Here are the top trending stories of 2025, according to CTV News Regina

David Prisciak has the top five trending stories of 2025 from CTV News Regina.

From a conflict between small town Saskatchewan and a fringe group to the effects of a global trade war trickling down to the local level; these were the top five trending stories from CTV News Regina in 2025.

5. Weyburn highway shooting

A mysterious fatal shooting on the outskirts of Weyburn led to a nearly two-month long investigation from the Saskatchewan RCMP before a suspect was taken into custody.

On the night of Sept. 2025, Tanya Myers was fatally struck by a bullet while riding as the passenger in an SUV travelling to Weyburn on Highway 39.

Myers died at the scene. In the days following the shooting, RCMP followed up on leads, eventually learning that another vehicle had been shot at and hit around the same time as Myers was fatally injured.

Days turned to weeks, Myers was identified to the public, with a plea from her family asking whoever was responsible to turn themselves in.

Sask. RCMP identify Weyburn shooting victim, family calling for answers

Then, on Nov. 3, an arrest was made in Regina. Chris Fahlman was charged with manslaughter and a collection of gun-related counts. These charges were upgraded to second-degree murder and intentionally discharging a firearm while being reckless as to the life or safety of another person.

Sask. RCMP charge man in Weyburn-area highway shooting death

Fahlman has remained in custody since his arrest and was denied bail. He is scheduled to make his next appearance in court in the new year.

4. Not my Bud Light

In a year that was defined by the upending of trade relationships, it’s not hard to imagine that tariffs would end up on this list. However, the most popular tariff story of 2025 was not canola, but liquor. American-branded liquor to be specific.

In March, the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA) released a memo to alcohol retailers in the province, informing them that the province intended to stop purchasing a total of 54 American-branded liquor products, as a punitive measure in the face of more and more tariffs from the U.S.

Saskatchewan reverses decision to ban 54 American-branded liquor products

Budweiser, Coors Light among popular American beers coming off Sask. shelves

However, industry groups immediately chimed in, criticizing the government’s move and pointing to the fact that many of the brands on the ban list were, in fact, made in Canada.

Facing increasing pressure from retailers and residents across the province, the ban was reversed after less than a week.

3. Queen of Canada?

What happens when a fringe group rolls into town? This was a question that the community of Richmound certainly learned the answer to in 2025.

Romana Didulo, the self-proclaimed “Queen of Canada” first rolled into village located in southwest Saskatchewan in late 2023, after being chased out of Kamsack days earlier.

The “Kingdom of Canada” group set up in the community’s former school complex, broadcasting nightly addresses and “decrees,” spousing the group’s philosophies and self-made “laws.” The group often clashed with the village and its residents.

Didulo and her followers were accused of dumping raw sewage onto the school grounds after being reprimanded for using the town’s sewage infrastructure without paying. The village office was also closed to the public, citing harassment and intimidation against staff. However, the group’s tenure in Richmound would be interrupted in 2025.

On Sept. 3, RCMP executed a search warrant at the group’s school complex, arresting 16 people, including Didulo and property owner Ricky Manz following a report in late August that someone at the group’s site had a firearm.

Sask. RCMP arrest 16 people, including self-proclaimed ‘Queen of Canada’

A total of four replica handguns were found and seized during the preliminary search. A further 13 imitation handguns, ammunition and a “large number” of electric handguns were seized later.

Didulo was eventually granted bail and ordered to stay in Regina. Among her conditions were no-contact orders for several members of the “Kingdom of Canada” group and the community of Richmound.

2. A lost landmark

After more than a decade, those in the Quill Lakes area lost a local fixture in the form of a stranded excavator.

The story of the excavator-turned-landmark began in the spring of 2014, when the driver of the equipment attempted to cross the frozen lake during a highway project.

Excavator-turned-landmark stuck in Saskatchewan lake removed 11 years later

As months turned to years and years to a decade, the excavator sat in its eternal resting place until a company specializing in recovery entered the picture.

Raptor Picker Services and Hotshots based out of Lloydminster were able to free the piece of heavy machinery, putting it on temporary display in nearby Dafoe.

1. A rattlesnake in Texas

Swift Current’s Daniel Fehr experienced possibly the worst-case scenario for any traveler after he was bitten by a rattlesnake while golfing in Texas in July.

The bite triggered an allergic reaction that led to anaphylactic shock and eventually cardiac arrest.

‘Just scary’: Family of Sask. man bitten by rattlesnake in Texas raising funds to bring him home

He was admitted to intensive care in Odessa, Texas where he stayed for a month. Fehr’s family was eventually able to fly him back to Saskatchewan to receive care.

He remains in a coma at a hospital in Regina.