Business
“Live music, face painting, balloon twisting and more.” City hosting free community event Thursday afternoon to promote Downtown Activation Playbook

Red Deer’s downtown is a place of community, gathering and celebration animated by spaces to connect, entertain and reflect. It is the heart of the city. In celebration of a vibrant downtown, a free community event is taking place on August 17!
With the past, present and future of downtown Red Deer in mind, local stakeholders will be sharing an exciting update on the revitalization of Downtown Red Deer, based on action items outlined in the Downtown Activation Playbook.
The family-friendly gathering will also feature live music, face painting, balloon twisting and more. Additionally, downtown area businesses will be offering limited time deals.
WHEN: Thursday, August 17, 2023
4 p.m. – Event begins
5 p.m. – Speaking program
7 p.m. – Event ends
WHERE: Ross Street – Downtown Red Deer
Between Gaetz Avenue and Little Gaetz
About the project
Launched in summer 2021, the Downtown Identity Plan is a downtown identity and strategy plan that outlines a shared vision, goals and opportunities for both the community and The City to implement. The aim is to have an identifiable, well-invested downtown where residents and visitors repeatedly participate in unique, engaging, diverse and positive activities and experiences. Key areas that may be considered by the engagement process and the final plan include heritage, transportation, tourism, the economy, environment, social factors and more.
The Downtown Activation Playbook is a key milestone of the Downtown Identity Plan project, and provides the roadmap for a new downtown identity, informed by community voice, highlighting key conditions for success, streams of action, indicators, and initial moves. On July 18, 2022, City Council adopted the Downtown Activation Playbook as a community planning tool.
Downtown Activation Playbook
As a community planning tool, the Playbook is intended to help The City, stakeholders and the broader community shape their planning for downtown places and spaces. Each action in the Playbook identifies the role The City could play, but also the other organizations and partners that could lead, support or implement the initiative. Budget for specific actions and initiatives will be considered as part of The City’s overall budget planning process.
The Playbook was developed with significant input from the public, through an engagement process and a Downtown Working Collaborative. Through a combination of interviews, workshops, and an online questionnaire, the engagement process captured feedback from over 1,600 Red Deerians of all ages. In the second phase, participants provided feedback on the emerging Playbook direction (vision, conditions for success and streams of action) through a series of one-on-one interviews and presentations.
The next step in the Downtown Identity Plan project is to develop a visual identity for downtown that conveys the vision, builds excitement and identified the area as a unique place.
View the full Downtown Activation Playbook (pdf).
Business
DOGE discovered $330M in Small Business loans awarded to children under 11

MxM News
Quick Hit:
In a bombshell revelation at a White House cabinet meeting, Elon Musk announced that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had uncovered over $330 million in Small Business Administration (SBA) loans issued to children under the age of 11.
Key Details:
- Elon Musk stated that DOGE found $330 million in SBA loans given to individuals under the age of 11.
- The youngest recipient was reportedly just nine months old, receiving a $100,000 loan.
- SBA has now paused the direct loan process for individuals under 18 and over 120 years old.
Diving Deeper:
At a cabinet meeting held Monday at the White House, President Donald Trump and Elon Musk detailed a staggering example of federal waste uncovered by the newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency. Speaking directly to ongoing efforts to eliminate corruption and abuse in federal agencies, Musk explained that the SBA had awarded hundreds of millions in loans to children—some of whom were still in diapers.
“A case of fraud was with the Small Business Administration, where they were handing out loans — $330 million worth of loans to people under the age of 11,” Musk said. “I think the youngest, Kelly, was a nine-month year old who got a $100,000 loan. That’s a very precocious baby we’re talking about here.”
DOGE’s findings forced the SBA to abruptly change its loan procedures. In a post on X, the department revealed it would now require applicants to include their date of birth and was halting direct loans to those under 18 and above 120 years old. Musk commented sarcastically: “No more loans to babies or people too old to be alive.”
The discovery was just the latest in a series of contract cancellations and fraud crackdowns led by DOGE. According to Breitbart News, DOGE recently canceled 105 contracts totaling $935 million in potential taxpayer liabilities. The agency’s website currently lists over 6,600 terminated contracts, accounting for $20 billion in savings.
The president praised Musk and DOGE for rooting out government inefficiencies, noting his administration was focused on “cutting” people and programs that were not working or delivering results. “We’re not going to let people collect paychecks or taxpayer funds without doing their jobs,” Trump said.
Also during the cabinet session, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins revealed her department had eliminated a $300,000 program aimed at teaching “food justice” to transgender and queer farmers in San Francisco. “I’m not even sure what that means,” Rollins said, “but apparently the last administration wanted to put our taxpayer dollars towards that.”
These revelations highlight what many conservatives have long suspected—that during prior administrations, including under President Joe Biden, massive amounts of federal funding were funneled into unserious, ideologically-driven projects and mismanaged government programs. Under the Trump administration’s second term, DOGE appears to be living up to its mission: trimming fat, exposing fraud, and putting American taxpayers first.
Business
Cuba has lost 24% of it’s population to emigration in the last 4 years

MxM News
Quick Hit:
A new study finds Cuba has lost nearly a quarter of its population since 2020, driven by economic collapse and a mass emigration wave unseen outside of war zones. The country’s population now stands at just over 8 million, down from nearly 10 million.
Key Details:
- Independent study estimates Cuba’s population at 8.02 million—down 24% in four years.
- Over 545,000 Cubans left the island in 2024 alone—double the official government figure.
- Demographer warns the crisis mirrors depopulation seen only in wartime, calling it a “systemic collapse.”
Diving Deeper:
Cuba is undergoing a staggering demographic collapse, losing nearly one in four residents over the past four years, according to a new study by economist and demographer Juan Carlos Albizu-Campos. The report estimates that by the end of 2024, Cuba’s population will stand at just over 8 million people—down from nearly 10 million—a 24% drop that Albizu-Campos says is comparable only to what is seen in war-torn nations.
The study, accessed by the Spanish news agency EFE, points to mass emigration as the primary driver. In 2024 alone, 545,011 Cubans are believed to have left the island. That number is more than double what the regime officially acknowledges, as Cuba’s government only counts those heading to the United States, ignoring large flows to destinations like Mexico, Spain, Serbia, and Uruguay.
Albizu-Campos describes the trend as “demographic emptying,” driven by what he calls a “quasi-permanent polycrisis” in Cuba—an interwoven web of political repression, economic freefall, and social decay. For years, Cubans have faced food and medicine shortages, blackout-plagued days, fuel scarcity, soaring inflation, and a broken currency system. The result has been not just migration, but a desperate stampede for the exits.
Yet, the regime continues to minimize the damage. Official figures from the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI) put Cuba’s population at just over 10 million in 2023. However, even those numbers acknowledge a shrinking population and the lowest birth rate in decades—confirming the crisis, if not its full scale.
Cuba hasn’t held a census since 2012. The last scheduled one in 2022 has been repeatedly delayed, allegedly due to lack of resources. Experts doubt that any new attempt will be transparent or complete.
Albizu-Campos warns that the government’s refusal to confront the reality of the collapse is obstructing any chance at solutions. More than just a demographic issue, the study describes Cuba’s situation as a “systemic crisis.”
“Havana (Cuba, February 2023)” by Bruno Rijsman licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED.
-
Business1 day ago
28 energy leaders call for eliminating ALL energy subsidies—even ones they benefit from
-
2025 Federal Election1 day ago
Carney’s Cap on Alberta Energy Costing Canada Billions
-
Business1 day ago
Trump Tariffs are not going away. Canada needs to adapt or face the consequences
-
Economy1 day ago
Support For National Pipelines And LNG Projects Gain Momentum, Even In Quebec
-
Health1 day ago
Dr. Pierre Kory Exposes the Truth About the Texas ‘Measles Death’ Hoax
-
Business11 hours ago
DOGE discovered $330M in Small Business loans awarded to children under 11
-
Business1 day ago
Why a domestic economy upgrade trumps diversification
-
COVID-199 hours ago
17-year-old died after taking COVID shot, but Ontario judge denies his family’s liability claim