Lakeland, Polk County | featured news

Reggie Holt, CEO of Farm Credit of Central Florida, would chafe at being compared to George Bailey, the small-town banker in the classic film “It’s a Wonderful Life” willing to set aside lending conventions to help others. But Bill Klinger would find the comparison apt. “If Farm Credit wasn’t there, I wouldn’t be talking to you now,” Klinger, a partner with his two brothers in Brantley Nurseries, an ornamental plant nursery in Longwood, told The Ledger recently.

Two people have died in two unrelated crashes that occurred Saturday afternoon, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said.

Jim Guth is one of several Polk-based delegates who will attend the Republican National Convention in Cleveland on Monday through Thursday.July 18-21.

The offer's a good one, but now is not the moment for the city to accept an offer for a pavilion in Munn Park that could displace the Confederate monument there, Commissioner Don Selvage said.

Finding food assistance in Polk County is easier than ever thanks to programs directing the needy to local resources.

The exact date and time are secret, but the Auburndale Public Library is hosting a Reading Flash Mob that will take place in the next week. Anyone who wishes to take part in the event can sign up at bit.ly/readingflashmob

The Florida Department of Health announced Friday that there are two more cases of travel-related Zika virus in Polk County, bringing to 10 the number of such cases recorded this year in the county.

The Ledger's annual crape myrtle sale will be held from 7 a.m. to noon on Saturday in the newspaper's main parking lot at 300 W. Lime St.

Pressure washers, ultraviolet radiation and time have taken their toll on the 75-foot-wide underseascape at the Ed Gandy pool, but the actions of the mama dolphin it is dedicated to continue to ripple.

Finding ways to protect one of Polk's cleanest lakes and looking for ways to combine aquifer storage with lake restoration dominate a list of eight projects being considered for the next round of funding from Polk's stormwater tax.