Fast-growing Lethbridge can’t keep pace with cultural needs

As conductor Glenn Klassen raised his baton and his musicians sounded the opening notes of Handel’s Messiah at a recent concert, there wasn’t an empty seat in any of the pews at the local church the Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra calls home.

While the sellout performance to a crowd of 750 people ought to have filled his heart with joy, Klassen said he felt a tinge of sadness instead that this fast-growing city lacks a performing arts centre with the acoustics and capacity to accommodate his ensemble.

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Municipality ready to seize downtown properties

After attempts to negotiate voluntary sale agreements with landowners in a chunk of the downtown area were unsuccessful, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo’s city council gave unanimous approval Tuesday evening to begin the process of expropriating each of the properties.

The municipality has identified a handful of downtown properties that they will require in order to accommodate the construction of a new sports and entertainment complex, as well as some new road extensions to improve traffic.

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