Queen City Digest

Monday, February 23, 2026

Good morning, Regina! 👋

Hope your Family Day long weekend treated you well and that you survived the deep freeze that came with it. The cold is starting to ease its grip this week: today's high of -6°C is practically balmy compared to the -30°C we woke up to on Saturday morning, and by Thursday the forecast hits +3°C. Spring is not here yet, but it is absolutely waving at us from a distance.

It's a big week ahead. Star Stories Night is this Friday, the Pats are back on home ice Wednesday, and Josh Ross is bringing his tour to Conexus on Thursday. But first, here are 5 stories worth starting your Monday with.

In this edition:

Mark this one right now. On Friday, February 27, the City of Regina, Saskatchewan Science Centre, and Regina Public Library are co-hosting Star Stories Night. This is a free, family-friendly evening celebrating Indigenous storytelling, culture, and community from 5 to 9 PM across multiple locations in the city.

The lineup is extraordinary. The night features a puppet show from Rabbit and Bear Paws (a beloved performing group from Manitoba), a Star Dome experience with Indigenous storyteller Dickie Yuzicappi, live drumming throughout the evening from the Kawacatoose Boys family drum group, snowshoe tours with Nature Regina, constellation crafts, a beadwork workshop, and a travelling exhibit called Earth in Focus with satellite imagery, astronaut-captured video, and an interactive topographic sand table. Oh, and there's free hot chocolate and bannock.

A food truck pavilion will be on site, and a free shuttle runs every 15 minutes between all three locations from 5 to 9 PM. Everything about this evening is designed to be welcoming, wonder-filled, and deeply rooted in the stories and traditions of this land.

It's one of those events you'll be glad you didn't miss. Bring the family, bring a friend, bring whoever needs a little magic to close out the week.

This could be one of the biggest economic stories for our city in years. Bell Canada has filed plans to construct a large-scale AI data centre campus in the Rural Municipality of Sherwood, just southeast of the city, as part of the company's national AI Fabric initiative. The footprint is substantial at roughly 160 acres and the first phase of construction could get underway before the end of 2026.

The project is being positioned as nationally significant computing infrastructure, designed to keep Canadian data and AI capacity on home soil. What makes it especially exciting for Regina is the local ripple effect: both Saskatchewan Polytechnic and the University of Regina are in active talks about partnerships, and there's a genuinely creative idea being explored to build greenhouses that capture and reuse the heat the data centres generate. A potential win for sustainability and local food production alike.

For a city that has long punched above its weight in the Prairie economy, this is the kind of generational infrastructure investment that puts Regina firmly on the national tech map.

Every year the Hospitals of Regina Foundation runs a home lottery. This year, they've outdone themselves. The 2026 grand prize is a 4,448-square-foot showhome at 1 Huber Bay in Emerald Park, crafted by Ripplinger Homes and valued at $1.8 million which is the largest grand prize in the lottery's nearly four-decade history. The lucky winner also takes home an extra $50,000 cash.

Beyond the headline number, though, this is really a story about what the money does. Proceeds from the 2026 lottery support a $5.6 million commitment to Regina hospital care, with major investments directed toward the NICU at Regina General Hospital's Rawlco Centre for Mother Baby Care ($750,000), the labour and delivery unit, cardiac care, and advanced brain surgery technology.

Tickets start at $100, and there's still time — but not much. The VIP prize deadline is midnight this Friday, February 27, so if a ticket has been on your to-do list, this week is the time.

🎟️ Get tickets at hrfhomelottery.com or call 1-800-667-7760

This one deserves a moment. Earlier this month, YWCA Regina opened the doors of a brand new Semi-Independent Living Program (SILP). This is a supported residence for young people who age out of Saskatchewan's social services system when they turn 18 and suddenly find themselves without a safety net.

What sets this program apart from the start is the story of how it came to be. It wasn't designed by bureaucrats or consultants. It was the Regina Youth Advisory Team, young people who had personally lived through the child welfare system who first recognized the gap, built the concept from scratch, evaluated proposals from potential partners, and ultimately selected YWCA Regina to bring it to life.

The facility offers 22 beds across 10 rooms with around-the-clock support on site. Staff work alongside residents on practical life skills like budgeting, paying bills, finding education pathways, entering the workforce. The province is backing the program with $865,000 in annual funding, and it holds the distinction of being the first fully ministry-referred program of its kind anywhere in Saskatchewan.

Regina should be proud of this one.

Here's a meaningful way to spend five minutes this week. The City of Regina is inviting residents to share their thoughts on how the city's Accessibility Plan is being put into practice with a particular call for input from people with disabilities, older adults, and those who support them. The survey lives at Regina.ca/AccessibilityPlan and closes on March 2, 2026.

The plan itself, adopted in 2024, lays out more than 80 specific actions to reduce barriers across City facilities, programs, transportation, hiring, and services, all to be completed by 2034. The city is making steady headway: by this month, 33 of those actions are done and 41 more are actively in progress. Work already completed includes expanded accessibility training for City employees, upgraded public facilities, more frequent transit, and stronger consultation with residents who have firsthand experience of barriers.

Results from the survey will feed directly into a report presented to City Council in May. It's a genuine opportunity to shape how the city invests in becoming more accessible for everyone.

📝 Take the survey at Regina.ca/AccessibilityPlan — open until March 2, 2026

📍 Brandt Centre

📍 Globe Theatre (MacCorquodale Place, 1801 Scarth St)

📍 Conexus Arts Centre

📍 MacKenzie Art Gallery

📍 RPL Film Theatre

📍 Saskatchewan Science Centre / RPL / Neil Balkwill Civic Arts Centre

📍 HRF Showhome — Emerald Park

📍 Wascana Centre

Canada won silver at the 2026 Winter Olympics. How are you feeling about it?

Hit reply and let us know, or find us on Instagram @QueenCityDigest!

Thanks for reading Queen City Digest. It's a great week ahead, Regina — Star Stories Night alone makes it worth circling on the calendar. Stay warm, be kind to your neighbours, and enjoy every degree of warmth as it creeps back in.

🗓️ Next edition: Wednesday, February 25 — your midweek roundup.

-The QCD Team