With compasses in hand and determination in their hearts, four dedicated Okaloosa County youth took home top honors at the 2025 Florida 4-H Forest Ecology Contest — a testament to months of tireless preparation, deep curiosity, and unwavering teamwork.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after several commercial vehicles were damaged and a passenger suffered minor injuries when someone threw pieces of concrete from an overpass along Interstate 10 near Holt this morning.

The young man I give guitar lessons to each week in exchange for him mowing my grass has graduated from high school and, after a few summer vacation trips with family, will be heading off to college. That means – gasp! – I am back to mowing my own grass! That prospect sent me searching online sales sites where I found a used riding mower for sale locally.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is asking Florida residents and visitors to report all sightings of wild turkeys between now and Aug. 31. This includes hens, poults (newly hatched wild turkeys) and gobblers.

Amanda Justice, assistant director of nursing and unit manager at Crestview Rehabilitation Center, has been named the 2025 Rising Star in the profession by the Florida Health Care Association.

State of Florida and Williams International officials today announced a major capital investment expected to total more than $1 billion in Okaloosa County, easily placing the project among the largest in the history of the Northwest Florida region.

Students from Baker School, Laurel Hill School and Choctaw, Niceville, Fort Walton Beach and Crestview high schools participated in the Eighth Annual 2025 TeCMEN Industry Day on May 14.

The husband and wife who tragically drowned in the Gulf near a Destin resort Tuesday were residents of Buford, Georgia, ages 57 and 54, respectively, according to an Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office news release.

Okaloosa County will hold the Third Annual Women Veterans Day ceremony at 8 a.m. Thursday, June 12, at the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Convention Center.