History

In 1904 the Local Improvement Districts were replaced with larger Local Improvement Districts organized under the Local Improvement District Ordinance of 1903.  Four townships were included in this Local Improvement District.  One councillor was elected for each township.

In 1913 the school districts in the municipality include: Leamington, Rose Park, Eastview, Fairville, Coulee, Stony Beach, Rocky Lake, Sarawak, Bruceville, Wayside, Kenilworth, Cottonwood, Wellington, Broadway, Coventry, Blink Bonny, Wascana and Forest.

The earliest record of minutes held in the municipal office for the R.M. begins in 1918.

Seed grain relief, overloading on municipal roads, school division boundaries, tuberculosis and destruction of gophers were the main concerns.  The secretary’s salary was $1200.00 for the year 1923.

Relief programs (seed, feed, clothing, coal, flour, gasoline) dominated council meeting agendas.  Hospital accounts, doctor’s fees and grasshoppers were also mentioned on numerous occasions.  Resolution from January 4, 1932 Council meeting: “That no monies except that necessary for bare road maintenance, be expended in 1932 except on the majority vote of the whole council”.

SaskPower was authorized to supply electrical power and install street lights to the hamlets of Keystown and Stony Beach (1952, 1953). The cook engaged on the road building outfit was paid $100.00 per month including board.

Kalium Chemicals Ltd. plant was completed and the first product was produced.  The use of solution mining techniques developed by Kalium (Mosaic) allows economical mining of potash at depths too deep to be mined in any other way.  Sales of potash are made to bulk distributors of fertilizers, rather than to individual consumers.  The major market areas are the eastern and midwestern United States, Europe and Asia.  Canadian markets are Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes.

The world’s largest Urea plant begins production.  Saskferco Products Inc. began loading ammonia and urea onto trucks and railway cars for delivery to customers throughout the Prairie provinces, the northern tier of the United States, Ontario and Quebec.  Saskferco becomes “Yara” on October 1, 2008.

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held June 22, 1996 to officially open the new R.M. of Pense office and R.M. Village fire hall.  The 4000 square foot building was built as a common sense solution to two different problems experienced by the local governments – the R.M. needed a new office to replace its aging quarters and the Village needed a new fire hall.  A federal provincial infrastructure grant was utilized, the village supplied the land and the R.M. built the building. 

Terra Grain Fuels begins construction of a 150 million litre a year ethanol plant north of Saskferco on the Kalium Road.  The plant will use 15 million bushels of wheat annually and produce 164,000 tonnes annually of Distillers Dried Grain.  Capital Investment in the region between 115 million – 130 million dollars.  

Alpine Plant Foods, a liquid fertilizer manufacturing facility, began production in 2010. The new facility is located east of the Canadian Salt Plant within the municipality’s industrial area. Approximately 10 million litres of fertilizer will be manufactured annually.

1913 – 2013 – 100 Years

To celebrate the R.M. of Pense’s 100th anniversary, a Centennial Map has been produced. It contains a chronological listing of all owners of every quarter since the Dominion Land Grants were issued.