By Josh Hall | @Vancan19

Excited about future

Year-in-Review: Penhold’s Mayor Mike Yargeau confident in town’s direction headed into 2026

Dec 28, 2025 | 8:00 AM

Mike Yargeau is fairly pleased with the 2025 Penhold had.

Near top of mind, he says, the new town council — a mix of old and new faces — has gotten off to a positive start.

“Everyone’s got the right mindset, and that doesn’t mean everyone agrees on everything, but rather that everyone’s there for the right reasons,” he told rdnewsNOW during a recent year-end interview.

“For a community, it makes so much of a difference when you’ve got a good group of people who are genuinely there because they care about the community, and they’re willing to work together to make sure we all get what’s best for Penhold.”

The public can expect to learn about what council learned and came up with following strategic planning sessions scheduled for early in the new year, he added.

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Yargeau said Penhold also proved itself in remaining competitive on the attraction front.

There’s no problem for the town in garnering home builds, but it’s when it comes to securing commercial development that there can be challenges. Growth is wanted, but it should be balanced, said Yargeau.

“It’s always a challenge for a small community, especially when you’re dealing with big fish like Red Deer County and the city of Red Deer trying to compete for some of the same things,” Yargeau explained.

“There are always a lot of things happening, but sometimes it doesn’t lead to anything. One thing I’ve learned is that these things don’t happen overnight. We could be working on something for well over a year before we can publicly say something.”

Elsewhere, Yargeau is excited about what’s been going on with development around the multiplex.

That includes improved walking trails, breaking ground on a new public works site and fire hall, and opening a new middle school.

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READ MORE: Speed changes around new Penhold Middle School coming into effect

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That’s not to mention the skate park, ball diamonds, soccer fields and campground, all nearby — and “one of the best playgrounds in central Alberta,” if you ask Yargeau.

In 2025, the town was able to plant $150,000 worth of trees in that area, thanks to a federal grant.

Grants like that are ones the town often learns about due to Yargeau’s involvement as a board member with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM).

Last week, rdnewsNOW published a story about a Penhold teen who’d been victimized by online extremist groups.

Yargeau says reading the story was an eye-opener.

“It’s heartbreaking to read that stuff. As a parent too, I want to make sure kids are healthy and loved, and make sure they know they’ve got people in their corner. I don’t know how you necessarily get through that, but as a community, we need to make sure we’re supporting all our people the best way we can,” he said.

“We’ve got a meeting coming up with our local detachment early in January, and one thing I want to ask about is what the RCMP is doing about some of this stuff? They say it takes a village, and it really does, and if you’ve got a strong, healthy community, that can go a long way in a kid’s life.”

Hopefully, Penhold can be a positive place for young people, he said.