👑 11th Avenue is open again

Regina's friendly local roundup | Monday, October 19, 2026

Happy Monday, Regina! 👋

What a weekend for football in the Queen City. The Riders stole a playoff spot in the final 30 seconds on Saturday, and the Regina Thunder followed it up on Sunday by winning the Prairie Football Conference title at Leibel Field.

Today we've also got the founder of Rider cheerleading picking up a national honour, 11th Avenue finally reopening, and a women-driven rideshare that's growing in the city. Let's get into it.

In today's edition:

The Saskatchewan Roughriders left it late on Saturday, but they're headed back to the post-season. Trevor Harris found KeeSean Johnson down the sideline for a 17-yard touchdown with 29 seconds remaining, lifting the defending Grey Cup champions to a 16-12 win over the Montreal Alouettes at Mosaic Stadium and locking up a playoff berth. The chance came after Montreal kicker Jose Maltos-Diaz pushed a 44-yard try wide left and Matthew Sexton returned it 46 yards. Harris, 40, kept the drive alive with a 22-yard scramble, his first run of 20-plus yards since 2022.

Johnson finished with seven catches for 85 yards, giving him 108 receptions this season. Only Don Narcisse, with 123 in 1995, has more in a single Riders season. Kian Schaffer-Baker also passed 1,000 receiving yards for the first time in his career, even after injuries limited him to 11 games. At 9-8, Saskatchewan won't know where it lands until the final week, with third in the West or a crossover to the East both in play. Head coach Corey Mace admitted it wasn't the team's standard, but said he hopes the win provides some momentum.

Not pretty, but it counts. The Elks are in town Saturday.

The Regina Thunder won the Prairie Football Conference title on Sunday, beating the Saskatoon Hilltops 44-19 at Leibel Field. It's the fourth PFC championship in team history and the first since 2024. For three quarters it was a defensive grind, with Regina ahead 16-12 at halftime thanks to a Carwyn Williams kick-return touchdown and a pick-six from Marcus Butz. Then the Thunder rattled off 28 points in about five minutes across the third and fourth quarters, a run Dylan Paskiw finished with an interception return of his own for a touchdown.

The turning point was a gamble. Clinging to a four-point lead deep in their own end, coach Scott MacAulay kept the offence on the field for third-and-one, and quarterback Jayden Zelionka got the edge for the first down. A long strike to Ben Walz followed, then a 14-yard touchdown to Lucas Di Iorio. MacAulay was candid afterward, admitting the call was a risky one but saying it set the tone. It was sweet revenge after the Thunder lost last year's final to Saskatoon in overtime. Next up is the CJFL national semifinal on the road against the Sault Ste. Marie Cougars on Saturday, Oct. 24.

Two more wins and it's a national title. Go Thunder.

Carol Gay Bell, who founded the Saskatchewan Roughriders cheerleading team in 1961, has been named an honorary member of the Canadian Football Cheerleaders Alumni Organization, CTV News reported Sunday. Now 91, Gay Bell built the squad from the ground up and stayed with the team until 1978. She told CTV she's very proud of the recognition and hopes the team keeps going for another 65 years and then some.

The honor comes in a milestone year. The cheer team is marking its 65th anniversary, and the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame opened an exhibit on its history in late August. The original squad had eight cheerleaders before growing to 16 and later 24, and Gay Bell has said getting the crowd involved was always the point. Away from the sidelines, she also founded the touring musical revue Saskatchewan Express in 1980.

Sixty-five years of pom-poms, and it all started with eight.

After four years of fencing and detours, 11th Avenue is back. The City of Regina says the revitalization of the stretch between Albert Street and Broad Street is complete, on time and under budget, with new roads, sidewalks, lighting and underground infrastructure. The work started in 2023 and was done alongside SaskPower and SaskTel, so major utility upgrades happened at the same time rather than requiring another dig down the road. Mayor Chad Bachynski said crews replaced water and wastewater pipes that had been in service for more than 100 years.

Bachynski thanked downtown businesses for their patience, acknowledging the project brought four years of difficulty. Chad Boudreau, one of the owners of Comic Readers Downtown, told CBC that 2024 and 2025 were the shop's toughest years, and he's hoping the reopening brings people back with holiday shopping season on the way. A few finishing touches are still coming, including benches, heated transit shelters, garbage bins and landscaping, which the city plans to add through this fall and into spring 2027.

The fences are gone. Your favourite downtown spots would love a visit.

There's a new way to get around the city. WomenFirst, a ride-hailing service that uses only female drivers and markets mainly to women, has been running in Regina since the spring. Joy Desjarlais brought the Alberta-founded company here and started out as its only driver while also handling the marketing. Business has been slow so far, at about three rides a day, but she now has seven drivers and is aiming for 30 rides daily. It isn't women-only, either. Men can book a ride, and some drivers have even handled school pickups for kids.

Desjarlais said the whole idea is making sure passengers feel safe, whether they're heading home late or travelling alone. Angela Derr, who started driving in September after an injury ended her work as a construction truck driver, has given about 50 rides and says people from every community are welcome. Next on Desjarlais's list are a wheelchair-accessible van and, eventually, expansion across the province.

Local, women-run and growing. Worth knowing about.

October 19 to 21

🎷 Corey Taylor and the Jazz Thunderbirds Are Go! | Bushwakker Brewpub, 2206 Dewdney Avenue | 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM | No cover, no minors | Live local jazz to kick off the week as part of the Bushwakker's Monday Night Jazz & Blues series.
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🔍 Crime Lab Forensics Experience | RCMP Heritage Centre, 5907 Dewdney Avenue | 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM | Paid admission | Step into the role of an investigator and work through a forensics experience at the museum.
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🏅 Played Here: 60 Years of Saskatchewan Sport | Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame, 2205 Victoria Avenue | Ongoing, check hours | Free | An anniversary exhibit on the people and moments that shaped sport in this province, with more than 561 inductees from 54 sports.
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🖼️ David Garneau: Dark Chapters | Dunlop Art Gallery, Central Library, 2311 12th Avenue | Running through January 6, 2027 | See listing | A Dunlop exhibition of work by David Garneau, curated by Arin Fay.
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🥊 Street Fighter: The IMAX Experience | Kramer IMAX Theatre, 2903 Powerhouse Drive | Playing through October 21, check showtimes | Paid admission | Ryu and Ken are pulled into the World Warrior Tournament in this action feature, now in its final days.
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🏅 Played Here: 60 Years of Saskatchewan Sport | Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame, 2205 Victoria Avenue | Ongoing, check hours | Free | Fresh off a big football weekend, a good excuse to wander through six decades of Saskatchewan sport history.
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🌪️ Stormbound in IMAX | Kramer IMAX Theatre, 2903 Powerhouse Drive | Playing through March 31, 2027, check showtimes | Paid admission | Ride along with storm chaser Jeff Gammons into the heart of the world's most powerful hurricanes.
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🏒 Regina Pats vs. Seattle Thunderbirds | Brandt Centre, 1700 Elphinstone Street | 7:00 PM | Paid admission | The Pats open a three-game homestand, with 2-for-1 hot dogs until puck drop and a comic book giveaway at the door while supplies last.
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🤠 The Rhinestone Cowgirls: The Legendary Ladies of Country Music | Conexus Arts Centre, 200 Lakeshore Drive | 7:00 PM | $84.10, taxes and fees included | A tribute to the women who shaped country music, from Patsy, Tammy, Loretta and Dolly to Faith and Carrie.
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💿 Classic Albums Live: Madonna's The Immaculate Collection | Casino Regina Show Lounge, 1880 Saskatchewan Drive | 8:00 PM, doors 7:15 PM | $43 to $50 plus tax and fees | The full album recreated live on stage, note for note, with no costumes or impersonations.
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🎶 The Inconsoulables | Bushwakker Brewpub, 2206 Dewdney Avenue | 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM | Free admission, no minors | Live music as part of the Bushwakker's Wednesday Night Folk series.
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🧠 Science Connections: Using AI to Predict Disease Outbreaks | Saskatchewan Science Centre, 2903 Powerhouse Drive | 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM | $13.99, free for members | Dr. Affan Shoukat explains how AI can help predict outbreaks, followed by Q&A, coffee and time on the exhibit floor.
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🥊 Street Fighter: The IMAX Experience, final day | Kramer IMAX Theatre, 2903 Powerhouse Drive | Check showtimes | Paid admission | Last chance to catch it on the big screen before it wraps its run.
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🏈 Harris to Johnson with 29 seconds left
🏆 The Thunder's 28-point flurry
🙌 Both, obviously
🏒 I'm more of a hockey person

Hit reply and let us know :)

Thanks for reading Queen City Digest. Enjoy the playoff buzz and have a great week.

🗓️ Next edition: Wednesday, October 21.

-QCD