staying with her husband. Quintero said he attacked the woman out of fear. He had been drinking with a Canadian friend and did a line of cocaine prior to the assault. He says when he encountered Nabb she wasn’t wearing any clothes. When Quintero tried to prevent her from leaving he said she screamed and he panicked. Police say they identified Quintero from surveillance footage and they also found blood on his sandals that matches the blood of the victim. Quintero has been charged with attempted murder and is set to make a court appearance this morning.

Rock 105.3 Sports…

At the 59^th annual NHL All-Star game in Ottawa it was Team Chara over Team Alfredsoon 12-9. Marian Gaborik (GA’-bih-rik) had a hat trick in the win and walked away with the game MVP.

The Medicine Hat Tigers split a pair of weekend games trouncing over Lethbridge 8-2 on Friday and falling 5-2 to Calgary Saturday night. The Tigers return to action tomorrow night as they host the Red Deer Rebels. Tyler Bunz will have a chance to become the Tigers all-time leader in regular season wins. Right now he shares top spot with Matt Keetley at 105 victories. Face-off tomorrow night is at 7pm at the Arena.

At the Pro-Bowl, Brandon Marshall caught 6 passes for 176 yards and a Pro-Bowl record four touchdowns as the AFC beat the NFC 59-41.

 Uninjured passengers from the Costa Concordia ship will be offered over 14 thousand dollars a piece to compensate them for lost baggage and psychological trauma after the cruise ship capsized. Costa also said it would reimburse passengers the full costs of their cruise, their travel expenses and any medical expenses sustained after the grounding. The agreement was announced after negotiations between Costa representatives and Italian consumer groups. The deal does not apply to the hundreds of crew on the ship, the roughly 100 cases of people injured or the families who lost loved ones. Passengers are free to pursue legal action if they’re not satisfied with the deal.

Construction of a new curling rink and two NHL sized arenas will begin next year in Lethbridge—thanks in part to a 10 million dollar federal grant. The funds come from the major infrastructure section of the federal Building Canada Fund—grant money is not available for semi-professional or professional hockey teams. Medicine Hat MP LaVar Payne and Mayor Norm Boucher are expected to comment on the funding this morning. They’re making a joint announcement at the Esplanade, but so far there are no details as to what the announcement will entail.

It’s been made official—U.S retail giant Target is coming to Medicine Hat. The company has confirmed that it will be moving into the Zellers location at the Medicine Hat Mall. Around 10 million dollars will be spent on remodeling the current Zellers location, which will shut its doors in October. Target is scheduled to open in summer 2013. The store will employ 150 to 200 team members and hiring will begin this year.

The province is once again ordering Gas Plus to clean up the contamination near the Bow River in Calgary. Around 9 thousand litres of fuel leaked in to the ground in 2010, but the company has yet to deal with the issue. Alberta Environment says the order requires Gas Plus and Handel Transport to dig up all the contaminated soil and begin a remediation program within four months. The company has consistently refused to clean up the site, claiming the government over-reacted on the health issues associated with the leak.

Rock 105.3 Sports…

The Medicine Hat Tigers look to make it 6 wins in a row tonight as they face the Hurricanes in Lethbridge. The Tigers are coming off a 6-5 win over Prince Albert on Wednesday. The puck drops tonight at 7pm. Tomorrow, the Tigers host the Calgary Hitmen at the Arena.

In the NHL all-star fantasy draft Captain Zdeno Chara picked Detroit forward Pavel Datsyuk (DAT-zook) first overall and then turned to Bruins teammate Tim Thomas in goal. On the other team Daniel Alfredsson took all three of his fellow Ottawa Senators along with every other Swedish player in the game. The last man standing was San Jose forward Logan Couture—who got a brand new Honda Accord Crosstour for being picked last.

Target is officially coming to Medicine Hat. The corporation sent out a news release confirming that the Medicine Hat Mall will be home to a future Target location. Around 10 million dollars will be spent on remodeling the current Zellers location. Target is scheduled to open in summer 2013. The store will employ 150 to 200 team members and hiring will begin this year.

Changes to business permits were front and center at a city committee meeting yesterday. Under the new-scaled back version of the plan—the cost of business licenses or applying for minor renovation permits would have a slight increase while more complicated applications will see dramatic increases. Most fees, including business licenses will be held to a 2.1 percent increase to match inflation. Also under the new plan, land developments are set to double and new consulting fees are set to come into effect. The new fee schedule will go back to city staff for minor revisions and will be back to council February 6^th.

The provincial government has announced a new approach to housing and caring for seniors. Health Minister Fred Horne announced a new model for continuing care centers that can meet the need of all seniors. Horne says it’s about taking away the focus on money and beds and institutions and refocusing continuing care on people, families and communities. Basically, the province wants support for seniors to stretch from simple home care like bathing assistance all the way to end of the life care so people can die at home instead of in hospitals.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is expected to sell Canada as an attractive investment destination at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. Harper will give a keynote address this afternoon to urge European leaders to become more like Canada by improving the strength of their banking system. Harper is also expected to tout Canada as an ideal trade partner with a stable economy and a strong record of deficit reduction.

Mexican officials say video surveillance shows a Canadian woman being brutally beaten by a man who appears to be a tourist in his 20s. Sheila Nabb has been in hospital for the past week recovering from the beating which took place in a hotel elevator leaving her with multiple facial fractures. While no suspects have been arrested in the case, the attorney general said the video shows that Nabb was beaten by what appears to be another hotel guest. Officials have interviewed Nabb’s husband and they do not consider him a suspect. Police have taken statements from nine people in the case, including a guest with bruises on his hand and injuries to his chin, but no arrests have been made.

Rock 105.3 Sports…

The Medicine Hat Tigers hot streak continued last night with a 6-5 win over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. Hunter Shinkaruk had 3 goals and added an assist in the win with James Bettauer, Cole Grbavac and Curtis Valk added singles. The Tigers have won 5 games in a row—improving to 29-16-2-2 on the season. They’re back in action Friday when they travel to Lethbridge to face the Hurricanes. Saturday the Tigers host the Calgary Hitmen at the Arena.

One game in the NHL last night—as the Montreal Canadiens ended the Detroit Red Wings seven game winning streak with a 7-2 victory.

 There’s still no date as to when Alberta’s tough new drunk driving laws will go into effect. Premier Alison Redford says the legislation will be proclaimed and put into effect following consultations with the hospitality industry. The new law would penalize drivers who are close to, but not over, the legal limit of .08. Redford said they are consulting with restaurant and bar owners on whether or not they want to have machines to measure blood-alcohol content. Redford also admitted that the law could get hung up as we head into a spring election.

The provincial government is helping to develop up to 80 new affordable supportive living spaces in Medicine Hat. Close to 19 million dollars will be provided in funding from the Affordable Supportive Living Initiative budget. The government says the funding will help address a specific need in Medicine Hat and will provide more options for people to remain in their communities when they can no longer live independently. Each project application will see half of the spaces designed for dementia residents. Grant applications will be accepted until March 7^th.

Connie Oakes’ made her first court appearance yesterday—Oakes is charged with first degree murder in the death of Casey Armstrong. Police found Armstrong dead from a stab wound in his Southview Drive home last May. Oakes was serving a three year sentence for an armed robbery at the time of her arrest. She was transferred back to the city from an Edmonton penitentiary. Oakes is now also facing charges related to an attempted knife-point robbery in the railway pedestrian underpass last June. Oakes’ case was adjourned until Thursday to allow her to obtain legal counsel. Wendy Herman is also charged with first degree murder in connection with the Armstrong homicide. She’ll be in court for a bail hearing February 9^th.

A Calgary woman who was severely beaten in Mexico is now out of a medically-induced coma. 37 year old Sheila Nabb was the victim of a brutal beating at a luxury hotel in Mazatlan on the weekend. She was found lying in a pool of blood in an elevator—her cheek and other facial bones were broken in the attack. Her family says she’s showing encouraging signs of recovery—she’s breathing without a ventilator and was able to recognize her husband Andrew and her father in law. She was responsive to questions and was able to understand and follow directions—making it appear that there’s no brain damage. Meanwhile, the local state governor says surveillance video may have captured the brutal beating. The governor made the remarks yesterday when he visited Nabb in the hospital.

Rock 105.3 Sports…

The Medicine Hat Tigers look to make it 5 wins in a row tonight as they host the Prince Albert Raiders. The Tigers are coming off a 2-1 win over the Swift Current Broncos on the weekend. The puck drops tonight at 7pm at the Arena.

NHL, Antti Niemi made 25 saves as the San Jose Sharks shut out the Calgary Flames 1-0 last night. Calgary has lost two straight at home on the heels of an eight-game winning streak. It was both the sharks and Flames last game before the all-star break. Elsewhere in the NHL, the Edmonton Oilers fell 3-2 in a shootout to the Vancouver Canucks, the Rangers blanked the Jets 3-0, Toronto got past the Islanders 4-3 in overtime, and Phoenix defeated Ottawa 3-2.

The Toronto Blue Jays have signed pitcher Brandon Morrow to a three-year contract worth 20 million US. There’s also a 10 million club option for the 2015 season. Also, the Jays have reportedly agreed to terms with Francisco Cordero on a one-year 4.5 million dollar contract. The deal is reportedly pending a physical.

 A woman found brutally beaten in Mexico has been identified as 37 year old Shiela Nabb from Calgary. Nabb was found beat and lying in a pool of blood in an elevator at the Hotel Riu Emerald Bay in Mazatalan on Saturday. She was on vacation in the popular tourist area with her husband Andrew at the time. Nabb’s uncle said that she was placed in a medically-induced coma and every bone in her face in broken. Nabb’s friends in Calgary have set up a trust fund—collecting donations to help cover her medical costs. Foreign Affairs officials are revealing few details about the incident, but say they are assisting the woman and her family.

The man charged with murdering 77 year old Otto ‘Bunty” Loose made his first court appearance in Lethbridge yesterday. Tim Engel is accused of dismembering the elderly man’s body and dumping the remains in several locations near Claresholm. Engel asked for and was granted more time to find a lawyer to defend him. He’ll be back in court February 27^th. Co-accused 28 year old Bobbi Joe Parks has been charged with obstruction of justice and will be in a Fort Macleod court on Wednesday.

Police are looking for the public’s help in indentifying a gravestone found on a property in Wheatland County. A resident found the gravestone on their property on November 9^th and called Gleichen RCMP. The gravestone is etched with the name “Father Frank Crummy 1869-1952” RCMP searched extensively but haven’t been able to find the original location of the gravestone. Anyone with information on where it came from is asked to contact investigators.

Premier Alison Redford along with a number of cabinet ministers are hitting the road and touring the province to talk with Albertans. Ministers will visit more than 25 communities including Lethbridge, Fort McMurray and Medicine Hat. Yesterday, Minister of Culture Heather Klimchuk was in the Gas City visiting the Bridges Family program, the Cypress Club and the Community Foundation. Other open meetings will be held across the province with seniors, students, health care professionals and business groups. The opposition has been critical of the tour saying it’s essentially a chance for the Tories to do some early campaigning ahead of an election call on the taxpayer’s dime.

The province has launched a major recruitment campaign to attract more health care aides. The province believes it needs to hire as many as 400 aides in both acute and continuing care. The government will offer grants to students at Norquest College in Edmonton and Bow Valley College in Calgary. The reason for the large need of aides is because of an aging population and a large number of nurses set to retire.

Rock 105.3 Sports..

The Edmonton Oilers snapped a three-game losing skid with a 2-1 shootout win over the San Jose Sharks. Jordan Eberle scored in regulation while Taylor Hall scored the shootout winner. Elsewhere in the NHL, Matthew Lombardi scored twice as the Toronto Maple Leafs shut out the New York Islanders 3-0, LA defeated Ottawa 4-1, Carolina got past Winnipeg 2-1, Detroit beat St Louis 3-1 and it was Nashville over Columbus 4-1.

The Medicine Hat Tigers return to action tomorrow night as they host the Prince Albert Raiders. The Tigers have won 4 straight, including Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Swift Current.

A young Canadian woman is undergoing treatment after being found beaten unconscious in a hotel in Mexico’s Mazatlan resort region. The woman, reportedly in her 20’s was found lying in an elevator early Saturday. Police statements say another tourist was trying to enter the elevator and discovered the woman lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Investigator suspect she may have been assaulted in a hotel room, dragged down the hall to the elevator and then abandoned. The attack is the latest in a serious of violent incidents involving Canadian visitors to Mexico in recent weeks. Two Canadian men were shot dead in separate incidents earlier this month, while the body of a Mexican-born University of BC student was found stabbed near a Mexican beach. The Canadian government has issued travel warnings for Mexico due to increasing gang and drug-related violence.

Three people were hurt after a man drove his car at them outside a bar in Lethbridge on the weekend. Investigators say staff at Pulse Nightclub tried to eject a group of unruly men from the bar early Saturday morning, but they allege the men fought back. According to police, one of the men fled to his car and drove directly into a crowd of people and crashed into two vehicles before coming to a stop. He tried to flee, but police caught him. None of the people who were hit were seriously injured. The 25 year old Calgary man is charged with assault with a weapon, dangerous driving, impaired driving and failing to remain at the scene of an accident. Three other men are also facing charges.

Two men are facing charges after city police executed a pair of search warrants in Crescent Heights on the weekend. Inside the homes in the 700 block of 12 Street NW, police found 31 grams of crack cocaine, 93 grams of marijuana and a large amount of steroids. They also found mountain bikes, power tools, and jewelry along with 2 thousand dollars cash and 2 prohibited weapons. Two men were arrested and charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of a prohibited weapon and property related offenses. Both men were released from custody and are set to appear in court February 7^th.

Two men from BC are facing drug charges after a traffic stop in Redcliff on the weekend. Police stopped the vehicle around noon on Friday and found 28.5 pounds of marijuana, a small amount of ecstasy and some prescription drugs. The vehicle, along with 25 hundred dollars in cash, was also seized. 24 year old Jordan Swanson and 22 year old Matthew Van Delft face numerous charges including possession of a controlled substance. They’ll be in court on Tuesday.

The co-chief executives of Blackberry maker Research in Motion Mike Lazaridis (LAZ-A-REED-IS) and Jim Balsillie (BALL-SILL-EE) have stepped down as heads of the Ontario based technology company. The pair will turn over operational control of RIM to new CEO Thorsten Heins—the company’s former chief operation officer. While Ball-sill-ee and Laz-a-reed-is have left day to day operations altogether, they both still remain on RIMs board and will be able to exert significant influence through their large ownership stakes. In 2011, RIM’s shares tumbled 75 percent as sales slumped. The company lost market share to apple and makers of Android devices and suffered its worst service outage in history.

 ROCK 105.3 SPORTS…

The New York Giants captured the NFC Championship with a 20-17 overtime win over the San Francisco 49ers. Lawrence Tynes scored the game-winning field goal after a crucial turnover. The win sets up a SuperBowl rematch with the New England Patriots—who beat Baltimore 23-20 to take the AFC title.

NHL, Evgeni Malkin scored the overtime winner as the Pittsburgh Penguins got past the Washington Captials 4-3 last night. Elsewhere, Boston edged Philly 6-5 in a shootout and Anaheim beat Colorado 3-2. Tonight, Edmonton is home to San Jose—puck drops at 7:30pm

The Medicine Hat Tigers won their 4^th game in a row on the weekend—2-1 over the visiting Swift Current Broncos. Emerson Etem scored his 41^st goal of the season in the win. Tyler Bunz made 35 saves for his 27^th win of the season. The Tigers are back in action Wednesday as they host the Prince Albert Raiders.

Reports say South Korea is resuming imports of Canadian Beef after an eight year ban. South Korean media says the government made the announcement today in Seoul. All Canadian beef imports had been suspended because of Canada’s first case of Mad Cow disease. The South Korean government says local livestock distributors will be able to sell Canadian meat from cows younger than 30 months starting this weekend. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz is expected to confirm the details at a news conference today in Spruce Grove.

Alberta’s Energy Minister says the US’s rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline is a “catalyst” for Canada to expand its oil export industry to other markets. Ted Morton says the new market to look to is Asia. Prime Minister Stephen Harper already told US President Barack Obama the pipeline rejection reaffirms Canada’s need to diversify its energy exports. TransCanada and the Canadian government are calling the rejection a disappointing delay, but say they’re not giving up on the 7 billion dollar project. The company will re-file its application with a re-route in Nebraska. The hope is that the pipeline will be in service by 2014.

Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke died Thursday—nine days after suffering a serious head injury while training in Utah. The 29 year old suffered irreversible brain damage due to lack of oxygen. Burke’s family said in accordance with her wishes Sarah’s tissues were donated to save the lives of others. Burke was a four-time winner at the Winter X Games. She lobbied successfully to have the sport brought into the Olympics—where it will debut at the 2014 games in Russia. A website has been set up to receive donations to cover the massive medical costs faced by the family. The goal is to bring in 550 thousand dollars—as of this morning over 17 thousand dollars has come in—three percent of the goal.

A local woman already facing a first degree murder charge has been charged with another crime. City police have charged Connie Oakes with attempted armed robbery for incident that happened last June. Police say a victim was walking under the pedestrian underpass between north and south railway street when she was attacked by a woman who held a knife to her throat and demanded cash. The suspect fled when other people showed up at the scene. Oakes has now been charged in the case. She’s currently serving time for a robbery on Gershaw Drive last year and is facing charges in connection with the death of Casey Armstrong last May.

RCMP are looking to talk to the welder or welding shop that worked on Lyle and Marie McCann’s vehicle 6 years ago. The St. Alberta couple disappeared last July while on a trip to B.C. RCMP say talking to the welder or welding shop that put a tow bar on the McCann’s 2006 Tucson could help investigators working on the case. Investigators say they’ve been trying to get a hold of whoever did the work in the Edmonton area, but so far they haven’t had any luck. Investigators haven’t said what role the information may play in the investigation, except that it will help them strengthen one aspect of the case.

The City of Medicine Hat is looking for feedback on a pilot project involving energy efficient lights. Seven new induction streetlights have been installed on Third Avenue SE between Kipling and 13^th Street SE. The streetlights were installed last Friday and will be at the location for the next two to three weeks. The lights will be tested out at other locations over the next two months to increase public exposure and test other lighting scenarios. Induction streetlights provide an average of 50 percent power cost savings compared with the existing high pressure sodium lights and can have up to 5 times the lifespan. An online survey will be posted on the city’s website for the public to provide feedback.

ROCK 105.3 SPORTS….

The Calgary Flames snapped a six game road losing streak with a 2-1 shootout win over the LA Kings last night. Jarome Ignila scored the tying goal on a power play. Elsewhere in the NHL, The Oilers fell 1-0 to St Louis, Toronto beat Minnesota 4-1, The Jets defeated Buffalo 4-1, and Ottawa downed San Jose 4-1.

The Medicine Hat Tigers hope to continue their winning ways tonight as they visit the Pats in Regina. The Tigers are coming off a 5-1 win over the Calgary Hitmen on Wednesday. The Tigers will host the Swift Current Broncos tomorrow night at the Arena. Face-off is at 7:30pm.