Lakeland FL

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - After nearly two decades, the historic Florida Citrus Festival is being revived in Polk County. The festival dates back to the 1920s when there were parades, banquets and carnival shows, but it shut down in 2008. The Florida Citrus Festival in Winter Haven was a big,...

A Lake Wales man, Andrew Joseph McHaffie, 37, was arrested for allegedly stealing from an acquaintance. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office says a woman reported on January 6 that McHaffie took her cell phone, and she later discovered unauthorized transactions on her accounts. The alleged theft occurred on December...

FLORIDA — A heartbreaking search came to an end along Clearwater Beach after authorities confirmed that an 18-year-old kayaker who had been missing for more than a week was found dead, closing a case that had drawn concern across the Tampa Bay region. Who the Missing Kayaker Was. The...

One of the most cherished establishments in Pass-a-Grille is set to make its long-awaited return. Seahorse Restaurant, the beloved breakfast and lunch spot at 800 Pass a Grille Way, is nearing its grand reopening nearly a full year and a half since hurricane damage forced a long-term closure. An official...

Florida strawberry farmers combat freezing temperatures (below 32°F) by spraying fields with water, forming an insulating ice layer that keeps plants at a constant 32°F, preventing deeper, fatal freezes. This “strawberry igloo” method is essential for protecting crops during cold snaps, often saving the harvest but...

Two people in Florida are facing felony charges after officials say they tricked the state’s Medicaid system out of tens of thousands of dollars. Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the arrests of Alexander McKinnie and Kara Morrison on Wednesday. The pair is accused of running a scheme involving fake gas money...

LAKE ALFRED, Fla. — Polk County Sheriff's office says a substitute teacher showed up to work "drunker than Cooter Brown" Tuesday morning. A school resource officer confronted Micha Alan Dyal, 44, of Haines City in the parking lot of Lake Alfred Polytech as he was attempting to back out of his parking space.

When Publix opens a much-coveted store in Lake Alfred, residents old and new will no longer have to drive to other cities in Polk County to do their food shopping. “It’s a big win for us. We’ve been talking about Publix for decades,” City Manager Ryan Leavengood said by phone Jan. 27. “A good get for the community.”...

FLORIDA — A rare and significant cold air intrusion is unfolding across the state, with meteorologists warning that cloud-level temperatures early Sunday morning could approach or even rival long-standing records, particularly in the Tampa Bay region. Forecast data indicates that temperatures near the 850 millibar...

POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A request to call a ride-share service turned into a criminal investigation in Lake Wales late last month, leaving a local woman without her phone and missing money from her bank account. The incident, which began as a simple favor, has now landed a man...