The Pulse
Nov. 13, 2026

RECON Intelligence, a company that helps oil and gas companies know what's going on underground, won Startup TNT's fall investment summit on Nov. 12.

While the money will no doubt help, just participating in the program was victory enough, co-founder and CEO Jonathan Prill said after learning that he and co-founder Nasim Morawej had won the Top 6 pitch competition.

"Even if we (hadn't) gotten anything out of this program, we got everything from the meetings with all the investors," he told the audience at the Citadel Theatre. "The amount of stuff we've identified and fixed, and made ourselves investable, has been awesome."

The company, founded by seasoned oil-and-gas professionals, gives enhanced downhole drilling data using sensors and software.

"You can't really fix what you can't measure," Prill said during RECON's pitch, adding that data has traditionally been conveyed to the surface slowly and in a way that is difficult to interpret. RECON gathers lots of information, quickly, and interprets it, with plans to add real-time telemetry by 2029.

The company has generated $478,000 in revenue in the past 12 months, said Morawej, who is the company's COO. "Our customers, they save many times what they pay," she said. "That's why they come to us."

Startup TNT convened 35 investors, who pledged $5,000 each for the winner of the summit, meaning RECON will get at least $175,000 towards the $350,000 it is looking to raise by February of 2027.

Investors also awarded two side deals: one to MagnetaMR, which is developing a portable, AI-informed, low-field MRI device that could cost as little as 10% of conventional, fixed-place MRI, and another for Rosette Robotics, which speeds up accurate seed analysis using robotics, high-resolution cameras, and artificial intelligence.

• Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) riders gained free access to Transit app features under a four-year partnership. ETS said the upgrade includes unlimited departure schedules, additional trip-planning options, and rider feedback sent directly to ETS. The service also extends to transit systems across the Edmonton region.
• Edmonton Transit Service launched an online merchandise store, selling clothing and drinkware featuring its branding. Officials said the store costs the City of Edmonton nothing to operate and will generate revenue. A holiday sweater is available for pre-order, with shipping expected in December.
• Mayor Andrew Knack said Edmonton was working with industry partners, including EPCOR, to upgrade drainage infrastructure following record summer rainfall. Officials said the Yellowhead Trail freeway conversion includes major drainage upgrades. Knack also called for expanding accelerated roadwork in the next four-year budget, using temporary closures to shorten construction timelines.
• Crestwood residents raised concerns that eightplex applications could leave single-family homes flanked by larger infill developments. They feared approvals would be rushed before a provincially ordered rollback of Edmonton's zoning rules. Coun. Reed Clarke said no permits had been approved on the street residents are concerned about, and that City of Edmonton administration assured him it was not fast-tracking applications.
• A Canadian Automobile Association and Alberta Motor Association study recorded 660 near-misses between pedestrians and vehicles at school crosswalks. Researchers monitored 30 crossings in 11 cities over five school days, including six crossings in Edmonton. Crossings with flashing lights or other traffic controls had a near-miss rate 20 times lower than those without.
• Edmonton's Mount Pleasant and Windsor Park schools tied for second in the Fraser Institute's ranking of 699 Alberta elementary schools, based on standardized test scores. Four Edmonton schools ranked among the bottom 10. University of Alberta education instructor Stephanie Schuurman said the rankings overlooked racial and socioeconomic factors and offered a narrow picture of school quality.
• Edmonton Elks head coach Mark Kilam shaved his beard in front of players to join their moustache-growing effort. Running back Justin Rankin said the gesture demonstrated Kilam's commitment to the team. Edmonton will face the Montreal Alouettes in the Grey Cup at McMahon Stadium in Calgary this weekend.

On this day in 1979, Edmonton's Workshop West was celebrating its first year of developing local playwrights.

For almost half a century, Workshop West has been helping Canadian playwrights get their works down on paper and up on stage. Now a fixture of the Edmonton theatre community, Workshop West got its start with a puppet and a rented former church.

These days, works by local playwrights are a significant part of the city's theatre calendar. But in the 1970s, that wasn't the case. Productions of American and British plays made up the vast majority of productions in western Canada. Canadian plays were in the minority. Rarer still was one from an Albertan artist.

Gerry Potter was convinced that local theatre audiences would come out for local stories. Potter, who was a recent graduate of the University of Alberta with a master of fine arts degree in directing, started Workshop West with three goals: building Canada's theatre community, getting Albertan plays more time on stage, and developing new Canadian playwrights.

The small, scrappy theatre company's first funding came from a single $75 donation during its announcement party. With that windfall and later support, Workshop West set up in Espace Tournesol, a former Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in the city's northeast. Its inaugural season staged three productions: One Night Stand by Toronto's Carol Bolt; On the Job by Montreal's David Fennario (which featured actor Paul Gross); and Punch and Polly, a play by Calgary's Rick McNair about a woman who goes insane talking to a puppet. (Potter would later quip that the company was lucky, as it didn't need to pay the puppet.)

The ambitious group would find supporters, both artistic and financial, within Edmonton's theatre community. But it was always a scramble to survive. For a 1979 production, it relied on students from what was then Grant MacEwan Community College to build costumes and sets, as well as to run its front of house. This allowed the company to continue its quest to help Alberta playwrights develop new works and promote the work of writers such as Brad Fraser, Stephen Massicotte, Conni Massing, and Vern Thiessen, the latter of whom would eventually serve as Workshop West's artistic director.

Workshop West has had several homes over the decades, renting different locations for both its offices and its productions. In 2022, the theatre company moved into the Gateway Theatre. For the first time, it could allow playwrights to develop their plays in the same space where they would be performed.

From this new location, Workshop West continues its mission of fostering new Canadian playwriting talent, hosting programs such as the Edmonton Playwrights' Circle, which Fraser is hosting this year, and the Indigenous Playwrights' Circle, run by Josh Languedoc. Its Springboards New Play Festival last March saw the debut of Ramneek Singh's Butter Chicken Odyssey, which went on to become a Fringe sensation.

Last week, Workshop West kicked off its 48th season with Frank Moher's Boy Player, representing a homecoming for the Edmonton-born playwright, who also stars in the autobiographical tale. It's on until Nov. 15.

This clipping was found on Vintage Edmonton, a daily look at Edmonton's history from armchair archivist Rev Recluse of Vintage Edmonton.

This week's roundup of calls for public engagement includes Edmonton's public hearing on the proposed four-year budget, as well as opportunities to weigh in on budgetary matters in Leduc and St. Albert:

• Until Nov. 15: The City of Edmonton is gathering feedback on managing parking through the Residential Parking Program.
• Until Nov. 19: Strathcona County is collecting feedback on how its current public engagement efforts are meeting community needs.
• Nov. 19: Parkland County is holding a County Chat at Holborn Community Hall from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.
• Until Nov. 20: Parkland County is surveying residents on its climate adaptation plan.
• Nov. 23: Leduc residents can speak to council about the city's proposed 2027 budget.
• Nov. 23: Parkland County is holding a County Chat at Blueberry Community Hall from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.
• Nov. 23: Edmonton city council will hear from residents about the proposed 2027-2030 budget.
• Nov. 24, Nov. 26, Nov. 30, and Dec. 15: St. Albert residents can speak to council about the city's proposed 2027 budget and financial plan.
• Until Nov. 30: The City of Edmonton is seeking feedback on the replacement of the Low Level Bridge.
• Ongoing: The City of Spruce Grove is seeking feedback on an update to its parks and open space plan through an online survey.
• Ongoing: The City of Leduc is collecting feedback on signature events such as the Canada Day concert and Light Up Leduc.
• Ongoing: Leduc County is in the beginning phases of planning the land use for part of the East Vistas area structure plan. An online survey seeks feedback on concerns such as traffic, land uses, infrastructure, and the environment.
• Ongoing: The Coalition of Alberta Public Libraries is inviting Albertans to share their library stories as part of an effort to "affirm the important role libraries play in our communities and the value of keeping them welcoming, accessible spaces for everyone."
• Ongoing: Thou Art Here Theatre in Edmonton has put out a call for stories about using public transit to inform its Untitled Bus Play.
• Ongoing: Spruce Grove is recruiting members for its Council Remuneration Review Advisory Committee. The committee will review pay for the mayor and councillors over about eight weeks in late winter and early spring 2027.

"Your turn" is Taproot's collection of public engagement opportunities in the Edmonton region. Watch this space every week for opportunities to make your views known. If you know of a request for public input, send it to hello@taprootedmonton.ca.

Here are some events happening this weekend the Edmonton area.

• Nov. 13: Bringing the Nation: Jens Lindemann, performing: The Canadiana Suite starting at 7:30pm at Edmonton Public Library (Stanley A. Milner)
• Nov. 13: Audrey Ochoa starting at 8pm at Yardbird Suite
• Nov. 13-14: St. Andrew's Christmas Market at St. Andrew's Centre
• Nov. 13-14: All Is Bright 2026: Winter Festival at 124 Street and Area
• Nov. 13-14: Professional Bull Riders Canada National Finals at Rogers Place
• Nov. 14: Christmas in November starting at 9:30am at Humane Animal Rescue Team
• Nov. 14: Edmonton Potters' Guild Annual Show & Sale starting at 10am at Alberta Avenue Community Centre
• Nov. 14: Spectacle C'est la vida starting at 7pm at Roxy Theatre
• Nov. 14-15: Bringing the Nation: Weekend Festival at various locations
• Nov. 14-15: Hello Pretty Holiday Market at Northeast River Valley Park
• Nov. 15: Seasons of Connection: Community Stewardship: Roots & Renewal starting at 10am at Earth's Refillery Coop
• Nov. 15: Edmonton Sumo Fan Club - Kyushu Edition starting at 1pm at Southbound Brewing
• Nov. 15: Maria Dunn: Packingtown starting at 6pm at Ukrainian Centre
• Nov. 15: Along the Way starting at 7:30pm at All Saints Anglican Cathedral

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• Nov. 26: Ronald O. Ball Lectureship in Food & Agriculture From Field to Fad: Science, Misinformation and the Future of Food at Horowitz Theatre
• Nov. 26: Nerd Nite Edmonton #96: Societal Improvement Extravaganza at Fringe Theatre Arts Barns
• Nov. 27: Festival of Trees Silver Bell Soirée at Edmonton Convention Centre

Visit the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.

Test your crossword prowess and deploy a little of your Edmonton knowledge. Complete the puzzle.

Need a hint for 9-Across? Here you go.