Weekly News Recap: October 3, 2025

Weekly News Recap: October 3, 2025

Guerin Blask for The New York Times.

What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make; the greatest danger to our future is apathy; and only if we understand, can we care. Only if we care, we will help. Only if we help, we shall be saved -- Jane Goodall.

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • VIDEO: This hockey-loving border city throws support behind women's team (CBC) LLOYDMINSTER STORY #GoRustlers "Women’s hockey is growing across Canada and Lloydminster is no exception. The Lakeland Rustlers women’s team brought the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference title home last year, but it was fundraising and community support that got them there. And now, they’re hoping to do it again, this time in a brand new home."

  • Las Vegas team develops tech to harvest water from desert air (KTNV) How cool is this?! "In the desert valley of Las Vegas, where water is as precious as gold, a team of researchers at WAVR is working to turn the air we breathe into the water we drink."

  • VIDEO: A school in Kentucky banned phones. Remarkable things started happening. (MSN) #Wow " 'There is definitely a different feeling,' [he] said. 'It’s hard to quantify something like that. But it’s noticeable when you talk with students, walk through the hallways and go into classes.' What is easier to quantify is the immediate impact of the ban on students’ use of the school library. In the first month of school this year, students took out 67 percent more books than the same month last year, with 533 books checked out in August 2024 and 891 books checked out in August 2025. That’s for a student body of 2,189."

  • Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025 – in pictures (The Guardian) Beautiful! Thanks to Mick Mulloy for sharing. "The winners of the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025 have been revealed. The competition, presented by Oceanographic and Blancpain, showcases breathtaking images that celebrate the ocean’s beauty and highlight the urgent need to protect it."

  • I worried about being a mom with a disability. Now, I've embraced it — all with one hand (CBC) GRANDE PRAIRIE STORY I heart this story. "It's been almost two years since the birth of my son. I've navigated diaper changes, baths and breastfeeding with only one hand. I've also been finding ways to use my journey as a disabled mother to help other new moms who are feeling anxious or afraid."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. Jane Goodall, the celebrated primatologist and conservationist, has died (AP News) I am gutted. ViTreo had the privilege of working with the Jane Goodall Institute Global. We offer our condolences to them and to all who loved and respected Jane. RIP. We will not see her like again. "Jane Goodall, the intellectual, soft-spoken conservationist renowned for her groundbreaking, immersive chimpanzee field research in which she documented the primates’ distinct personalities and use of tools, has died. She was 91. The environmental advocate became a beloved household name who transcended generations through her appearances in documentaries and on television, as well as her travels to address packed auditoriums around the world."

  2. VIDEO: Canada issues warning for citizens with gender-neutral passports travelling to U.S. (CBC) CANADIAN STORY #Eeek "The Canadian government is warning citizens who list 'X' as their gender on their passports could have problems entering the U.S. and other countries. In a change made in recent days, the Department of Global Affairs added an advisory to its United States travel advice page for 2SLGBTQ+ Canadian passport holders."

  3. Crowdfunding-style hometown donations gain traction in Japan (Japan Times) "Under Japan's furusato nōzei hometown donation system, growing attention has focused on crowdfunding-style projects that earmark funds for specific purposes, such as passing cultural traditions to the next generation and supporting families with children. Such initiatives set clear fundraising targets and deadlines to solicit contributions. With more local governments adopting the model, donations are increasingly being used to address specific local challenges — the original aim of the broader hometown donation system."

  4. Some Regina social media users going nutty over squirrels and their rogue walnut caches (CBC) REGINA STORYUm, don't feed wild animals. "Someone in Regina's Broders Annex neighbourhood is feeding whole walnuts to local squirrels, some residents say, and now walnut shells are showing up in lawns, backyards and gardens."

  5. VIDEO: Tanning elk hide is a step toward truth and reconciliation for these Indigenous educators (CBC) ALBERTA STORY ViTreo emeritus Mick Mulloy and I had the privilege of visiting an Indigenous mother on the Janvier Reserve in Northern Alberta a few years ago while she was tanning a moosehide. #ABeautifulExperience "Gordon said tanning the hide brings people together in a special way. 'The hide brings us together, to work together,' she said. 'We would have non-Indigenous people and Indigenous people working together, and completing hides together, working as a team.' It's also been an opportunity to welcome non-Indigenous people to learn more about Indigenous culture and traditions."

  6. The warning signs are clear: We’re heading toward a digital crisis (Yahoo News) "The digital economy includes 'those businesses that increasingly rely upon information technology, data and the internet for their business models.' The companies dominating the digital economy continue to undertake a massive social experiment where they keep the lion’s share of the benefits while shunting the risks onto society as a whole. This could lead to a systemic digital crisis, ranging from a widespread breakdown of basic infrastructure, such as electricity or telecommunications due to a cyberattack, to an attack that modifies existing infrastructure to make it dangerous. There are significant similarities between the current trajectory of the digital economy and the 2008 financial crisis. In particular, what we are increasingly seeing in the digital world, which we saw in the pre-crisis financial world, is what American sociologist Charles Perrow called 'tight coupling.' "

  7. This historic reservoir is responsible for Calgary's fresh drinking water (Curiocity) CALGARY STORY I am grateful! "Are you grateful for clean, fresh drinking water that comes straight from the tap? In Calgary, it wasn’t all that long ago that this was out of reach for most city residents. You can thank the Glenmore Reservoir for that. Perhaps one of Calgary’s most hardworking pieces of public infrastructure, the 4 km Glenmore Dam situated along the Elbow River in Calgary’s southwest was originally constructed in 1930."

  8. VIDEO: 'You're not going to stop tourism': Banff looks to manage visitation with new strategy (CBC) BANFF STORY "More than four million people have visited Banff National Park over the past three years. As Calgary and area grows, it's anticipated that number could soon surpass five million visitors. Joe Pavelka, a Mount Royal University professor specializing in tourism, said finding a way to manage tourism would promote 'more positive experiences for everyone.' 'You can put policies into place, but the idea of stopping tourism is not worth pursuing. The idea of managing tourism … that's positive. That's about moving forward and saying, 'We need to manage this better.' You're not going to stop tourism.' "

  9. $8.9 million Camp Kindle expansion reaches milestone in Mountain View County (The Albertan) ALBERTA STORY Congrats to all! "The $8.9 million expansion and accessibility project at Camp Kindle southwest of Cremona reached an important milestone with a ribbon cutting ceremony [last week]. Located in Mountain View County, Camp Kindle is one of the province’s premier facilities for the support of child cancer survivors. It is owned and operated by Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta."

  10. VIDEO: Affluent Americans Increase Donations by 30% Over Past Decade, Even as Fewer Give, Finds 2025 BofA Study of Philanthropy (Bank of America) "Affluent Americans are giving more and giving with purpose, even as fewer are giving. The newly released 2025 Bank of America Study of Philanthropy, conducted in partnership with the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, found that total charitable contributions from affluent donors have surged more than 30% since 2015. In 2024, their giving was 10 times higher than the latest available levels for the general population. Yet participation in giving is narrowing: 81% of affluent households made charitable donations in 2024, down from 91% in 2015."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. How the Wound Man Healed Medieval Europe (Hyperallergic) Yuck, for sure. But, also, very cool.

  2. Why do only humans weep? The evolutionary puzzle of crying. (Big Think) I am clearly very social.

  3. Sherwin-Williams' 2026 Color of the Year Is Here and It's Refreshingly Practical (Elle Decor) Wow, this is...somewhat...disheartening.

  4. The semicolon, 'the most feared punctuation on Earth,' is in decline; does it matter? (USA Today) Clearly I have been to college (and I love the semicolon; who doesn't?).

  5. Why Laughter Is Contagious: Got The Giggles? Blame Evolution (Life Science) The superspreader of dopamine.

  6. Why Does ‘Ballpark Figure’ Mean “a Rough Estimate”? (Mental Floss) Well...it sounds way better than 'give me an estimate'.

  7. How Instagram Upended the Art World (The Walrus) Talk about a medium made for artists.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. $12M gift from UCalgary alumna Susan Nelson launches Nelson PULSE Centre to revolutionize personalized health care (uCalgary) CALGARY STORY "Thanks to a $12-million gift from visionary entrepreneur and community leader Susan Nelson, BA’70, precision medicine — a research priority at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine (CSM) — is about to gain even more momentum."

  2. Kitchener indoor rec complex named after multi-million dollar donor (Kitchener) KITCHENER STORY "During an announcement [...] Kitchener council announced the state-of-the-art recreation complex, which is 222,000 square foot and under construction at RBJ Schlegel Park, will be named the Cowan Recreation Complex. The FIFA-sized indoor turf fieldhouse will also be named the Cowan Fieldhouse. The new name comes following a $2.5 million donation from the Cowan Foundation, which is being called one of the “most significant private contributions to recreation in the city’s history.” "

  3. Cure Alzheimer’s Fund receives $50 million from Cardinal Family Fund (Philanthropy News Digest) #Wowzers "The Cure Alzheimer’s Fund (CureAlz) in Wellesley, Massachusetts, has announced a five-year, $50 million gift from the Cardinal Family Fund."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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