Karen Bartko
Online Journalist
Karen has worked at Global Edmonton since 2006, and has been an online journalist covering stories across Alberta for more than 10 years.
She is an award-winning journalist, having won two RTDNA Prairie Regional Awards with Global Edmonton’s online team for its coverage of the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire.
Karen is grateful for the privilege of covering stories in the community she was raised in, at the TV station she grew up watching each day.
She got her start as a studio assistant at Global while still in college and became an ENG video editor for four years. Karen then moved to the editorial team as the overnight writer for Global News Morning Edmonton. Karen joined the online team in 2014. She lives for breaking news and enjoys the fast pace of the digital world.
Karen knows the Edmonton region well and that knowledge informs her coverage of local news. She grew up in Parkland County, attended high school in Devon and graduated from the Radio and Television Arts program at NAIT in 2008.
Outside of work, Karen enjoys cooking, reading, killing plants gardening, travelling and taking in Edmonton’s numerous summer festivals. She’s also learning to love/hate golf.
Karen is a pop culture geek who indulges in a long list of TV shows and can frequently be found scouring Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Reddit. She would never say no to a good glass of wine.
Contact Karen Bartko
Video Archives
-
Edmonton group calls for downtown safety in next budget -
5th Project Gaslight guilty plea sends Edmonton man to prison -
Local efforts to support hurricane recovery in Jamaica -
Alberta ‘Avenue of Champions’ slogan changing -
Open Cockpit Day at Alberta Aviation Museum -
Motion to pause bike lane projects in Edmonton defeated -
Edmonton mayoral candidates make their pitches in crowded race -
Alberta sees record-breaking year for organ and tissue donors -
41st Taste of Edmonton underway in the downtown core -
Psychic predictions for the future of the Edmonton Oilers -
Edmonton Elks fans optimistic about season -
More pushback for Bill C-5 from Indigenous groups -
Edmontonians accuse Foundry Room owner of stealing their event deposits -
Edmonton gay bar Evolution moving to Jasper Avenue, will temporarily have 2 locations -
Restaurant industry reacts to federal tax ‘holiday’ -
Raw video of wildfire damage in Jasper, Alta. -
Will Alberta’s renewable energy changes help or hinder development? -
60-year-old Edmonton elementary school set to get 1st playground -
The downside of a snowless winter on Edmonton businesses that rely on it -
Southwest Edmonton school wins Connor McDavid visit after raising $15k
Author Archives
-
Monday thunderstorm floods roads, halts traffic and transit across EdmontonThree waves of heavy rainfall doused the Edmonton region in quick succession Monday afternoon, flooding roads, downing trees and halting traffic.Weather5 hours
-
Cold Lake café closes after losing customers over separatist event: ‘Nail in the coffin’An Alberta café, whose owner said the business was already struggling due to inflation, has shuttered after hosting separatists and then losing customers.Economy9 hours
-
Advertisement
-
Severe thunderstorm flooding shuts down Whitemud Drive in west EdmontonA severe thunderstorm dumped massive amounts of rain quickly, flooding roads across Edmonton, including the Whitemud and Yellowhead, and prompted a high volume of 911 calls.WeatherJul 26
-
Advertisement
-
What the duck? Lake Summerside’s resident waterfowl dodges rehoming attemptsBuddy the Cayuga duck has been quite at home on the shores of Lake Summerside for months now — the problem is, the south Edmonton waterbody isn't his home.EnvironmentJul 24
-
Edmonton organizations watch out for seniors during hot, smoky conditionsMeals on Wheels, which delivers more than 300 meals each day throughout Edmonton, says the extreme weather has made regular wellness checks even more important.HealthJul 24
-
Unlicensed Alberta driver caught speeding 230 km/h near Fairmont Hot SpringsAn Audi was seized and an Alberta man charged with driving impaired and without a licence, after the car was caught speeding nearly three times the limit near Fairmont Hot Springs.TrafficJul 23
-
Man, 22, accused of murder in southeast Edmonton intimate partner homicide caseA 22-year-old man is accused of strangling 23-year-old Damanpreet Kaur to death in what the Edmonton Police Service said is an intimate partner homicide case.CrimeJul 23
-
Canadian Blood Services plea for donations as supply drops 20% — below typical summer slumpCanadian Blood Services says over the past six weeks, donation appointments have fallen short by 1,500 to 2,500 each week and are now failing to keep pace with hospital demand.HealthJul 22
-
Advertisement
-
Edmonton’s Paula Findlay wins 226-km Ironman triathlon on 1st tryPaula Findlay, 37, entered her first-ever full-distance, 226-kilometre Ironman Triathlon and won, crossing the finish almost four minutes ahead of the woman in 2nd place.SportsJul 22
-
Advertisement
-
2 tornadoes touched down in Rocky Mountain House, Environment Canada confirmsTwo tornadoes with a rating of EF2 touched down within 20 minutes of each other in Rocky Mountain House and Clearwater County on July 18, Environment Canada has confirmed.WeatherJul 22
-
Edmonton’s stormwater system strained after repeated heavy rainSaturated ground is no longer absorbing water normally, sending more runoff into drains and contributing to flooded underpasses, sinkholes and washed-out roads, EPCOR said.WeatherJul 21
-
‘Death by a thousand cuts’: Half a dozen downtown Edmonton restaurants closingSince June, at least six downtown restaurants announced they'll be closing indefinitely because of multiple decisions on the future of Edmonton's core.EconomyJul 21
-
How the Northern Tornadoes Project helps verify twisters as Alberta on track for record yearThe director of the Northern Tornadoes Project explains the work his research team does and what observations they've made about Alberta's 2026 summer storm season.WeatherJul 21
-
Air quality warning in Edmonton, much of Alberta due to N.W.T. wildfire smokeFrom hot and muggy to torrential downpours, it's been a dramatic few weeks of weather and now, a condition Albertans had hoped to evade has drifted down from the N.W.T.WeatherJul 20
-
Advertisement
-
Sudden death of baby boy under Edmonton police investigationThe sudden death of a baby boy Friday morning at a home on the northside is being investigated by the Edmonton Police Service.CrimeJul 17
-
Advertisement
-
2 kids from northern Alberta still missing, mom and her partner wanted for abductionLanakai Morrison, six, and his half-brother Karl Morrison, four, are believed to be somewhere in Western Canada with their mom Krista Morrison and her partner Daniel Ludwig.CrimeJul 17
-
Nenshi seeks Calgary seat in next election as Estabrooks vies for Edmonton-StrathconaAlberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi says in the next election he'll seek a seat in Calgary, where he grew up and was mayor, instead of running for re-election in Edmonton.PoliticsJul 17
-
IBC estimates $230M in insured damage claimed from Edmonton stormsThe Insurance Bureau of Canada says two storms have resulted in almost a quarter billion dollars' worth of insured damage in Edmonton and the surrounding communities.ConsumerJul 16
-
Driver accused of deliberately hitting Muslim woman due to race: Edmonton policeEdmonton police allege the accused boxed in the victim's vehicle and prevented her from leaving a northside parking lot while making racist and xenophobic comments.CrimeJul 16
-
Trapped grandparents die in north Edmonton apartment fire: ‘They were best friends’More than 60 years ago, Major Singh Bhandal and Surinderjit Kaur Bhandal exchanged vows to spend their life together — a promise they kept, to their very devastating end.FireJul 15
-
Advertisement
-
3 homes damaged by fire in southwest Edmonton’s Cameron Heights areaA fire broke out late Tuesday afternoon in the southwest Edmonton neighbourhood, leaving two family homes gutted and a third also damaged.FireJul 14
-
Advertisement
-
Thunderstorm capable of triggering tornados headed for Edmonton regionConditions are ripe for the development of severe thunderstorms that may generate strong wind gusts, large hail, heavy rain and possibly tornadoes, Environment Canada said.WeatherJul 14
-
1 dead, 2 missing after vehicle hits Edmonton building, causing fiery explosionOne person is dead, two more are missing and several others injured after a vehicle collided with an apartment building, causing a gas explosion and massive fire.FireJul 14
-
Deep sinkhole opens up in north Edmonton after weekend thunderstormsThe City of Edmonton and EPCOR say Mother Nature has pushed the wastewater system to its limits in recent weeks, as several thunderstorms have dumped massive amounts of rain.WeatherJul 13
-
High Level Bridge sidewalk closed after heavy rain erodes riverbank slopeRecent heavy rainfall has caused riverbank instability at the southeast side of the High Level Bridge, where the slope next to the east sidewalk wooden guardrail has failed.TrafficJun 25