Starland County has paved the way for a potential new commercial and light industrial development.
The County has purchased an approximately 145-acre property at Highway 9 and 27, southeast of Morrin Corner for a business park development.
At a special meeting on Monday, December 18, the county considered five tenders to develop an Area Structure Plan. They awarded the contract to Stantec to develop the plan. Developing the Area Structure plan will include having an environmental assessment completed as well as a historical assessment, a traffic impact assessment and stormwater management. A conceptual plan will be developed and public input will be sought along the way.
“As our economy evolves, it’s crucial for us to adapt and create opportunities that benefit not just today but also the future of Starland County,” said a Council representative. “This business park is more than just a development; it’s a stepping stone towards a prosperous future.”
According to a press release, the County will soon be issuing tenders for the engineering and construction work necessary for the park's development. As part of its commitment to transparency and community involvement, Starland County will publish a Request for Information and host a Public Open House. This step invites input from stakeholders, ensuring that the park aligns with the needs and expectations of the community and potential investors.
At the Special meeting, the council also accepted a motion to take $170,000 from its reserves to pay for the Area Structure Plan. They also approved a motion to support applications to the Alberta Northern and Regional Economic Development Program for a grant that could potentially cover half of the costs of the Area Structure Plan.
“There are a lot of people looking forward to it,’ said Reeve Steve Wannstrom indicating residents and potential businesses. The planning involves comprehensive strategizing to ensure the park meets the growing needs of the county, with a particular emphasis on modern infrastructure and sustainable practices.
“Council made sure before they approved the funding that administration went out and did preliminary conversations with different businesses; external one and internal ones and there was nothing but positives,” said Starland CAO Christopher Robblee.
They expect the Area Structure Plan to be completed in November - December 2024

The Drumheller RCMP will now be sending key information to the public using the RAVE Mobile Safety APP. RAVE is a mass notification system used to inform the public in cases where critical communications and public safety messages are vital.
Once you create a profile, you will then be able to choose areas of the Province that you would like to receive notifications for; those areas now include Drumheller and the surrounding communities that Drumheller RCMP serve.
Alternatively, you can choose to receive updates from across the entire Province. Notifications are sent via text, voicemail, or email, based on your set preferences. All user information is confidential.
In addition to Crime Watch notifications, community members in and around Drumheller will be able to receive notifications for urgent police matters that involve road closures, traffic advisory notifications, significant motor vehicle collisions, police presence, missing persons, police requests for public assistance, and more.
Staff Sergeant Robert HARMS stated “The RAVE Alert system has been tried and tested with our Rural Crime Watch Groups across the province and has proven very beneficial including in the Drumheller area. Users are receiving information related to important police activity from the RCMP in real time. We encourage everyone to sign up on this.”
To sign up and receive notofications:
1) Download the AlbertaRCMP APP. If you are an Android user head to the Google Play Store. If you are an iPhone user, the Apple APP Store.
2) Click on the RAVE Mobile Safety tile and scroll down to click Sign up now.
3) Fill out the form and click Create Account.
4) Confirm your Mobile Phone # / Click confirm by Text. You will then get confirmation text message Click Confirm Phone.
5) You now can determine what notifications you would like to receive. The default setting is all Alberta RCMP Notifications.
6) Unselect All Alberta RCMP Notifications and place a check mark beside Drumheller Crime Watch Advisory.
7) Scroll to the bottom of the screen and select save.
For a step-by-step guide to sign up for RAVE notifications, please visit

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