The first street lights in Yorkton were 12 dim flares from acetylene gas, produced from calcium carbide in a gas works plant located at the corner of Broadway and Sixth Avenue in 1905, five years after the town was incorporated. A Mr. Horne was the engineer in charge.

By 1918 Yorkton was one of the few towns in the province operating a 24-hour service in electric light and power. This electrical power was produced by diesel engines. Heavy cable was installed along Broadway and Argyle. Mayor J.E. Peaker was serving his second term as mayor at that time.

Saskatchewan Power, established in 1949, took over the electrical business, and distribution lines fanned out across the province in the mid-50s making electrical power available to farms.

In the summer of 1959 SaskPower brought natural gas to Yorkton and the official ceremonies were held October 28 of that year. At first this was known as Provincial Gas, but later renamed SaskEnergy. This corporation became a separate entity in 1988.

With the extension of the Canadian Pacific Railway from Saltcoats, Yorkton was able to enjoy telegraph service. On June 2, 1896, that service came to Yorkton with the office located in the railroad station, located where the Independent Agencies plaza is now located.

People waiting for the train were fascinated with the sound of the sending and receiving of messages. As modern technology took over, the days of the telegraph chatter also ended and the local CPR telegraph office was closed in the 1970s, long after the train station had disappeared.

The first telephone lines came to Yorkton in late 1901 when Thomas Paul put in a pole line on Fourth Avenue, where a number of battery operated phones were installed. John T. Spice was the telephone operator and Dr. Patrick was given telephone number 1.

Yorkton continued with its own telephone service until SaskTel came into being and took over the telephone requirements of Yorkton and surrounding farm area.

Yorkton's first newspaper, the Messenger was established in 1892 but after several months ceased publishing.

The Yorkton Enterprise was established in 1896 by John Peaker and continued as a privately-owned newspaper. Ken Mayhew was editor for many years until his death in the early 1960s. He typed his copy with two fingers on an old upright typewriter and turned out copy to fill the paper on a weekly basis.

No meeting was too small for coverage and the history of Yorkton was chronicled by this amazing reporter.

In 1968 the owner, Sam Wynn, sold the paper to the Thomson chain of newspapers.

In 1975 former Enterprise employees Bob Thom, Dick DeRyk and Ed Becker established Yorkton This Week.

In 1990 Yorkton This Week was sold to Armadale and in 1991 the Enterprise and Yorkton This Week were amalgamated under the name of Yorkton This Week and Enterprise.

In 1996 Hollinger Enterprises purchased the newspaper and it continues to be known as Yorkton This Week and Enterprise, operating from the Enterprise building on Third Avenue.

But in the meantime, two other newspapers sprung up about the same time; The News which is located on Second Avenue, and The Review, published in Yorkton and surrounding area by a group of newspaper owners from throughout eastern Saskatchewan.

So while newpapers get bought and sold and amalgamate, for the past 25 years there has been competition in the newspaper business in Yorkton.

In 1958 a group of local business investors headed up by Norman Roebuck, Ron Skinner Sr. and others started up Yorkton Television, later known as the Shamrock Station. It carried both CBC and CTV programs and provided television service to the east central part of the province. The station was later taken over by Baton and operated as BBS Saskatchewan, affiliated with stations in Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert. It is now known simply as CTV, although it still broadcasts the CBC channel as well.

North Eastern Cablevision was established by a local group and started cable television service in 1981. It serves Esterhazy, Churchbridge, Bredenbury, Saltcoats, Melville, Theodore, Springside, Canora, Kamsack, Norquay and Yorkton.

In September 1999 North Eastern Cablevision was sold to Cable Regina, but continues to operate from its building on Sixth Avenue.

Image Cable was established in Yorkton by the Skinner family in 1990 to provide cable to rural areas in the province. It was sold to Edmonton's Regional Cable in 1999. It continues to serve its customers from its office on Palliser Way.

In 1997 Image Wireless Communications Inc was established in Yorkton. This new technology allows viewers across province access to a wide variety of television programs through microwave transmission received by a small dish. Image Wireless Communications Inc. operates from its building on Palliser Way.

The story of Yorkton Broadcasting, which operates CJGX Radio, was previously told in this space (Jan.15, 2000).