Bartow, Fla. (Oct. 21, 2019) — Polk County’s Roads and Drainage crews began removing tornado debris Monday in the Kathleen area, northwest of Lakeland, and will continue to do so until it is finished.

“We are asking residents in the area to please move their debris to the roadside,” said Polk County Manager Bill Beasley. “If they can get that material to the road, we will pick it up.”

All debris, ...

Bartow, Fla. (Oct. 19, 2019) — Tonight’s Haunted Halloween Hayride & Happenings, hosted by Polk County’s Parks and Natural Resources at Loyce Harpe Park in Mulberry, has been cancelled.

The cancellation comes following flooding debris left behind by a series of storms that recently moved through the area. Those who had purchased advanced tickets will be refunded. We apologize for the...

Bartow, Fla. (Oct. 19, 2019) — If you’d like to have a voice in helping to plan the county’s response in avoiding future emergencies, a Local Mitigation Strategy group meeting is open to the public and will begin at 1:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 21, at the Polk County Emergency Operations Center, 1890 Jim Keene Blvd. in Winter Haven.

The county is in the process of preparing a five-year update to the...

BARTOW FLA (Oct. 17, 2019) - The Polk Regional Water Cooperative (PRWC) has been invited by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to apply for a federal loan to fund the first two projects in a regional, alternative water supply program. If successful, the PRWC could qualify for as much as $235 million towards capital infrastructure costs.

The loan program, established by the Water...