HAINES CITY – It’s been nearly a year since Haines City Police Officer Dwight Rogers put his life on the line during a call to assist the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

Orlando Health, a not-for-profit health care organization and network of community-based hospitals, last week announced it has a contract to purchase approximately 80 acres of unincorporated land on the south side of Lakeland for a potential future medical campus.

HAINES CITY – The 41st Annual Northeast Polk County Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet will be held Jan. 30 from 6–9 p.m. at the Lake Eva Event Hall.

On January 15, 2020, PCSO detectives arrested 35-year-old Neidy Mendez-Gudine, of Davenport, for one count aggravated child abuse and one count manslaughter in the death of a 13-month-old baby.

Staff for Polk County Public Schools recently navigated a chaotic stretch that led up to the “Take on Tallahassee” rally in support of public education on Jan. 13 in Tallahassee.

A hit broadway musical is coming to the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts this weekend. Enjoy spectacular music, colorful costuming and a story the whole family will fall for. Join the cast for a magic carpet ride!

POINCIANA – A couple married for 55 years has been named the Poinciana Medical Center Volunteers of the Year.

POLK COUNTY – At a Polk Regional Water Cooperative meeting Jan. 15, Polk County Commissioner George Lindsey and PRWC lawyer Ed de la Parte repeated what Frostproof Mayor Martin Sullivan described as an “old threat.”

WINTER HAVEN – By now, many residents have learned that a local developer is planning to build a hotel, an apartment complex and a yet-to-be-announced big box store at the corner of U.S. Highway 27 and Cypress Gardens Boulevard.

BARTOW – Polk County History Center staff organized sold out shows earlier this month, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, guaranteeing and protecting women's Constitutional right to vote.

POLK COUNTY – Southwest Florida Water Management District staff hosted a public workshop at Circle B Reserve Jan. 8 to explain a draft recommendation that the SWFWMD Board of Directors may approve as early as Feb 25.

HAINES CITY – In a tucked away space in downtown Haines City is an art installation so interesting and unexpected it’s enough to stop traffic.

This Friday starts an exciting event at Walt Disney World’s Epcot. The 2020 Epcot International Festival of the Arts is included in the admission cost and features a world of entertainment — take a seat in one of the interactive workshops or sing-a-long at a show during the Disney on Broadwa…

FOUR CORNERS — The Florida Department of Education recently released the 2018-19 graduation rates for the state, its school districts and individual high schools and the four districts that comprise the Four Corners area are each celebrating either an improvement or a rate that is above the …

POLK COUNTY – According to a statement made by Polk County Public Schools staff on the district’s Facebook page, about 1,520 district teachers — roughly 20 percent of the 6,800 teachers who are employed by the district, in total — were absent from school on Monday, Jan. 13, to attend the “Ta…

LAKE WALES – Four of the best carillon artists in the world will tour their way through performances at bell towers in Florida, part of a spring series of recitals associated with the Florida Carillon Festival — with each making a stop in Polk County at Bok Tower Gardens.

DAVENPORT – The impeachment hearings of President Donald Trump were, and still are, a touchy subject for many Americans — so much so that it made national news when one local high school teacher tackled the topic with her students.

POLK COUNTY — The Polk County Fire Rescue department is hiring, with some 62 vacancies the department is trying diligently to fill with firefighters, EMTs and paramedics.

A Winter Haven man was shot Saturday, January 11, at around 9:33 p.m. after two motorists got into a confrontation on Lake Ned Road in Winter Haven.

POLK COUNTY — Despite reports that as many as 1,600 Polk County Public Schools teachers could be absent on Monday, January 13, the district has repeatedly affirmed over the weekend its intention to remain open that day.

Osceola Science Charter School recognized three of its sixth graders recently as Khan Academy Students of the Month.

DAVENPORT – Crafting businesses, especially those centered around a DIY (do it yourself) theme, are popping up all over the country.

Osceola Regional Medical Center staff started the new year — and decade — by celebrating the birth of a New Year’s Day baby. Amarah Raegan Pierre was born at 1:50 p.m. on January 1, weighing three pounds and 15.5 ounces. Her proud parents, Tiffany Garth and Dwight Pierre, from Kissimmee, wer…

TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s population growth remains on track to garner new congressional seats in the coming years, though the state might not be adding new residents as fast as officials had believed.

POLK COUNTY – Three quarters of the annual Polk Museum of Art exhibit budget for 2020 has been designated for single exhibit, one which will be on display beginning Feb. 8 and through to May 31.

Knights of Columbus Council 7091 of Cypress Gardens helped beautify the altar and enhance the celebration of mass at St. Ann Catholic Church in Haines City with the donation of two brand new gold chalices recently — just in time for the Advent season.

LAKE WALES – Lake Wales Little Theatre artists and volunteers say they have been preparing to open a musical never before performed in the state of Florida.

WINTER HAVEN – Hundreds of area residents attended the grand opening “tip off” of the AdventHealth Fieldhouse & Conference Center at Chain of Lakes Park Saturday, Jan. 4.

The holiday hype continues through this Sunday over in Lake Nona. Have you been wanting to find a skating rink to visit with your friends or family? Lake Nona offers a great choice. The open-air rink is surrounded by twinkling lights and Christmas trees. This Friday, the rink will be open fr…

“Enforcement time” has come for motorists caught texting and driving by Florida Highway Patrol troopers.

POLK COUNTY — A Kissimmee man who delivers packages for Amazon was arrested last week for stealing a package he had delivered to a home in the Davenport area.

HAINES CITY – According to Haines City Manager Deric, the state of Haines City is better than it’s ever been. That was his report at the State of the City Luncheon held recently.

Ed Patterson, a man living in the Clermont area who has Alzheimer’s disease, was recently honored with the Community Service award on Sunday, December 15th, at the Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida’s annual holiday concert, titled “Holidays at Hard Rock Live with Jordin Sparks.”

The Feast of the Three Kings is an intricate part of Latin Folklore and, traditionally, this day is very important — especially for children, for it is on this eve that they will receive their gifts.

POLK COUNTY — It's time for Polk residents to stand up and be counted — or, at least, it will be this spring when the 2020 U.S. Census is taken.

Lake County Development Services is pleased to offer One Stop Permitting, a new and improved workflow that streamlines the services of Lake County’s Office of Building Services and the Office of Planning and Zoning.

DUNDEE –Dundee’s Fire Department is one of thousands around the country with volunteer firefighters.

HAINES CITY – Last year was not an easy year for members of Polk County Fire Rescue, thanks largely in part to an incident that took place back in 2018.

DAVENPORT – Davenport held its annual Christmas Parade and Winterfest on Dec. 13 and, just like everything else in the town, it has grown.

Polk County could become a safe haven for gun owners if one county commissioner gets his way.

LAKE WALES – Her wedding day was a home run.

HAINES CITY – This Christmas, Santa came early for a group of local children who were on the “nice” list.

The Hallmark Channel presents “Holidays at Legoland” this season! You can expect glistening lights, yummy treats, upbeat Christmas tunes and more. Besides the rides, there are also plenty of festive Lego sights to see as you walk around the park this month as we close out the year.

FOUR CORNERS – Lake County is “on the move” — a motto that rings true often for the rapidly growing county — but county officials recently took time to remind residents of what has taken place over the past 12 months during a state of the county presentation.

Over six days, undercover detectives in the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Vice Unit conducted a special investigation known as “Operation Santa’s Naughty List.” 

DAVENPORT – Northeast Polk County’s much-anticipated relief high school is one step closer to realization.

HAINES CITY — On Friday, Dec. 13, the Feltrim Group will hold a ribbon cutting celebration for the grand opening of its Feltrim Sports Village project.

By this time next year, 18 percent of the power consumed by Bartow residents could be produced by solar power, up from six percent currently.

It's been more than two weeks since Polk County's health department issued a rabies alert for two county communities, but no additional incidents have been reported, according to the Florida Department of Health's Polk office.