Polk State College was selected from a competitive field of community colleges across the country to receive $50,000 to transform the future of students in the community.

A Port Charlotte pilot had to make an emergency landing on State Road 570 in Polk County on Aug. 17.

 As the strain of COVID-19 continues to challenge emergency response systems and hospitals, Polk Fire Chief Robert Weech asks that 9-1-1 calls be limited to the most serious of emergencies.

With COVID-19 cases on an accelerated climb, Bartow city commissioners last week took a step back, putting all reservation requests to use city facilities on hold except those already on the books.

Polk's Board of County Commissioners last week took a barrage of comments over two controversial proposed housing developments and opted to approve one and deny the other.

Friday's Polk County Commission agenda review session was all about the buses:  where they went, who they served and how much it cost.

435 active eviction cases in Polk County as of May 21

 A new short film that premiered on HBO Max this month has connections to Polk County Public Schools.

In a surprise move last week, the Polk County Commission voted to move a controversial Confederate monument from the old courthouse in Bartow's front lawn to a nearby Bartow cemetery instead of installing a sister monument celebrating the end of slavery in the state at the end of the Civil War.

Bartow residents could see a one-mill tax increase for the coming budget year as well as double the cost for fire department response services if the City Commission approves the proposed $143 million budget.

Polk County's popular Sheriff Grady Judd plead his case for a $187 million budget, up some 9 percent from last year's, but only asked for 30 new positions, including only seven new deputies, four for patrol and three for school resource slots at new schools opening this coming school year.

Several community leaders volunteered their time to sit in a dunk tank to raise money for cancer research July 16 at Venue650 in Winter Haven.

Back in 2018, Polk County Commissioner George Lindsey said the only vote he ever regretted was voting to approve a business permit to BS Ranch.

 Using the latest technology, the city of Haines City has found a way to make it easier for cemetery visitors to find their loved ones’ gravesites.

The Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency board unanimously adopted a 10-year strategy to revitalize the downtown area and the northwest neighborhood of the city on Oct. 1 2019.

Polk County commissioners got their second look at next fiscal year's $2 billion budget, up some $100 million over what it normally would have been according to the county's budget guru Assistant County Manager Todd Bond.

The Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency board unanimously adopted a 10-year strategy to revitalize the downtown area and the northwest neighborhood of the city on Oct. 1 2019.

It had been 16 years since the city of Frostproof invested taxpayer money on a fireworks show to celebrate the Fourth of July.

It had been 16 years since the city of Frostproof invested taxpayer money on a fireworks show to celebrate the Fourth of July.

Myla Gearhart, 4, of Lake Wales, gets up close and personal with a snake during a Lake Wales Public Library “Tails and Tales” Summer Reading Program event. On June 24, staff from the Frostproof-based wildlife sanctuary Tails of the Wild showed dozens of kids a variety of creatures. Here are …

Bartow got almost an A-plus on their annual audit for last year, but there was one small glitch the auditors found relating to Hurricane Irma federal relief funds.

All Saints Academy student Aaron DeWitt (Class of 2025) finished in 72nd place of 168 athletes who qualified to compete in the 104th Florida State Amateur Championship at Streamsong Resort on June 24-27.

 About 70 Bartow residents joined City Commissioner Leo Longworth and Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd recently in a town forum to learn what new law enforcement legislation means.

Cancer is one of the biggest health issues in the United States.

 Polk County Commissioner Bill Braswell, who holds a seat on the county's Historical Commission, learned last month the commission had discussed removing a monument on the old courthouse grounds that commemorates Confederate soldiers who died serving in the Civil War.

Local Bartow historian Clifton Lewis explains why Juneteenth is important to black Americans at last week's celebration of the day the full emancipation of slaves was ordered in Texas. It was the last state occupied by Union forces at the end of the Civil War. 

The WH All Stars 11u baseball team is looking for financial support to represent Winter Haven at the World Series July 28-Aug. 6, in Jensen Beach.  The team is trying to find sponsors and personal donations. It is working on a hat drop  Friday through Sunday, June 25 27at the Publix located …

 Transwestern Real Estate Services (TRS) announces its Southeast Investment Sales team has arranged the sale of Lakeland Town Center, a 282,949-square-foot shopping center at 917 E. Memorial Blvd. Transwestern Senior Managing Director John Bell and Managing Director Fred Victor brokered the …

 The Northeast Regional Park, reportedly one of the most used in the county, will have top-notch baseball diamonds by next spring, the Polk County Commission learned on Friday.

Polk County taxpayers probably won’t see their county taxes go up on next year’s tax bill, but they likely will see an increase in fire service and garbage pickup fees, according to the first blush budget presented to the Polk Board of County Commissioners.