News
Awards to recognize youth, Indigenous heritage

Two new categories have been introduced as nominations open for the 2018 Alberta Historical Resources Foundation (AHRF) Heritage Awards.
Awards recognizing the contributions of youth in support of heritage preservation and appreciation, and projects protecting and showcasing the heritage of Alberta’s Indigenous peoples will be presented along with awards for heritage conservation, heritage awareness and outstanding achievement.
“From the stories of our past, we find the inspiration to build an even stronger, brighter future for our province and its people. The AHRF Heritage Awards represent an opportunity to pay tribute to those who are keeping Alberta’s history alive and vibrant for the generations of Albertans to come. You can help us honour those efforts by nominating a heritage hero in your community.”
Ricardo Miranda, Minister of Culture and Tourism
The AHRF Heritage Awards are presented every two years and recognize the outstanding achievements of Albertans engaged in heritage preservation, protection and promotion. Since 2005, 58 awards have been presented to recipients from across the province.
Full details and nomination forms are available at alberta.ca/heritage-awards. Deadline for nominations is July 15. The 2018 recipients will be recognized at an awards ceremony, to be held in Edmonton Oct. 12.
Recent recipients have included:
- Don Hepburn (Red Deer, Outstanding Achievement): Hepburn was one of the founding members of the Central Alberta Historical Society. His knowledge and passion have helped to sustain the historical society as one of the most active in the province. Hepburn volunteers his time freely for projects including the Central Alberta Heritage School Fairs, Red Deer Centennial Committee and Remembering the Children.
- Glen Leslie Church Preservation Group (County of Grande Prairie, Heritage Conservation): Both as a house of worship and local schoolhouse, the Glen Leslie Church near Bezanson was the centre of its rural community for 49 years. The same cooperative spirit that led to its construction in 1915 guided the Glen Leslie Church Preservation Group in the restoration of this cherished landmark.
- Crowsnest Heritage Initiative (“Discover Crowsnest Heritage” Signage Program, Heritage Awareness): A thoughtfully designed initiative, the coordinated signage program supports a self-guided heritage driving route and walking tours throughout the Crowsnest Pass. The program employs a comprehensive scope that includes multimedia, printed maps, brochures and a web portal with bold professional branding. Highly visible, the signage stands out to visitors travelling on the highway and is easily identified on buildings and orientation kiosks. The signs are well-written and presented with illustrations from the exceptional archival resources of the Crowsnest Museum. Through this signage program, locals and tourists alike will discover much of the region’s rich history.

Addressing the affects of deterioration of the parged concrete finial is part of the conservation of the Crowsnest Pass Polish Hall in Coleman. Built in 1927, the hall was home to the Polish Society of Brotherly Aid, an organization dedicated to supporting miners and providing social and cultural services.
International
Tulsi Gabbard tells Trump she has ‘evidence’ voting machines are ‘vulnerable to hackers’

From LifeSiteNews
By Stephen Kokx
Last month, Trump signed an executive order directing federal election-related funds to be conditioned on states “complying with the integrity measures set forth by Federal law, including the requirement that states use the national mail voter registration form that will now require proof of citizenship.”
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced during a Cabinet meeting last week at the White House that voting machines across the U.S. are not secure.
“We have evidence of how these electronic voting systems have been vulnerable to hackers for a very long time, and vulnerable to exploitation to manipulate the results of the votes being cast,” she said about a half hour into the meeting.
Gabbard’s remarks confirm what millions of Americans have long suspected about elections across the U.S.
President Donald Trump himself has maintained skepticism of current voting methods and has called for paper ballots to prevent cheating.
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell was one of only a few voices to publicly argue that voting machines, like those run by Dominion and Smartmatic which were used during the 2020 presidential election, were compromised. GOP Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Greene took to X to praise the businessman after Gabbard made her remarks.
“Mike Lindell along with MANY others vindicated!!” she exclaimed on X. “Another conspiracy theory being proven right! Guess what Democrats already knew this and publicly talked about it in 2019! And then lied and lied and lied!!!”
Last month, Trump signed an executive order directing federal election-related funds to be conditioned on states “complying with the integrity measures set forth by Federal law, including the requirement that states use the national mail voter registration form that will now require proof of citizenship.”
Congress has also taken steps to ensure election integrity by voting on the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (also known as the SAVE Act) last week. Dubbed “controversial” by the media and left-wing groups, the common sense bill would require persons to show proof of citizenship before voting. The House approved the measure 220-208 with four Democrats in support. The bill now heads to the Senate where it will face an uphill battle for the required 60 votes. Republicans currently have a 53 seat majority.
Gabbard told Trump at the meeting that the evidence she found “further drives forward your mandate to bring about paper ballots across the country so that voters can have faith in the integrity of our elections.”
International
Germany launches first permanent foreign troop deployment since WW2

MxM News
Quick Hit:
Germany activated a 5,000-strong armored brigade in Lithuania — marking its first permanent foreign military deployment since World War II. The move strengthens NATO’s eastern flank amid Ukraine’s ongoing conflict with Russia.
Key Details:
- The 45th Armored Brigade was formally launched outside Vilnius on Tuesday.
- Germany plans for the brigade to be fully operational by 2027 in Rūdninkai, near the Belarus border.
- The deployment marks a major policy shift for Berlin and a boost for NATO’s deterrence posture.
Diving Deeper:
Germany has officially entered a new era of military engagement, launching its first permanent foreign troop deployment since the end of World War II. The move, announced Tuesday, sees the activation of a 5,000-strong armored brigade in Lithuania as part of a broader NATO strategy to counter the perceived threat from Russia.
The newly formed 45th Armored Brigade was ceremonially inaugurated outside the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius. German Brigadier General Christoph Huber assumed command, overseeing the establishment of a temporary headquarters and unveiling the unit’s crest. “We have a clear mission: to ensure the protection, freedom and security of our Lithuanian allies on NATO’s eastern flank,” Huber said, adding that the unit’s presence also directly contributes to the defense of Germany and NATO as a whole.
The deployment follows a pledge made by Berlin in 2023 — a decision that broke with decades of postwar defense policy rooted in military restraint. German officials had long avoided permanently stationing combat troops abroad. That posture has changed in response to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, which has turned the Baltic region into one of NATO’s most vulnerable frontlines.
Germany’s commitment includes more than just fighting forces. The brigade will also feature key support elements, such as a medical center, communications specialists, and command support units dispersed across multiple Lithuanian locations. Troops will initially operate out of temporary facilities, with a permanent base under construction in Rūdninkai, located roughly 30 kilometers south of Vilnius.
Currently, 150 German soldiers are already on the ground in Lithuania. That figure is expected to rise to 500 by the end of the year as the new brigade scales up operations.
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