On this date in 2013, much of Calgary’s downtown was underwater from the greatest flood ever to hit southern Alberta.

City hall, with provincial help, worked furiously to make the Calgary Stampede happen.

A slimmed-down version opened on schedule. It was a stunning feat of united action by governments and the Stampede, then led by CEO Vern Kimball.

I’ve still got my Hell or High Water T-shirt. That was the rallying cry for saving Stampede when the Saddledome was submerged up to the eighth row of seats.

The task seemed impossible, but Calgary did it.

Your weekday lunchtime roundup of curated links, news highlights, analysis and features.

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But the prelude to Stampede 2026 makes me furious.

Conservative politicians are dishing out the worst pre-Stampede publicity ever.

The city and the province are locked in mortal combat over noise from music in and around party tents through the downtown and the new west-end Cowboys Park.

City hall brought in new rules to tamp down noise earlier. They were responding to hundreds of complaints about noise and disorder.

Paul Vickers, the force behind Cowboys, wrote a blistering piece in the Herald, accusing the city of collapsing the party scene and costing hundreds of jobs.

What happened next showed how far politics has sunk........

© Calgary Herald