News Archive

From Crestview to Destin, Okaloosa leaders are preparing for significant budget cuts after the Florida Legislature voted to send a property tax exemption proposal to voters this November, a measure they say will drain millions from municipal wallets and shift finical decision making away from communities they represent.

The Summer Food Service Program helps to ensure children continue to have access to nutritious meals when school is not in session.


This year, the Okaloosa County School District joins the program for the 2026 summer break.

Lawmakers on Tuesday approved a sweeping tax cut for homestead property owners pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, sending it to the November ballot.

The measure increases the existing $50,000 exemption for homestead properties to $150,000 starting in 2027, and it increases to $250,000 in 2028. The exemption, though, doesn’t apply to school taxes, after lawmakers changed DeSantis’ plan Monday to protect districts from drastic cuts.

While one exhibitor at the Laurel Hill Arts & Heritage Festival sets out a tempting array of homemade jams and jellies, another tunes up his acoustic guitar for a performance while a third loads blank cartridges into a vintage World War II rifle.

An 18-year-old Crestview man died on May 31 after he was struck by lightning while kayaking on the Blackwater River and fell from his vessel, according to a news release from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

This past weekend, Crestview High School was made a temporary home for Remote Area Medical (RAM).


Members from all around the community were able to enter the school and receive free medical, dental, or vision services.

Before every performance, Pamela Strecker made one final walk.
She moved through the backstage area from one side to the other, checking on every actor, calling out final cues, making sure nothing had been missed. Then, just before heading up to the booth, she would turn around, look out at the cast and raise a hand in the air.
“Be brilliant.”
It caught on. Cast members started saying it to each other.
Strecker,61, who served as stage manager and eight-year president of Stage Crafters Community Theater in Fort Walton Beach, died earlier this month after a battle with cancer. She had been part of the organization for more than two decades, arriving as a shy backstage helper in 1999 and becoming the heartbeat of one of Northwest Florida’s most beloved volunteer arts organizations.

On May 22, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed two Senate bills into action that affect high school level interscholastic and intrascholastic extracurricular activities.


Coaches throughout Okaloosa County have mixed feelings about what this does for high schools in the county.

The celebration for America 250 continues as First Baptist Church Crestview and Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church join forces to bring “In God We Trust: A Community Celebration of Faith and Freedom”.


“In God We Trust” is a musical celebration of the faith in God, commitment to freedom, and attitude of thankfulness that our nation was built upon.

This past Thursday, Okaloosa County held their annual Hurricane Exercise/Simulation in preparation for the upcoming hurricane season.


Varying departments met at the Okaloosa County Emergency Operations Center at Northwest Florida State College to simulate their responses if a hurricane were to hit the Florida panhandle.