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SPORTS: Devon Levi’s unexpected emergence as Canada’s starting goaltender fits with an unusual 2021 world junior hockey championship.

Sports undoubtedly took a hit in 2020 as a result of the pandemic, but they also are what fueled many in our community through difficult times. These are some of those stories recapping a year of adaptability and resilience, presenting CHAT Sports: 2020 Year in Review.

More than 1,000 Albertans have died as a result of COVID-19. There are 59 active cases of COVID-19 in Medicine Hat. The city now has had 448 total cases the 59 active, 382 recovered and there have been seven deaths.... Since the last detailed update from the province on Dec. 23, there are 23 new cases in the city and 28 recoveries. There has also been one death in that time. Across the province, there are 15,487 active cases and 81,780 recovered cases. Alberta’s total number of COVID-19 cases from the start of the pandemic is 98,269. There are 917 new cases in the province today. There are now 878 Albertans in hospital with COVID-19, 148 of which are in ICU, and 1,002 deaths. The provincial positivity rate was between 6.4 and 9.6 per cent over the five days since the last live update.

If you’re tidying up after the holidays, there are three drop-off locations in the city to recycle your real Christmas tree.

We recently produced this short video on The 40 Hot Meal Project . A new, and very successful community initiative which simultaneously supports our local food bank and the local restaurant industry, at a time when both are in need of all the support they can get. https://youtu.be/5NMTQ4OkOfo

Time is ticking yet again on the future of the region’s maternity clinic as new admissions are set to end next month unless funding can be found to keep the service going.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw says there are positive signs but our fight is far from over. There are 78 active cases of COVID-19 in Medicine Hat. The city now has had 397 total cases the 78 active, 313 recovered and there have been six deaths. There is one new death in Medicine Hat in Friday's update.... There is one new case in the city in Friday’s update and six recoveries. Across the province, there are 19,607 active cases, down 258 from Thursday, and 67,159 recovered cases, up 1,656. Alberta’s total number of COVID-19 cases from the start of the pandemic is 87,581. There are 1,413 new cases in the province today. There are now 759 Albertans in hospital with COVID-19, 141 of which are in ICU, and 815 deaths. The province completed 19,538 tests in the past 24 hours. The provincial positivity rate is 7.4 per cent.

New province-wide public health restrictions will see a ban on all indoor social gatherings across the province Premier Jason Kenney announced on Tuesday, as part a sweeping array of new measures aimed at reducing the spread of COVID-19. Schools province-wide are also affected with in-person schooling for Grades 7 and up going to online learning starting on Nov. 30. Those in lower grades will continue with in-person classes. The Christmas break for schools, however, will begin on Dec. 18 and extend to Jan. 11 for all students.

Premier Jason Kenney is expected to announce new public health restrictions for Alberta at 4:30 this afternoon.

A whole lot of food collected for CHAT's Food Drive. #medhat

Medicine Hat Police will be roaming around the city throughout the holidays to conduct single-car check stops to make sure motorists are not drinking and driving.

Medicine Hat has 103 active cases of COVID-19. There are nine new cases in the city in Tuesday’s update. The city now has 228 total cases the 103 active, 123 recovered and there have been two deaths. There are now 348 Albertans in hospital with COVID-19, 66 of which are in ICU, and 492 deaths.... Restrictions across Alberta include no indoor social gatherings and outdoor social gatherings limited to a maximum of 10 people, funeral and wedding ceremonies are limited to 10 attendees. Other new measures restrict attendance at religious services, extended winter breaks for students and retail businesses and restaurants.

SPORTS: South Alberta Hockey Academy netminders Marek Andres & Bodee Weiss have been added to a pair of WHL clubs' protected lists.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is the first international leader to have personally congratulated Joe Biden on being elected U.S. president, his office said Monday as it summarized a conversation about areas of co-operation and potential contention.

The provincial government is offering more support to small- and medium-sized businesses, allowing them to apply for a second payment from the Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant.

In case you're wondering why you can't find the province's COVID-19 update at its regular time right now...

It’s been an odd year for those selling cars, trucks and travel trailers as the pandemic came near the peak of dealerships’ sales period. But those fears of a pandemic-caused slowdown in the industry quickly turned around when the opposite effect was realized.

Fred Sasakamoose, one of the first Indigenous players in the NHL, has died after battling a presumed case of COVID-19.

It’s a relief program many businesses have been asking for a commercial rent subsidy that allows business owners direct access to funds instead of requiring landlords to apply. On Monday, applications for the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) opened, allowing businesses access to up to 65 per cent of their rent.

The Alberta government says it decided to take down a living wall in its landmark Federal Building earlier than scheduled because of a bug infestation. The United Conservative government had planned to remove the 223-sq.-metre plant installation in the Edmonton building’s lobby in 2021 to save on its annual $70,000 maintenance costs.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has picked his new cabinet, keeping many of the same faces in his inner circle, but giving them new jobs, and returning a longtime party stalwart to the fold after an unceremonious exit.

The Liberal government has introduced legislation that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says cements his promise to virtually eliminate greenhouse-gas emissions within 30 years. Bill C-12 promises both transparency and accountability to get to net-zero emissions by 2050.

UPDATE: Kitty and Arthur have been reunited. Shortly after this story was posted the Falconers and the person who found Arthur connected through Facebook. Kitty’s mom Katie says they are ecstatic to have him back.... The only thing Kitty wanted for Christmas was her Arthur. A Christmas miracle has truly happened and we can’t thank Kim and her family enough for keeping safe for us and returning him to Kitty. We’ll be forever grateful for their act of kindness. ----------- It’s something a lot of parents dread: Losing your child’s favourite toy or, even worse, stuffed animal. Katie Falconer has been living that reality since August and now is hoping for a Christmas miracle.

Medicine Hat has 60 active cases of COVID-19. There are 11 new cases in the city today. Across Alberta, there are 10,382 active cases. The province confirmed 1,105 new cases in the online update. 284 Albertans are hospitalized, 61 of which are in the ICU. There have been 8 deaths in the past 24 hours. The total number of COVID-19 deaths in the province is now 451.

PROMOTIONS: Here are a couple more pets for you to consider adopting from our friends at @APARC_MH. Give them a call today to bring a new friend home today! #medhat #APARC

An Environment Canada meteorologist says the snowfall in Medicine Hat on Sunday didn’t reach record status but did come close.

Employers in the region can begin applying for the Canada Summer Jobs program on Dec. 21. The program that provides jobs to young Canadians is open to not-for-profit organizations, private and public-sector organizations with 50 or fewer full-time employees can start preparing their applications now to hire a young Canadian.

Terry Fox, who captivated a nation as he ran to raise awareness and money for cancer research, is among a group of notable Canadians shortlisted to appear on the new $5 bill.

Ottawa wants to reduce the amount of nicotine allowed in vaping products.

The Caring Coats campaign continues to collect warm clothing for residents in our city. The Post is the drop-off spot, they are then donated to the Salvation Army.

In the first update of Medicine Hat COVID-19 cases since Wednesday, the city has jumped from 15 active cases to 28 and 104 total cases to 118. Recovered cases have gone from 87 to 88. Technical issues with the province’s reporting site led to only basic provincial updates over the past few days. There remain two COVID-19 deaths in the city.... Province-wide there are 644 new cases reported on Monday. This weekend the province went back to its previous practice of Saturday and Sunday updates. There were 919 cases reported Saturday and 727 on Sunday.

Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau says the federal government will distribute $30 million to Indigenous communities and about $65 million to local organizations across Canada to support food security during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Canadian government banned 1,500 types of assault-style firearms earlier this year, but the Alberta Government wants your feedback on firearms legislation. The Alberta Firearms Advisory Committee (AFAC) will hold two telephone town halls, on Nov. 17 and Nov. 23, and is still accepting online surveys until Dec. 6.

PROMOTIONS: Happy Snow Day! We have a couple of winners to announce in the Great Gas & Grocery Giveaway. Cheryl Hill was Thursday night's winner and Emily Harris was Friday night's winner. They've both won a $75 gift card from South Country Co-op! Get the full details on how your can enter and win big here: https://chatnewstoday.ca/chat-tv-contests/

UPDATES from 511Alberta: SK Hwy1 from the AB/SK border to jct SK Hwy21, has been reopened to traffic. For details visit: hotline.gov.sk.ca Hwy9 from Oyen to AB/SK border has been reopened. (12:18pm)

Truckers packed the city’s truck stops until they had no place to park other than nearby roads. Many others were stuck in ditches on the side of the highway along with passenger vehicles. City streets weren’t too much better with no shortage of cars getting stuck across the city.

SPORTS: The International Ice Hockey Federation says eight players from Germany’s team at the world junior hockey championship have tested positive for COVID-19 inside the Edmonton bubble. Two members of Sweden's team staff have also tested positive.

Animal advocates have asked the federal health minister to review a decision that allows Alberta to keep using strychnine to poison wolves in an ongoing effort to preserve caribou herds.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he hopes to see COVID-19 vaccines roll out in Canada early next year, but warns that won’t bring an immediate resolution to the pandemic currently seeing a resurgence in several provinces.

SPORTS: Tigers' Lukas Svejkovsky will donate to the Medicine Hat Santa Claus Fund & Medicine Hat Women's Shelter Society after capturing the first Memorial eCup championship.

Chinook Village in Medicine Hat has put together a Remembrance Day display for residents in the facility’s sky-walk.