Enterprise Saskatchewan

Alida
Sole Relaxation Reflexology has opened for business. (Oxbow Herald, March 22, 2010)

Carlyle
Carlyle Lube Centre, owned by Kevin, Jim, Janice and Adam Bee, has opened for business. (Carlyle Observer, March 26, 2010)

Estevan
Turnbull Excavating celebrated their 25th anniversary and held the grand opening of Turnbull Redi-Mix which is a new division of the company. (Estevan Mercury, March 31, 2010)

The launch of www.itvestevan.com will provide breaking news to Estevan and area. (Estevan Mercury, March 31, 2010)

Creighton Lodge, a Level One and Two care home, will be transferring ownership over to a consortium of rural municipalities since the Sun Country Regional Health Authority has determined that the facility does not qualify under their criteria. The transfer is to take place after June 2010. (Estevan Mercury, March 31, 2010)

Kisbey
ATCO Midstream and SaskEnergy have completed the expansion project at the Kisbey gas plant. The $44 million project triples the capacity of the gas plant to five million cubic feet of gas per day and extends the current gathering system at the plant. (Black Gold, March 2010)

Redvers
The Redvers and District Oil Showcase is set for May 7th and 8th. The show offers 65 indoor booths and 20 outdoor booths. (Black Gold, March 2010)

Weyburn
The first shipment of the Knoxcooter, an eco frequency accelerated velocipede invented by Ron and Johnny Knox, has arrived in Weyburn. (Weyburn Review, March 24, 2010)

Edge Safety and Supply Inc. has opened for business. The business provides safety gear and safety training classes for the service rigs. (Weyburn Review, March 31, 2010)

Bar Engineering, a Lloydminster based company, has opened an office in the city. Oil and gas will be the primary focus. (Black Gold, March 2010)

The Weyburn Inland Terminal had earnings of $2,364,000 in the fiscal 2009. This was generated by 496,000 tonnes of grain and crop input sales of over $26.4 million. (Weyburn Review, March 24, 2010)

NorAmera Technologies Inc., a company owned by Weyburn Inland Terminal, is going to build a combustion facility to burn animal offal and flax straw. The energy created at this combustion plant will provide a safe disposal means for the waste material and in turn make use of the energy to produce grain based ethanol. (Western Producer, Marche 25, 2010)

Wilmar
Rotex Energy Ltd. held a grand opening to celebrate their new waste management facility. (Black Gold, March 2010)

Southeast Saskatchewan
Estevan and Weyburn were named in the top ten places to do business by Alberta Venture magazine. (Alberta Venture, April 2010; http://albertaventure.com/2010/04/10-places-to-be-in-saskatchewan/3/) 

Moose Jaw
Entrepreneurship students from Peacock Collegiate brought home three awards, including company of the Year for its business Two Delicious at the 33rd annual Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame Awards in Regina. Vanier Collegiate received six awards shared between its two companies Das Mugs and Just Moose Cards. Vanier teacher Christa Lapointe was also named Educator of the Year. As part of entrepreneurship classes offered at the schools, students had to create and run a business. (Moose Jaw Times Herald, March 19, 2010)

A new KPMG Competitive Alternatives study shows Moose Jaw is an attractive place to set up business. Moose Jaw ranked 11th overall in city rakings for cost of doing business. (www.discovermoosejaw.com, March 31, 2010)

Hafford
Karen MacNutt has opened South Avenue Cabinet Design. The business offers consultation services as well as Saskatchewan made cabinetry and countertops. (Regional Optimist, March 19, 2010)

Lloydminster
Lloydminster will soon see a new energy efficient Husky Energy office building in the Border City, which will serve the immediate area and benefit the province of Saskatchewan. (The Lloydminster Meridian Booster, March 19, 2010)

North Battleford
The newly renovated Battlefords and District Co-op C-Store and Gas Bar held a grand re-opening. (Battlefords Regional Optimist, March 19, 2110)

Nutter’s Bulk & Natural Food’s held a grand re-opening. (Battlefords Regional Optimist, March 19, 2010)

Creative Interiors relocated from the Frontier Mall to a new location in the Town of Battleford. A grand re-opening was held. (Regional Optimist, March 26, 2010)

The new $700 million North Battleford Energy Center power plant fuelled by natural gas is slated to begin construction this summer, with operation to commence in 2013. It is estimated the project will create 200 to 600 construction jobs and 20 to 30 permanent jobs. (News Optimist, March 31, 2010)

The land exchange agreement between the City of North Battleford and Battlefords Tribal Council for the proposed multipurpose facility has been executed by city council. (The News Optimist, March 31, 2010)

Wilkie
Homestead Family Restaurant is under the new management of Spiros Manaos. (The Press, March 22, 2010)

Construction of the WLS Group Home is officially under way and is scheduled to be completed in 2010. (The Press, March 22, 2010)

Prince Albert
Prince Albert businessman Rod Postel, who has owned Rod’s Decorating Centre Ltd. for more than 30 years, received the Samuel McLeod Prince Albert Business Legacy Award, the life-time achievement award for business in Prince Albert. (Prince Albert Daily Herald, March 19, 2010)

Indian Head
Valhalla Tattoos is moving to a brand new location in down town Indian Head. (Indian Head-Wolseley News, March 29, 2010)

Regina
Office Depot, located on Albert Street, will be closing. (Store sign, 1275 Albert Street)

At the end of March, the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region opened the doors to a new 45-bed addiction treatment centre on Victoria Avenue. The $7.7 million facility houses 25 social detoxification beds and 20 brief detoxification beds, a service that is new to the city. (Leader Post, March 19, 2010)

William F. White International, a major supplier of film and television production equipment, is shutting down its Regina location because of an unprecedented slowdown in production in the last two years. The closure of the 7,200 square foot building on McDonald Street will put five employees out of work at the end of the month. (Leader Post, March 19, 2010)

Construction will soon be under way on the first Lowe’s home improvement store in Saskatchewan on Gordon Road. The Regina store will have 103,000 square feet of retail space and offer more than 40,000 home improvement products under one roof. A separate 32,000 square foot garden centre will offer a wide selection of flowers bushes, trees and garden supplies. The store represents an investment of approximately $20 million and will create up to 150 new jobs. (Leader Post, March 19, 2010)

In addition to the two major anchor stores, Wal-Mart and Lowes, Grasslands, the commercial real estate development located south of Harbour Landing, will also see tenants such as Day’s Inn, Co-op Gas Bar, Royal Bank and fashion stores to round out the first phase of the project. When completed in 2013 or 2014, the project will encompass one million square feet of retail space, including some office space and related amenity services. The entire Grasslands project will cost about $350 million to build. Harvard intends to manage the project after it is completed. (Leader Post, March 22, 2010)

The Spring Home Show took place at the Canada Center building, Evraz Place, in March. More than 300 vendors had their best home improvement products on display. (Leader Post, March 23, 2010)

The YWCA is set to open a new 90 space child care facility. The Century Crescent Child Care Centre, located on Century Crescent, is in a renovated wing of the Mutchmore Lodge seniors care home and will provide space for nine infants, 25 toddlers and 56 pre-school children. The facility underwent $300,000 in renovations. The opening coincides with the 100th anniversary of the YWCA Regina this year and is its third child care facility in the city. (Leader Post, March 26, 2010)

SRG Security Resource Group of Regina has acquired Avion Services Corporation of Winnipeg to create one of the largest private security firms in Western Canada, with more than 600 employees. More importantly, the acquisition of Avion gives SRG access to the growing and lucrative airport security market. (Leader Post, March 30, 2010)

Nineteen aboriginal students at Scott Collegiate are enrolled in the entrepreneurship class which began in February and teaches students the ins and outs of planning and running a business. The class is part of the Martin Aboriginal Entrepreneurship Initiative, which is aimed at reducing the aboriginal youth dropout rate and increasing the number of aboriginal students attending post-secondary institutions. (Leader Post, March 31, 2010)

Tower Gardens, located at the corner of Winnipeg Street and Broadway Avenue, is undergoing a $12 million retrofit which will include new windows, insulation, a stucco exterior and a penthouse addition, which will house mechanical equipment. Quorex Construction Services is completing the exterior work on the building. (Leader Post, March 31, 2010)

Southey
The Southey Royal Bank branch celebrated their 100th anniversary. (Waterfront Press Regional, March 25, 2010)

A record surplus of $3.67 million has city finance officials mulling whether to redirect some of the money to reduce a looming property tax increase this year instead of directing it into a rainy day fund. (Star Phoenix, March 19, 2010)

City council authorized more than $90 million in borrowing for some of the city's largest capital projects. The borrowing required is within the city's capacity to pay back and was approved when each of the projects were put forward. (Star Phoenix, March 23, 2010)

A unique project has a team of researchers at the University of Saskatchewan positioned to become global leaders in providing information to protect the planet's freshwater resources. Researchers are creating a commercially viable software system to help energy developers make decisions about the impact the location of power plants has on nearby water systems. The project received $750,500 from the federal government to mark World Water Day, as well as $1.5 million of in-kind funds from Environment Canada, to be directed to the United Nations Global Environment Monitoring System Water Program (GEMS/Water). GEMS/Water is a UN-run program located in the Environment Canada offices at Innovation Place at the University of Saskatchewan. (Star Phoenix, March 23, 2010)

The federal government will invest $2.9 million to support four Canada Research Chairs in Saskatchewan. Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar Minister of Parliament Kelly Block made the announcement at the University of Saskatchewan. (Star Phoenix, March 27, 2010)

The Circle Drive South agreement was ratified at a special Saskatoon city council meeting amid predictions the bridge could fundamentally alter the city. Council awarded the contract to build the bridge, freeway and interchanges to joint-venture Graham Construction-Flatiron Construction Corp. for a guaranteed $224 million, a price estimated to be between $30 million and $40 million under budget. (Star Phoenix, March 30, 2010)

An international business advisory firm has named Saskatoon the most competitive city among communities in Western Canada and the midwest United States with populations of 500,000 people or fewer. KPMG also ranked Saskatoon as the second most competitive city, behind Winnipeg, among western North American cities with populations of one million people or fewer. (Star Phoenix, April 1, 2010)

New Businesses:
Stuart Olson Constructors, owners The Churchill Group. (Star Phoenix, March 20, 2010)
Castle Stained Glass, owner Janet Parkinson. (Star Phoenix, March 27, 2010)
Precision Laser Therapy Inc., owner Ray Ewanchuk. (Star Phoenix, March 27, 2010)

Cabri
A Cabri Entrepreneur is manufacturing pine-box cowboy coffins. Cam McLeod of Cleod Nine Enterprises has started to manufacture hand crafted solid pine coffins and has sold 13 since last year. (Maple Creek News, March 18, 2010)

The newly renovated Cabri Branch of Innovation Credit Union has opened for business. (Prairie Post, March 19, 2010)

Biggar
Biggar Dental Clinic has opened. (The Independent, March 15, 2010)

Eston
Several Eston residents turned out at a meeting to get information on a proposed new affordable 14-unit supported living complex that could potentially be built and operating by September, according to the developer. (The Crossroads, March 15, 2010)

Kindersley
Sharper Image in the Kindersley Mall held a grand opening. (The Clarion, March 17, 2010)

Maple Creek
For the second time in its short three years of operation Cypress Hills Vineyard and Winery has won a provincial tourism award. The winery was named Tourism Saskatchewan’s Business of the Year for 2009 in the Under 50 Full-time Employees category. (Maple Creek News, March 18, 2010)

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the first office of Cypress Credit Union, formerly Maple Creek Credit Union. (Maple Creek Times, March 30, 2010)

Rosetown
Drena Bird-Hahn and Brian Hahn have opened D’Slice of Pizza in the former Fresh Ground Coffee House location. (Rosetown Eagle, March 22, 2010)

Lotus Hair & Esthetics is now open in Rosetown. (Rosetown Eagle, March 22, 2010)

Shaunavon
For the first time in over a decade, the Shaunavon Co-op Association did not see a growth in sales and savings for 2009. The Co-op enjoyed sales of about $28.87 million last year compared to its record total of $31.8 million in 2008. Last year’s sales were still the second highest total ever recorded by the local organization. (Shaunavon Standard, March 30, 2010)

Browzer’s Florist and Gift Shop reopened with new owner, Val Wilkins. (Shaunavon Standard, March 30, 2010)

Swift Current
Pioneer Co-op held their annual general meeting in Swift Current. The 2009 year was a solid year financially for the organization, with sales staying at $164 million and savings of $11.4 million. (www.swiftcurrentonline.com, March 31, 2010)

Innovation has announced a proposed merger with Conexus and Synergy Credit Unions. The merger needs to be approved by the Credit Union membership before it can go ahead. (www.swiftcurrentonline.com, April 1, 2010)

Slice Athletic Wear will be opening in Swift Current carrying yoga-inspired clothing. (The Southwest Booster, April 1, 2010)

Broadview
Broadview Co-op as announced a $600,000 expansion, including a new Ag Warehouse and offices. Construction will start in April with the opening expected in October 2010. (The Broadview Express, March 29, 2010)

Churchbridge
Churchbridge Trade Show Equity Day was held. (The Four-Town Journal, Churchbridge/Langenburg, March 31, 2010)

Foam Lake
North East Terminal (NET) celebrated their grand opening. NET had purchased Tri-Way Fertilizer in December 2009. The Foam Lake location offers anhydrous ammonia liquid, granular fertilizers, chemicals, inoculants and canola seed, as well as custom applications of granular fertilizer, chemical and soil testing services. (Foam Lake Review, March 29, 2010)

Kamsack
Larry Larson, owner of L. Larson Trucking has purchased the assets of Walter Kazakoff Trucking, and will be amalgamating the companies. Walter Kazakoff will remain as an employee, and expects to hire two new employees. (The Kamsack Times, 2010 Agriculture Week, March 21, 2010)

Langenburg
Jason and Lorinda Buchberger have purchased the former Smith Creek Bar & Grill. A grand opening for Buck’s Co. Tavern will take place. (The Four-Town Journal, Langenburg/Churchbridge, March 31, 2010)

Moosomin
After an open house was held by Algonquin Power, approval was given by the Rural Municipality of Martin. Red Lily Wind Power Limited Partnership, owned by Algonguin Power Inc. and Gaia Power, plan to construct a 25-megawatt wind farm, five kilometers west of Moosomin. The $60 million project is expected to begin this summer, with the turbines in place by fall. (Leader-Post, Regina, March 19, 2010)

Whitewood
Richardson Pioneer’s new fertilizer storage building is up and running. Construction of the facility began in July 2009. It has been operational for the past month. The new facility increased capacity by an additional 4,700 tons. (The Whitewood Herald, March 22, 2010)

Benedict Shin and Dan Min have purchased Can-Am Travel Stop from Rick and Randy Maierhoffer. The busy 24-hour truck stop employs approximately 35 staff. The new owners do not expect to make any changes in the immediate future. (The Whitewood Herald, March 29, 2010)

Wolseley
Wolseley Service, a GM Dealership, garden tractors, Panterra products, etc. celebrated 25 years in business. (The Wolseley Bulletin, March 26, 2010)

Yorkton
Yorkton Film Festival received the award for Promotion/Marketing Campaign – Event or Festival with a budget of under $20,000 at the Saskatchewan Tourism Awards of Excellence for 2009. The Western Development Museum, including the Yorkton Branch, also earned the Gil Carduner Marketing Award with a budget of over $20,000 and Spirit of Saskatchewan Award. (Yorkton This Week, March 24, 2010)

The Saskatchewan Land Surveyors Association is celebrating their 100 year anniversary. (Leader Post, March 20, 2010)

Saskatchewan Community Network (SCN) was signaled for closure in the last provincial budget. The closure of SCN will save the government about $5 million on an annual basis. SCN is nearly 20 years old. (Leader Post, March 27, 2010)