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 grateful for the privilege of covering stories in the community she was raised in, at the TV station she grew up watching each day.
Karen got her start as a studio assistant running the teleprompter, before becoming an ENG video editor for four years. She then spent three years on the overnight team as a writer for Global News Morning Edmonton.
Karen joined the online team in 2014. She lives for breaking news and also enjoys the fast pace of the digital world, creating videos and crafting original content for social media.
She grew up just west of Edmonton 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 the world 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 also never say no to a good glass of wine.
Contact Karen Bartko
Video Archives
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Psychic predictions for the future of the Edmonton Oilers
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Edmonton Elks fans optimistic about season
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More pushback for Bill C-5 from Indigenous groups
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Edmontonians accuse Foundry Room owner of stealing their event deposits
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Edmonton gay bar Evolution moving to Jasper Avenue, will temporarily have 2 locations
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Restaurant industry reacts to federal tax ‘holiday’
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Raw video of wildfire damage in Jasper, Alta.
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Will Alberta’s renewable energy changes help or hinder development?
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60-year-old Edmonton elementary school set to get 1st playground
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The downside of a snowless winter on Edmonton businesses that rely on it
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Southwest Edmonton school wins Connor McDavid visit after raising $15k
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Alberta premier invokes sovereignty act on green electricity, concedes it’s for symbolic effect
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Edmonton’s single-use-bylaw expected to remain even after plastic ban ruling
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Adopt a Pet: Duke the dog
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Peaches the fat, diabetic cat swims to slim down in Edmonton
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Southwest Anthony Henday Drive bridge construction in the final stretch
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Edmonton Titanic historian weighs in on the missing submersible
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Wet, heavy snow snarls traffic on Highway 40 near Grande Cache, Alta.
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Firefighters from South Africa break into song and dance as they arrive in Alberta to help
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200 more South African firefighters arrive in Edmonton
Author Archives
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3 seriously hurt in crash after van careens off Memorial Drive onto Deerfoot TrailThree people were sent to hospital with injuries ranging from serious to life-threatening after a van on Memorial Drive lost control and crashed onto the Deerfoot Trail below.Traffic3 hours
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2025 Calgary Stampede narrowly misses attendance recordOn Sunday, 121,704 people passed through the Calgary Stampede gates, bringing the total attendance to 1,470,288, — about 7,000 fewer than in 2024.CanadaJul 14
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Opposition NDP leader Naheed Nenshi sworn in as member of Alberta legislatureNow that Naheed Nenshi has a seat in the legislature, he and UCP Premier Danielle Smith will face off in question period for the first time when the assembly resumes in October.PoliticsJul 14
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Alberta surpasses all of the United States in confirmed measles casesAlberta is home to just under five million people, while the United States population is more than 341 million.HealthJul 14
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What happened to Jordyn Dines? 16-year-old found dead in abandoned car south of CalgaryJordyn Dines, 16, was last seen alive at a Calgary shopping mall, before being found dead under suspicious circumstances a day later in a rural area of Cardston County.CrimeJul 10
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2 youths charged with manslaughter after man dies in Wetaskiwin arsonTwo youths are facing manslaughter and arson charges after 67-year-old Donald Robert died in a house fire in the central Alberta city of Wetaskiwin last December.CrimeJul 10
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Tornado watch issued for eastern, central Alberta as thunderstorms expectedEnvironment Canada said most of the thunderstorms would not be severe, with an exception for areas near the Saskatchewan border where supercell formations could occur.WeatherJun 25
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Edmonton scraps playground zone photo radar amid low tickets: ‘No longer financially sustainable’Edmonton's crack down on speeding in school and playground zones has been such a success, the city says it's no longer making enough money to keep enforcing those areas.TrafficJun 25
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Evander Kane traded to Vancouver Canucks from Edmonton OilersThe 33-year-old winger said his time with the Edmonton Oilers has come to a close, and he is heading back to his hometown to join the Vancouver Canucks.SportsJun 25
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Car seized after driver nabbed speeding twice the limit in Fort McMurrayAn Audi was seized by Wood Buffalo RCMP after being recorded speeding twice the legal limit and a 41-year man from Fort McMurray is facing several charges.TrafficJun 23
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Sherwood Park daycare employee accused of assaulting 5 kidsRCMP allege five kids between the ages of five and eight were assaulted this spring at the Emerald Park Daycare in Sherwood Park.CrimeJun 23
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6-year-old boy found dead after going missing in Cold LakeIbukun Adeniui, 6, was found dead after going missing in Cold Lake, Alta., on Sunday evening.CanadaJun 23
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Man charged with murder of Alberta woman who’s been missing for 6 yearsRCMP say while Twyla Evans' body has not been found, recent developments led to the arrest of a 49-year-old man who has been charged with first-degree murder.CrimeJun 23
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Pilot and passenger die in plane crash near VermilionPolice said there were two people in the plane — a 46-year-old woman from Slave Lake who was the pilot, and a 76-year-old man from Mannville who was her passenger.CanadaJun 23
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Alberta voters to decide if NDP’s Nenshi, separatists to hold legislature seatsAlberta voters go to the polls in three byelections on Monday in Edmonton-Strathcona, Edmonton-Ellerslie and Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills.PoliticsJun 23
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Random attack leaves senior dead in southwest Edmonton, murder charge laidA 65-year-old man was killed in southwest Edmonton's Desrochers neighbourhood, allegedly by a stranger who police said was acting suspicious.CrimeJun 20
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Banff rock slide that killed 2 ‘neither preventable nor predictable’: Parks CanadaThe slide that killed two people and injured several others in Banff National Park was a natural occurrence that could not have been stopped and anticipated, Parks Canada said.CanadaJun 20
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Family grieving father killed in Whitemud Drive crash: ‘He lived for us’"Watching him be a father was like watching someone fulfil the purpose they were born for," Miranda Sharp said of her late fiancé Ashton Wilson.CanadaJun 19
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Rock slide leaves 1 dead, others seriously injured in Banff National ParkA large emergency response was dispatched to the Alberta Rocky Mountains on Thursday afternoon after a rock slide left several hikers injured in Banff National Park.CanadaJun 19
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Woman found shot in Summerside parking lot in southeast EdmontonA woman was taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening gunshot injuries from the Market at Summerside just off 91 Street and Ellerslie Road.CrimeJun 19
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Alberta government PR branch moved under Premier Danielle Smith’s officeAlberta’s government has quietly transferred responsibility for its communications wing to the premier’s office, greatly expanding the size and budget of the executive council.PoliticsJun 18
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Fans sad but supportive as Oilers lose Stanley Cup for 2nd year in a row: ‘Proud of our boys’Dejected Edmonton Oilers fans who had placed such high hopes on their team patted each other on the back, consoled one another with hugs, and expressed optimism for next year.SportsJun 18
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1 dead, 1 in hospital after carbon monoxide poisoning in northeast CalgaryOne person died and another was taken to hospital after a suspected carbon monoxide leak at a home in northeast Calgary's Martindale neighbourhood.HealthJun 18
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Man checking van struck and killed by semi on Whitemud Drive, child survivesA man who got out of his vehicle on Whitemud Drive was struck by a semi and killed, and his van containing a child was also hit on the south Edmonton freeway Tuesday afternoon.TrafficJun 17
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Health-care workers urge Alberta to halt plan limiting free COVID-19 vaccinesHealth-care unions and doctors are calling on the province to reverse course and provide free COVID-19 vaccines to all front-line workers and any other Albertan who wants the shot.HealthJun 16