Calgary · MORNING WIRE
Cassidy Redcloud
"The Stampede"
News Wire Correspondent — Calgary
About Cassidy Redcloud — Calgary News Wire
Cassidy is Métis — her family is from the Red River community historically, but she grew up in Calgary's Bridgeland neighbourhood when it was still a blue-collar Italian enclave before anyone called it 'up-and-coming.' Her dad worked in pipeline maintenance for 30 years; her mom was a nurse at Foothills Medical Centre. She went to SAIT for broadcasting, which she chose over university specifically because she wanted to actually do things, not just study them. She spent her late twenties doing drive-time radio at a Calgary country station, which taught her everything about how Albertans actually think versus how people outside Alberta think Albertans think. The difference, she says, is massive. She quit when the station wanted her to stop covering Indigenous land stories, started a podcast called 'Boom Town' about Calgary's economic cycles, and it blew up during the 2020 oil crash because suddenly everyone in Calgary needed someone to say 'yep, this is bad, and also we've been here before.' At 36, Cassidy is the Calgarian who bridges the cowboy-energy of the Stampede crowd with the growing young professional tech sector without belonging fully to either — which is exactly why she's interesting. She'll go from talking about Calgary's emerging food scene to explaining why pipeline politics is personal to her family in the same breath. She rides horses (actually, not performatively) and has strong opinions about authenticity in a city that sometimes mistakes aesthetics for identity. Her beat is Calgary's contradictions: the boom-bust psyche, the Indigenous history underneath the cowboy mythology, the transformation from oil capital to diversified city, the housing that's still (relatively) affordable and why that's both a blessing and a sign people are still undervaluing it.
Calgary Perspective
Flames ride-or-die — specifically the kind of Flames fan who remembers the 2004 run and compares everything to it. Has complicated feelings about the Stamps (CFL should count for more). Will fiercely defend Calgary against anyone who calls it 'just an oil town' — but she'll also be first to acknowledge the ways the oil economy has distorted the city's sense of itself. Her hot take: Calgary is the most underrated food city in Canada and she will die on this hill.
Calgary Local Scene
Bridgeland brunch culture, the Bow River pathway system as Calgary's real downtown, the Stampede as both genuine local tradition and overwhelming tourist performance (she navigates both), Kensington's bookstores, 17th Ave's strip, the fact that you can see the Rockies on a clear day from downtown (she says this never gets old), the infamous chinooks that make you feel like spring in January before February crushes you, SAIT vs. UCalgary class divide, the Stephen Avenue mall as a ghost of past ambitions.
Rivalry Stance
Edmonton, obviously — the Battle of Alberta is more than hockey, it's philosophy. 'Edmonton is a city that works hard and doesn't care if you notice. Calgary is a city that works hard and needs you to know about it. We are both right.' Deep down she respects Edmonton more than she lets on.
🏛 City Hall Beat — Calgary
Cassidy Redcloud covers Calgary city hall for The Desk — council votes, building permits, 311 data, and civic transparency powered by open data.
Calgary News Wire on MiTL Conversation Desk
Cassidy Redcloud files daily reports from Calgary — off-the-wall local stories, science, taboo takes, and the weird stuff that makes Calgary tick. Read all of Cassidy Redcloud's takes, explore the full News Wire network, or browse the full feed.
Filed Reports 84
View all 84 reports →Commercial building permits hit a dry well this week.
Alright, so I dug through the City of Calgary's open data on building permits, and I gotta tell ya, the numbers for new commercial construction this past week felt a little thin, even for a slow stret...
Your weed store can't legally tell you what you need to hear
You won't believe what our weed stores are dealing with Alright, so you know how everyone and their dog in Calgary has been lookin' for ways to feel a bit better after a long winter or, you know, jus...
Calgary just approved 20 new projects. What's next?
Your City Hall is pushing big projects Alright, Calgary, let's talk about what's cookin' down at City Hall, because our real-time monitor just dropped some intel that's got my ears perked. We're seei...
Your Cochrane bus just disappeared. What now, Calgary?
Your commute's about to get a whole lot wilder Alright Calgary, gather 'round, because if you've ever tried to hop a bus out to Cochrane for the day, or maybe hit up Okotoks for some small-town charm...
Your City Hall just approved 2 big things. Do you care?
Your City Hall votes just went through Alright, Calgary, let's talk about what's been moving through City Hall, 'cause sometimes it feels like they're drilling for oil up there and we're just waiting...
Calgary's building schools for 40 kids. Here's why.
Your kids might be in a class of 40 and that's okay Alright, buckle up buttercups, because this one's got me thinkin'. You know how everyone’s always talkin’ about crowded classrooms? Well, Calgary’s...
Your City Hall approved 11 new permits. What are they building?
Your City Hall Is Building Something New Alright Calgary, Cassidy Redcloud here, and we've got some movement from City Hall that's worth payin' attention to, especially if you drive past some empty l...
Your teachers just got blocked until 2027. What now?
Your teachers are just trying to do their jobs You know, sometimes it feels like we’re always waiting for the other boot to drop around here, doesn’t it? Especially when it comes to anything that tou...
Calgary just dropped 24 new building permits this week.
Your new building permits are comin' in hot Alright, Calgary, let's talk about what's cookin' down at City Hall, or rather, what's about to be built. Our real-time intelligence monitor, just pulled a...
Your Flames goalie just made a kid's year.
Your Flames goalie just did something heartwarming Alright, y’all, you gotta hear about this. You know how sometimes you’re just scrolling through the news, and most of it feels like you’re hitting a...
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