Polk County | featured news

A 62-year-old man was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Friday for killing a father and his 4-year-old son in 2015 in a drunk driving crash in Winter Haven.

The Florida Department of Health reported 19 new cases of travel-related Zika virus on Friday, including one case in Polk County, as state officials continue to investigate two cases of possibly locally acquired Zika that occurred this week in South Florida.

A Black Lives Matter organization along with members of the Winter Haven Police Department huddled together under the amphitheater at Martin Luther King Jr., Park Friday night as the rain pounded on the tin roof.

Although illegal immigration has been a chief topic this year, some Polk County residents would like to see attention devoted to foreign nationals who entered the country legally and want to remain here.

Lawyers for rapper Kevin Gates argued Friday that battery charges against him for kicking a fan at a club in Lakeland during a performance in 2015 should be dropped based on Florida's "stand your ground" law.

Munich police warned people to avoid public places Friday as they hunted for the shooter or shooters who opened fire at a shopping mall, killing six people and wounding others in a rampage described as "suspected terrorism," police and media reports said.

A man has been arrested in connection with the robbery of a Subway restaurant in Haines City earlier this month.

Two people have been transported to Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center after a plane crash this morning.

A manhunt was underway Friday for a shooter or shooters who opened fire at a shopping mall in Munich, killing and wounding several people, a Munich police spokeswoman said.

Jacque Bowen's last day with the Polk County School District will be July 31. The associate superintendent and chief academic officer cited "personal commitments" in a July 18 resignation letter to Superintendent of Schools Jacqueline Byrd as her reason for leaving.