The Latest Local News

Highlands County Fire Rescue is sharing new details after a Tuesday morning blaze tore through a home in Avon Park. Crews were called just after 9:30 a.m. to the 400 block of West Gobourne Street, where a kitchen cooking fire quickly spread through a single-family home. One person was inside but was safely escorted out Continue reading

A Florida Fish and Wildlife K-9 helped investigators crack a shooting case tied to a local gas station. Officers say the K-9 located a gun hidden under a backyard shed, believed to be the weapon used during an exchange of gunfire between two people at a Speedway on Oak Street. One driver, 27-year-old Colton Howell, Continue reading

A major sentencing is now closed in a violent Highlands County murder tied to an international meth trafficking ring. Investigators say 34-year-old Miguel Molina-Etchechury—a suspected drug leader moving meth from Mexico into Central Florida—beat associate Jonathan Diaz to death in a Sebring garage back in 2018, then burned and buried the body. Molina was later Continue reading

Change is stirring inside Avon Park City Hall. After a narrow three-to-two vote, the council has appointed former Public Works Director Jason Atkinson as interim city manager, following Dr. Danielle Kelly’s resignation effective November 21st. Atkinson — now working in Fort Pierce — will begin November 24th, returning to City Hall where his previous tenure Continue reading

Highlands County residents are invited to the 2nd Annual Red, White, and Blue Veterans Day Car Show and Parade on today, November 11th, at Firemen’s Field, located at 681 Magnolia Avenue in Sebring. The car show begins at 4 p.m., followed by the parade at 6:30 p.m. Enjoy vendors, food trucks, entertainment, and a night Continue reading

It’s a cattle caper straight out of a country song. Deputies say an Okeechobee man, David Daniel, borrowed 17 heifers from a local rancher — but only brought back three. The owner figured the rest were just grazing somewhere in Lake Placid, until months passed and the cows never came home. When deputies asked Daniel Continue reading

Four people were hospitalized Wednesday evening after a car crashed into the Publix at Southgate Shopping Center in Sebring. The Sebring Fire Department responded around 6:30 p.m., finding a vehicle that had struck an exterior wall of the store. Among the injured was a pedestrian hit by the car. Photos show heavy front-end damage to Continue reading

Highland County Residents are invited to have a say in local land conservation. Public voting for the Highlands County Land Conservation Program is open now through Friday, November 14, 2025. Residents are encouraged to watch a short explainer video and take a survey to choose their top three conservation priorities—from wildlife corridors and water quality Continue reading

A Highlands County man is behind bars after deputies say he stabbed his mother about ten times during an argument Sunday morning. Deputies responded to a home on West Lacey Street around 8:40 a.m. and found a 66-year-old woman bleeding heavily outside. She told deputies her son, Fredrick Burns III, was responsible. The victim was Continue reading

A terrifying ordeal ended in escape after a victim managed to flee from an armed robbery and kidnapping in Lake Wales. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office says the suspect, 36-year-old Brock Sherrill of Frostproof, allegedly attacked the victim with a blunt object, held them captive inside his vehicle, and threatened them with a wrench before Continue reading