Carlyle
The town is expanding. Lots for sale are zoned for commercial, industrial and residential. (Pipeline News, August 2008)

Estevan
Roger Service Rig Ltd. celebrated their 25th anniversary in business. Roger Huber is the manager. (Pipeline News, August 2008)

Supreme Oilfield is relocating to a new facility recently constructed in the new industrial area located in the RM of Estevan. The building is almost twice the size of the previous building. Office workers are located in the downtown area of the city. (Pipeline News, August 2008)

Little VIP, a children's clothing store, has relocated and changed ownership. It will be moving in with Frank's on 4th. Joyce Wallin is the owner of Frank's on 4th and the new owner of Little VIP. (Estevan Mercury, July 30, 2008)

Stoughton
Triple 3 Holdings has opened the Stoughton Truck Wash, adjacent to Highway #47 south of the town site. The four service bays are currently leased. (Councillor, Town of Stoughton)

KO Subs & Ice Cream will be opening in August. Owners are Leona Klassen and Shelley Oxelgren. (Councillor, Town of Stoughton)

Weyburn
The Golden Palace, a restaurant featuring Asian specialties, is now open. Kim Gregory and Sang Nguyen are the owners. (Weyburn Review, July 30, 2008)

Belle Plaine
Terra Grain Fuels Ethanol plant recently celebrated its grand opening. The plant cost $1.3 million to build with an expected output of 150 million litres of wheat-based ethanol and 163,800 tonnes of dried distillers grains annually. The plant is currently running at 80 percent capacity. Terra Grain is the largest wheat-based Ethanol plant in North America. (Moose Jaw Times Herald, August 9, 2008)

Moose Jaw
MCS Containers has purchased a former Agri-terminal that had previously closed due to lack of containers. They hope to revitalize the facility and develop a mini-port in Moose Jaw, and are working with a shipping company that is currently sending its containers to Saskatoon. (www.discovermoosejaw.com, August 9, 2008)

There have been 89 building permits issued for new home construction. That is twice as many as last year at this time. Construction values for new homes in Moose Jaw are up by $12 million, compared to last year and overall permits are up by $17 million. Total permits issued for the year are at 226. (www.discovermoosejaw.com, August 9, 2008)

North Battleford
The Longhorn Steakhouse is now open. (Regional Optimist, July 25, 2008)

Repair work on the older of the two Battlefords bridges will now not be completed until October 2008; the project of re-painting the bridge began in 2004. The delays are causing frustration to travelers as the bridge is restricted to one lane only with a maximum width of five meters. (Regional Optimist, August 1, 2008)

The City has awarded Unicon Pipeline Ltd. of North Battleford the contract for replacing a 1,800 mm storm trunk main sewer. The project is expected to cost $3,888,242 with a completion date of August 1, 2009. (Regional Optimist, August 1, 2008)

Dr. P. Vu opened his new dental facility on July 25, 2008. (Regional Optimist, July 25, 2008)

The estimated cost of the proposed multiplex facility continues to rise. Latest figures suggest the facility will now cost $46M (and potential to reach $61M), substantially higher than the original $30M suggested when the project began. Both the location of the facility and the building design has been changed as well. (News Optimist, August 6, 2008)

Lloydminster
The Saskatchewan Summer Games kicked off August 3rd and runs to August 9th. An anticipated 1800 athletes and 3000 families are expected to visit the community which should provide a huge economic benefit to the city. (Meridian Booster, August 1, 2008)

Unity
The Town of Unity received a $480K infrastructure grant from the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund which will be used toward upgrading the town water system. (Northwest Herald, July 21, 2008)

Wilkie
The Wilkie Press celebrates 100 years in August. (Wilkie Press, August 6, 2008)

La Loche
Oilsands Quest Inc. and the Village of La Loche have announced a partnership agreement to manage the environment, social and economic aspects of the company's exploration activities at La Loche and neighbouring communities. Through the agreement, the Calgary-based company will provide access to training, employment, and business opportunities for local businesses and residents as well as contribute infrastructure funding to La Loche and adjacent communities. (Regina Leader Post, July 25, 2008; Northern Pride, July 29, 2008)

Humboldt
Jenny Lawrence has opened I Can Trading Inc. to assist companies in this region and beyond bring employees to the country from overseas. She approaches companies to bring in immigrants from South Africa, Ghana and all over. Lawrence's contacts from South Africa, where she was a government employee, assist her in her new career as a recruiting agent. She can find quality workers, she claims, and knows who to talk to for accurate character references, as well as criminal record checks. (The Humboldt Journal, July 30, 2008)

Melfort
The new Canadian Modular Manufacturing Corporation (CMMC) facility, which will eventually employ at least 60 people (37 currently employed), held a media event on July 25th to unveil their new operation. CMMC will be partnering with about seven different companies to handle plumbing, electrical work and concrete among others. The facility is housed in the former B.P. Oilfab building. (The Melfort Journal, July 29, 2008)

The growth experienced by Melfort and area over the past year has brought entrepreneurs into town as well. A recent example is the new owners of the Chances R Pub, or as it is now known Eddy's Pub. Doug and Yvonne Eddy took possession of the Main Street landmark on July 7th. They have changed the slogan to: Where good times begin. (The Melfort Journal, August 5, 2008)

Nipawin
Pinecrest Rona at Nipawin celebrated their grand opening on July 24th. Their merger with Rona allows them to offer products at competitive prices that are offered at larger centres. (The Nipawin Journal, July 24, 2008)

Torch River Rail's grand opening ceremony on July 24th in Choiceland celebrated the start of its operations. Torch River Rail Inc. was created through a co-operative effort between the municipalities of Nipawin, Choiceland, White Fox, the RM of Torch River and 42 other shareholders. The purchase of the railway line from Canadian Pacific was finalized in December 2007. (The Nipawin Journal, July 24, 2008)

Prince Albert
New store Please Mum officially opened in the Gateway Mall on July 12th Linda Saunders, the district manager of Please Mum, a store strictly for children's apparel, said the goal of the store is to make growing up fun for children. The store was the first one to be opened in 20 years and is the first of 10 new ones across the country this year. (Prince Albert Daily Herald, July 28, 2008)

Tisdale
A new business in Tisdale, Parrish and Heimbecker Ltd., recently acquired the property that formerly belonged to Tisdale Alfalfa Dehy Ltd. (TADL). The plans in Tisdale are to convert this facility into a grain handling facility with the addition of handling and cleaning equipment in-between the two sheds. (The Tisdale Recorder, July 30, 2008)

Dafoe
Construction continues on a major expansion for the 24 Seven Travel Centre located at the junction of Highways 16 and 6 near Dafoe. With an expansion to the restaurant already complete, additional construction will see the expansion of the retail confectionary, which will allow the business to see a variety of products and generate a fast food franchise. (Service Canada Labour Market Bulletin, July/August 2008)
Foam Lake
The Town of Foam Lake received approval for a new 28-space daycare from the Saskatchewan Learning Fund. (Service Canada Labour Market Bulletin, July/August 2008)

Fort Qu'Appelle
The oldest hardware firm in Fort Qu'Appelle, Hanson Home Hardware and Building Centre, is celebrating its 75th anniversary. (The Fort Qu'Appelle Times, July 22, 2008)

Indian Head
The Town of Indian Head continues to work on twenty new residential lots, which are located at the east end of Otterloo Street. (Service Canada Labour Market Bulletin, July/August, 2008)

Regina
The Aquistore Project, a Regina-based research project to study the feasibility of storing carbon dioxide in deep saline aquifers, was the recipient of $5 million in federal funding. Deep saline aquifers are geological formations with storage capacity over 10 times larger than depleted oil reservoirs in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. Carbon Dioxide will be captured from a hydrogen reformer at the Consumers Co-operative Refinery and upgrader complex in north Regina and carried by a small-diameter pipeline about 10 kilometres north of the city for injection into one of three potential sites. The project could also sell the captured CO2 if there is a commercial buyer for it. (Regina Leader Post, July 29, 2008)

Loblaw Companies Ltd. announced plans to build a $200 million distribution centre about 5 kilometres west of Regina. The 500,000 sq. ft. building is the first phase of a 1,000,000 sq. ft., $350 million warehouse and distribution facility Loblaw plans to build on the site. The distribution centre is expected to employ 750 people within two years and as many as 1,500 by 2017. (Regina Leader Post, July 30, 2008)

Developers of a major retail-office-hotel-restaurant project at the old Real Canadian Superstore site in central Regina will be seeking zoning approval at city hall next week. It is anticipated that development would include retail and office space as well as one or more restaurants and a hotel. (Regina Leader Post, August 1, 2008)

The number of Regina and area homes sold in July continued to cool from the previous year, but the average selling price set a new record for the month, according to the Association of Regina Realtors. The average price of all residential properties sold, hit $247,262 in July, an increase of 40% from 2007's $176,736. There were 264 homes sold through MLS last month, a decrease of 37% from the record-setting 419 sales recorded in July 2007. (Regina Leader Post, August 6, 2008)

The Federal government has given the go ahead for phase 1 of the IPSCO Place revitalization project. All three levels of government are providing $20 million each for the first phase of the project that will see the construction of a new multi-purpose complex that will house six ice sheets. Other upgrades during the first phase include some renovations to the Queensbury Convention centre, additional seating for the Brandt Centre and more parking. Construction on phase 1 is expected to start in 2008 and be complete in 2009. (Service Canada Labour Market Bulletin, July/August, 2008)

According to a survey conducted by the Royal LePage real estate firm, the average price of an urban bungalow in Regina increased by 226% over the last ten years. This represents the largest increase in the country for that type of property. (Service Canada Labour Market Bulletin, July/August 2008)

A pedway linking Agriculture Place and Conexus Plaza on the 1800 block of Hamilton Street is currently under construction in downtown Regina. The pedway is expected to be operational by November. (Service Canada Labour Market Bulletin, July/August 2008)

According to Manpower's employment outlook survey, approximately 27% of Regina employers expect to hire additional staff in the 3rd quarter of 2008. This represents an increase of 10% from the previous quarter, but is 20% below expectations in the same quarter last year. (Service Canada Labour Market Bulletin, July/August 2008)

The new 216-cell facility at the Regina Correctional Centre was officially opened on August 6th. The cost of the construction was $51.5 million. (www.gov.sk.ca/news, August 6, 2008)

Strasbourg
A full-time physician began practicing in the town of Strasbourg on July 10th. (Service Canada-Labour Market Bulletin, July/August 2008)

Jerky Boys Meats of Lumsden, recently opened a new location in Strasbourg at 516 Railway Avenue. (Last Mountain Times, July 22, 2008)

Wadena
Due to a dire employment shortage, Larry Bozek, owner of the Wadena Hotel, which also houses a bar, has been forced to look outside the country for workers. Two women will be traveling shortly from the Philippines on a two-year contract. Other employers along Wadena's main street are also feeling the effects of staff shortage and retention. (Saskatchewan Employment Weekly, August 1 - 7, 2008)

Watrous
After 11 years of ownership, Barb Davies has sold the Coffee Cavern to Sean Tatum. The coffee shop reopened on July 9th with upgraded kitchen appliances and new store hours. (The Watrous Manitou, July 28, 2008)

Saskatoon
Saskatoon area jobs in mining, oil and gas have more than doubled in the last year, a powerful indicator of where the region's economic strength is growing, a new report shows. The second-quarter economic report by the Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority (SREDA) says jobs in the sector described as forestry, fishing, mining, oil and gas shot up 101.4 per cent over the same quarter of 2007. In raw numbers, that's an increase of 2,300 jobs, and many can be attributed to the mining sector. (The Star Phoenix, July 30, 2008)

Edgar Properties Ltd., a property development group comprised of eight significant businesspeople, has purchased the Folks Finer Furs building on Second Avenue and 20th Street. Edgar Properties Ltd. and will take possession next spring. Edgar purchased the site for $1.7 million. The new owners have yet to finalize plans for their new property. (The Star Phoenix, July 30, 2008)

Boston Pizza is building a fourth restaurant in Saskatoon in the Lakewood area. The restaurant will be located at the corner of Slimmon and Herold roads north of Shoppers Drug Mart and will have an 898-square foot patio. (The Star Phoenix, August 6, 2008)
International Road Dynamics has landed another contract in India, for the supply and installation of a 12-land toll collection system. Its subsidiary, IRD South Asia, will also install two slow-speed weigh-in-motion systems and a highway traffic management system (HTMS), for a total of $1.03 million. The work is expected to be completed during the next eight months. (The Star Phoenix, July 29, 2008)

New Businesses: Cava Secreta, Owners: Cameron Rizos and Peter Brown; Chantico Emergency Training and Consulting, Owner: Merilee MacLaggan; Starlab Recording Studio Ltd., Owner: Efren Pereira Jr. (The Star Phoenix, July 26, 2008)

Wakaw
The grand opening of the Smart Dollar Shopper took place on July 24th. Partners Denise Gilmore and Ali Hassan will focus their sales on clothing, dollar store items and jewellery. (The Wakaw Recorder, July 30, 2008)

Coleville
Coleville is one of many communities taking advantage of the sudden interest in Saskatchewan that followed on the heels of the province's economic boom. Coleville council approved the extension of water, gas and sewer lines to land in the northwest corner of the village, making 10 lots available for sale. According to Mayor Mike Smith, the lots were spoken for within six months. (The Clarion, July 30, 2008)

Gull Lake
Gull Lake's new subdivision is closer to reality now that levelling work has begun. Construction is scheduled to be completed at the end of August, with advertising for the sale for these lots to be published soon. (Gull Lake Advance, July 28, 2008)

Studio 3 will be opening in September offering various fitness classes for all ages and levels. (The Gull Lake Advance, August 5, 2008)

Maple Creek
Berton Welding and Fabrication is now open for business under the management of Shandel Kisell and Fabrizio Berton. (Maple Creek News-Times, July 29, 2008)

Maple Creek's dry-cleaning and laundromat businesses have been bought, along with the building that houses them. Clay and Christie Wagner purchased the lot on May 31st. Although the Wagners will continue to operate the laundromat business, they are building rental office spaces where the drycleaner used to be. (Maple Creek News-Times, July 31, 2008)

Regional
Saskatchewan's Minister of Enterprise and Innovation, Lyle Stewart, was in Shaunavon last week to meet with area officials to discuss proposed changes to the province's regional economic development authorities (REDAs). (Shaunavon Standard, July 29, 2008)

Rosetown
A firm that contracted to install a major oil pipeline through Saskatchewan will pay Rosetown $6,000 per month in rent for the use of land northeast of the museum. Council members discussed spending options for the unexpected windfall at their July 21 meeting. They deferred further consideration to the August meeting. (Rosetown Eagle, July 28, 2008)

Mayor Brian Gerow expects the town to set prices for lots in the new subdivision later this month. Contractors finished burying lines for water, sewer and storm sewer service and put in street curbing for the three cul-de-sacs north of the civic centre. Although services like gas and electricity must still get installed, firms supplying them have given the administration their anticipated costs. (The Rosetown Eagle, August 5, 2008)

Swift Current
Demand for housing in the Swift Current area remains high. Trevor Koot with Century 21 says the rental market in the city remains a hot area, with a low number of vacant accommodations currently available. Koot is encouraged to see the city work on producing new lots for development, such as rental properties. (www.swiftcurrentonline.com, July 30, 2008)

From the City of Swift Current for July, 2008:
35 Building permits were issued for a total value of $3,697,495
17 Occupancy Permits were issued for New Businesses
1 Occupancy Permit was issued for a New Owner of an Existing Business

Broadview
After a vote on July 30, 2008, Broadview Co-op members voted against a merger with the Kipling Co-op. (The Broadview Express, Broadview, August 5, 2008)

Grenfell
Mike Zorn will be expanding the Grenfell Car Wash, by adding a new bay for larger vehicles. It is unknown at this time when the expansion is expected to be complete. (The Grenfell Sun, July 29, 2008)

Melville
The City of Melville celebrated their 100th Birthday with a homecoming on August 1 - 4, 2008. Although not official, it is expected to exceed the 1300 people that had registered early. (The Melville Advance, July 23 and August 6, 2008)

Saskatchewan's only professional firefighter's course is set to open August 5, 2008 with 24 students ready to take the pre-employment training. Students will take the 10 week training course in Melville and finish the live-fire portion in Vermillion, Alberta. (The Melville Advance, July 30, 2008)

The Lone Spur Cowboy Gathering will be held at the Melville Agri-Park on August 9 and 10, 2008. Formerly known as the Yorkton Cowboy Festival, this 4th annual event will honour the skill, interest, and horsemanship of the working cowboy. (The News, Yorkton - Ag Days Special Edition - July 12, 2008)

Besides the City of Melville celebrating their 100th Birthday, the Melville Millionaires and the United Church both celebrated their 100th Birthday as well. (The Melville Advance, August 6, 2008)

CN Rail announced they are donating $250,000 toward the city's proposed $13 million communiplex project in honour of Melville's 100th Birthday. (The Melville Advance, August 6, 2008)

Rail City Industries (RCI) has opened a new business venture. Outer Rim Coffee House held a pre-opening on July 29, 2008. The coffee house will offer espresso coffees, Italian sodas, slurpies, team dainties and sandwiches to go. All food will be made at RCI's sheltered workshop. The new business venture hopes to satisfy customer demand and help the non-profit society finance its operation. Although eight summer students set up and operate the coffee shop, it is expected RCI will help train its mentally and physically handicapped clients who are ready to make the transition to the working world. (The Melville Advance, August 6, 2008)

The Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation (SGC) continues to ensure a high level of sustainable profitability for Saskatchewan residents by posting a net income of $43.8 million over the 2007-2008 fiscal year. The Community Initiatives Fund and First Nations Trust Fund each receive 25% of the net profits, while the remaining 50% are delivered to the provinces General Revenue Fund. (www.gov.sk.ca/news, July 28, 2008)

Saskatchewan led all provinces in employment growth in May, and was second only to Alberta in posting the highest increase in average weekly earnings, according to Statistics Canada. Employment grew to 436,400 in May, a 3.8% increase in payroll compared with May 2007. (Regina Leader Post, July 29, 2008)

In the provincial governments first quarter financial statements released July 31st, the government is projecting that it will take in $3.1 billion more in revenue than was estimated when the provincial budget passed this spring. The government's total revenue for 2008-2009 is now projected at a record shattering $12.5 billion. (Regina Leader Post, August 1, 2008)

According to the Fraser Institute's Global Petroleum survey 2008, Saskatchewan is a preferred choice for oil and gas investment. The survey of international petroleum executives ranked the province the sixth most favourable jurisdiction out of eighty-one in terms of having low barriers to investment in oil and gas exploration and development. British Columbia ranked 19th in the survey, while Alberta ranked 29th. (Service Canada Labour Market Bulletin, July/August 2008)

The provincial government plans to provide $500,000 in grants to short line rail companies to assist in bridge repairs in putting gravel under rail ties, in the upgrading switch components, and in other work to stabilize tracks. The grant money which will be matched by the short line rail companies will be shared among six companies, including: Carlton Trail Railway, Great Western Railway, Southern Rails Co-operative, Arborfield Thunder Rail, Fife Lake Railway Ltd., and Red Coat Road and Railway. (Service Canada Labour Market Bulletin, July/August 2008)

The Edward Jones financing services company hopes to expand to 88 financing advisers in the province by 2012. The company currently has 24 financial advisers working across the province and believes that there is a need in the Saskatchewan market for investment advice and services. (Service Canada Labour Market Bulletin, July/August 2008)

The new Enterprise Region program was announced on August 5th. A REDA Working Group made recommendations to have larger regions based on commuter shed information and natural boundaries such as rivers and road patterns. The current REDA program will officially wind down as of March 31, 2009. (Enterprise and Innovation News Release, August 5, 2008)

Bruce Power, a company looking at locating a nuclear power plant in Saskatchewan, hired a company to conduct a survey last month and found that 52% of Saskatchewan people signalled support for nuclear energy, while 39% expressed opposition. Bruce Power intends to wrap up its feasibility study by the end of the year. (Regina Leader Post, August 7, 2008)

Saskatchewan's economic growth will lead the provinces this year with a 4.2% increase in GDP, substantially higher than the 3.6% predicted for second place Manitoba. (Regina Leader Post, August 7, 2008)

The provincial government has developed a program to disburse the federal allocation of $36.4 million for the Community Development Trust Fund. The 3-year program in Saskatchewan will target communities impacted by the downturn in the forest sector. (www.gov.sk.ca/news, August 7, 2008)

Another short-line railway has started hauling producer cars for Saskatchewan farmers. Torch River Railways (TRR) had its grand opening on July 24th. (The Western Producer, August 7, 2008)
Saskatchewan's economic growth will lead the provinces this year with a 4.2 per cent increase in GDP, substantially higher than the 3.6 per cent predicted for second-place Manitoba, according to the Conference Board of Canada. Commodity prices are fuelling the conference board's optimism for this year. It expects the Saskatchewan economy to perform well in 2009, but GDP growth will moderate to 2.8 per cent. (The Star Phoenix, August 7, 2008)