What Kind of News Does the Saskatoon StarPhoenix Cover?

The Saskatoon StarPhoenix (thestarphoenix.com) is a Saskatoon-based news site covering breaking news, stories, and headlines from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and the rest of Canada. Its coverage centers on local Saskatoon and Saskatchewan affairs, with recurring sections for crime and courts, provincial politics, sports, and longform features. If you are looking for city-level news, provincial politics, or Saskatchewan Roughriders coverage, this is the type of outlet that carries it; national and international headlines appear as part of the broader Canadian news mix rather than as the site's main focus.

Local Saskatoon and Saskatchewan news

The site's core is local reporting. Examples visible on the homepage include:

• City of Saskatoon exploring a land bank to ease housing crisis issues
• Complex issues won't vanish with encampment dismantling: lawyer
• The day we lost Uncle Ed's: Stories from an inferno, 30 years after it devoured a Saskatoon landmark

This section is where you find municipal decisions, housing and encampment issues, local business changes, and community history pieces tied to Saskatoon.

Crime and courts reporting

Crime and courts is a distinct, regularly updated category. Recent items include:

• Northern Sask. man gets six years for starting 2025 wildfire near Weyakwin — the report notes Jason Wilson Halkett started a wildfire near Weyakwin that displaced more than 100 people in 2025.
• Investigations underway after Sandy Bay shooting, Pelican Narrows assaults — RCMP are searching for suspects after a man was shot in Sandy Bay and two people were found seriously injured in Pelican Narrows.
• Victim of Sask. care aide abuser relieved after Brent Gabona withdraws day parole request — the Parole Board of Canada confirmed a hearing set for Oct. 20 at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary has been cancelled.

If you follow RCMP investigations, sentencing, or parole decisions in the province, this category is the relevant one.

Saskatchewan politics and provincial affairs

Provincial politics is covered as its own section, including party history and current policy debates:

• Sask. Party remembers co-founder Ken Krawetz as one of province's 'greatest leaders' — Krawetz was one of eight MLAs who crossed the floor to form the Saskatchewan Party and served as opposition leader until 1999.
• Sask. minister cites 'broad support' for Bell's AI data centre near Regina, quoting the minister: "No matter what you do, there's always going to be people opposed to it."
• Saskatchewan teachers' union criticizes student funding, looks ahead to new contract — bargaining committees for the teachers and the provincial government are to meet this fall after their contract expired Aug. 31.

This is the section to check for legislature, cabinet, union bargaining, and provincial development stories.

Sports: Saskatchewan Roughriders and more

Sports coverage is anchored by the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Homepage items include:

• Down but not out, Roughriders look to snap recent skid against Alouettes
• Roughriders Mailbag: Confidence check? Playoff format? Emilus update? Answering...

The mailbag format answers reader questions on team confidence, playoff format, and player updates such as Emilus — useful if you want analysis rather than just game results.

Longreads and community memory

The Longreads section carries feature-length local storytelling, such as:

• 'Sadly forgotten': Marquis Downs becoming a memory of horse racing glory in Sask. — the demolition of Saskatchewan's last horseracing track, Marquis Downs in Saskatoon, provokes memories of happier days (by Evan Ostryzniuk).

These pieces suit readers interested in Saskatchewan history and the closure of local institutions.

Other sections and resources on the site

Beyond news, the homepage surfaces practical local listings:

How to decide if it fits your needs

• Choose it for Saskatoon city news, Saskatchewan provincial politics, crime and courts, Roughriders coverage, and local longform features.
• Expect Canadian national headlines as part of the mix, but treat Saskatoon and Saskatchewan as the primary lens.
• The site shows "subscribe" and "subscription" signals, so some content may sit behind a subscription; the available page information does not specify which articles are restricted or what a subscription costs, so check the site directly before assuming free access to everything.