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  • Historic Woman's Club Auditorium to Receive CRA Help

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Nov 29, 2023

    A CRA grant will help a local not-for-profit save an aging historic building that serves as an important civic space in downtown Lake Wales. The Lake Wales Woman's Club was awarded a $50,000 grant that will help the 100-year-old organization pay for a new roof for their auditorium at 275 East Park Avenue. The funds will also help remediate mold, according to CRA staff. The grant meets three of the goals cited in the Lake Wales Connected plan recommendations, Assistant City...

  • Lake Wales Main Street Director Honored for "Lifetime Achievement"

    Special to the News|Updated Nov 20, 2023

    Ronni Wood, a seasoned and dedicated professional in the field of downtown redevelopment, was honored with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award by the Florida Redevelopment Association (FRA). The remarkable accolade was presented during the 2023 FRA Annual Conference and Awards Reception, where the outstanding contributions of community organizations, as well as individual excellence, were celebrated. With a career spanning several decades, Ronni Wood's journey in...

  • New Restaurants Coming to Lake Wales

    News Staff Reports|Updated Nov 8, 2023

    A long-anticipated wave of new restaurants is coming into existence in Lake Wales with the pending openings of three new fast-food outlets. The new restaurants are part of a spate of new construction on US 27 in the vicinity of the Eagle Ridge Mall. The growing population of Lake Wales is a primary justification for the investments being made by the several restaurant chains, according to local officials. Freddy's Frozen Custard and Steakburgers and Slim Chickens are both...

  • Drumgo Brings High Energy to City Administration

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Nov 6, 2023

    In the high-energy future facing Lake Wales there's little doubt that high-energy management is required to keep up. As Lake Wales faces a wave of growth, with about 15,000 new residences planned to be built here in the next several years, Assistant City Manager Deena Drumgo may be the ideal person to help the city face the challenges ahead. Drumgo, the former city manager of Dundee, came to Lake Wales from Winter Haven, where she oversaw that city's community redevelopment ag...

  • Saturday's 39-Mile Yard Sale Expected to Draw Thousands

    Casey Gist, News Correspondent|Updated Nov 6, 2023

    Communities along the entire length of the Ridge Scenic Highway will share in one of the area's most popular annual events this Saturday. The 39-Mile Yard Sale has played an important role in promoting tourism in the Central Florida communities along the Ridge Scenic Highway since 2007. Expected to draw thousands of people, it is known for being an outstanding opportunity to find great deals and interesting treasures, or just as an enjoyable family outing. Shoppers come from a...

  • Polk State College Priority Registration Starts October 30 for Spring Semester

    Madison Fantozzi, Director of Communications, PSC|Updated Nov 2, 2023

    Currently enrolled Polk State students will have a head start opportunity fo enrolling in the Spring 2024 semester. Enrollment for the spring will begin on October 30 with priority registration for students who have completed at least 50% of their program requirements. Open enrollment will begin on November 6 and classes will start on January 8. Polk State College operates multiple facilities around the county, including a Lake Wales campus located on Central Avenue in...

  • Free Downtown Concert Series Starts Friday, November 10

    Special to the News|Updated Nov 1, 2023

    A series of free downtown street concerts will enliven evenings downtown over the coming months, thanks to an alliance between the Lake Wales main Street, Lake Wales Arts Council, and the City of Lake Wales. The shows kick-off with the Outta Hand Band on Friday, November 10. "Lake Wales Live" will offer residents good reason to visit the downtown area, and perhaps get a sneak peek at the ongoing transformation of the area as the Lake Wales Connected plan proceeds, according to...

  • History Museum Will Emerge Better, Community Support Needed

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Oct 30, 2023

    Major improvements are underway at the Lake Wales History Museum that are expected to make the facility a center of community activity as well as a draw for residents and visitors alike, according to Executive Director Melissa Stoller. The ongoing project includes needed repairs to the 98-year-old building as well as reimagined and refreshed exhibits. The non-profit museum is seeking volunteers with carpentry skills to help with the ongoing reconfiguration. Stoller promises...

  • New Local Bus Service Begins in Lake Wales

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Oct 30, 2023
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    A new "circulator" bus route that will serve the city six days a week on a frequent schedule began this week, making getting around town without a car a much simpler task. Lake Wales should be very proud of the new service, according to Tom Phillips, executive director of Citrus Connection, which operates the buses. "This is only the second city [in Polk County] to have a real circulator route," he told Lake Wales News.net. The circulator will stay within the city limits,...

  • City Fills Vacant Horticulturist Position As Downtown Tree Planting Approaches

    News Staff Reports|Updated Oct 23, 2023

    As the City of Lake Wales prepares to begin a major tree-planting effort as part of the Lake Wales Connected effort, a long-vacant horticulturist spot has been filled by a long-time Lakeland gardening expert. Kevin Polk, a certified horticulturist who spent several years supervising the landscape at the City of Lakeland's Hollis Gardens, will take the reins overseeing plans to revive the landscapes in the city's historic core. After spending years reviving the 1928 landscape...

  • October 17, 1923 Highlander

    News Research Staff|Updated Oct 19, 2023

    As Lake Wales was going about its rapid spurt of growth between 1917 and 1927, area real estate agents gathered to create the city's first board so thasat they could exchange listing information and conduct social activities. The city and state were then in the midst of a great surge of development and land speculation. Most of the city's historic downtown masonry buildings were constructed during that time as the city's population increased 10-fold in only a decade....

  • 1000 Friends of Florida Endorses the Lake Wales Envisioned Plan

    Paul Owens, President, 1000 Friends of Florida|Updated Oct 12, 2023

    Editor's Note: This guest Commentary is the second of a series of guest editorials that will address the effort known as Lake Wales Envisioned. Since our founding in 1986, 1000 Friends of Florida has advocated citizen-driven planning to protect our state's environment and quality of life amid its rapid growth. That explains why we enthusiastically endorsed the Lake Wales Envisioned process from its launch last winter. And it's why we're now calling on city leaders to approve...

  • New Brick Street Will Dress Up Park Avenue

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Oct 7, 2023
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    The multi-million-dollar reconstruction of Park Avenue is proceeding close to schedule, as evidenced by the hard-working crews who have been seen laying the thousands of bricks that will eventually form the surface of the new street and parking spaces. The new high-quality clay-brick pavers were selected as the most durable and traditional surface for the project after a study by engineers and architects involved in the design of the project, an early phase of the multi-phase...

  • Embrace Lake Wales Envisioned: A Model for the Nation

    Anne Neal Petri and Lucy Lawliss|Updated Oct 6, 2023

    Editor's Note: This guest Commentary, offered by two distinguished scholars of the works of the father and son who shared the honored name of Frederick Law Olmsted, is the first of a series of guest editorials that will address the effort known as Lake Wales Envisioned. A century ago, Lake Wales was in the news: The most famous landscape architect in America, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., was transforming one of Florida's highest points into Bok Tower Gardens, today a National...

  • City's Growth Management Efforts Get New Leadership

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Sep 28, 2023

    As the City of Lake Wales faces an onslaught of development proposals totaling more than 14,000 residential units, a responsive city government is making the needed adjustments to meet the challenge. Veteran planner Brian Herrmann has recently been hired to head the city's Growth Management division, a department formerly known as "Development Services." The department name change is reflection of the determination of city leadership to cope and direct the unstoppable pressure...

  • New Kualoa Restaurant Celebrates With Ribbon Cutting

    Susan Connors, News Staff Writer|Updated Sep 26, 2023

    Lake Wales newest restaurant, Kualao, celebrated its recent opening with a ribbon cutting this week, hosting an enthusiastic group of fans to free samples of their creative and authentic cuisine. A group of local guests and an impressively large family gathered for the event this week, which was co-hosted by the Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce. Chef & owner Manivanh Kai Kounnavong introduced a few flavorful samples from their kitchen and shared some interesting facts...

  • Lake Wales Cited for Community Health Possibilities

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Sep 22, 2023

    Lake Wales will become a healthier city if traditional neighborhood design standards are applied to future development proposals here, according to studies shared by Dr. Joanna Lombard of the University of Miami. Lombard, who has dual appointments to the university's medical school and the school of architecture, was the lead panelist on a webinar hosted this week by 1000 Friends of Florida to discuss the health and wellness impacts of where we live. The significant increases...

  • Temporary Traffic Pattern Change Coming to Downtown Lake Wales Starting Monday

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Sep 6, 2023

    The changing face of downtown Lake Wales is moving forward as contractors begin the second phase of a multi-part project to reconstruct Park Avenue between Wetmore Street and Scenic Highway. A closure of a block of First Street will begin Monday morning, August 28, and is expected to last until November. At that time the street will reopen along with the completed western block of Park Avenue between First and Wetmore, which will then be open to two-way traffic for the first...

  • Orange and Crystal Avenues to Receive Major Streetscape Facelifts

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Aug 28, 2023

    A million-dollar reconstruction of block-long stretches of Orange and Crystal Avenues is anticipated thanks to a federal grant and an intergovernmental agreement. The dramatic change will see new streetlights, street furniture, curbing, and the installation of numerous trees and other plants installed in rain gardens that will help absorb stormwater, . The work will include the resurfacing of the two streets east of First Street through and including their intersections with...

  • August 15, 1923 Lake Wales Highlander

    News Research Staff|Updated Aug 17, 2023

    The Lake Wales Highlander of 100 years ago reveals much about the history of our community. Each week the Lake Wales News will publish a front-page image of the former Lake Wales Highlander from 100 years earlier, tracking the growth of the community a century ago, when Florida was in the midst of a great land price boom and rapid population growth. The images are retrieved from the digital archives of the Lake Wales Public Library. The Lake Wales Highlander eventually became...

  • Dover and Kohl Win Prestigious Seaside Prize for Planning Designs

    Special to the News|Updated Aug 13, 2023

    The partners who founded a planning firm that has become closely identified with Lake Wales have been announced as the 2024 recipients of the prestigious Seaside Prize, presented annual by the SEASIDE Institute. The award will recognize Victor Dover and Joe Kohl, who in 1987 founded the Miami-based town planning firm, Dover, Kohl & Partners. The prize, which is awarded annually, celebrates individuals or organizations whose life's work or accomplishments are emblematic of the...

  • Lake Wales Main Street Wins Recognition for New Design Standards

    Special to the News|Updated Aug 8, 2023

    Lake Wales Main Street was among winners of 2023 Florida Main Street Awards, which were announced during the Preservation on Main Street Conference in Ocala last week. Florida Main Street is a program administered by the Division of Historical Resources under the Florida Department of State, which currently oversees 57 communities throughout the state. By implementing the National Main Street Center's Four-Point Approach, Florida Main Street encourages economic development...

  • Brick Streets, Brick Facades Transforming Park Avenue

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Aug 5, 2023

    Bricks may become the new buzzword for downtown Lake Wales. The rapid changes coming to Park Avenue under the Lake Wales Connected project include a street completely resurfaced with traditional brick pavers to emphasize the historic significance of the downtown area. Now those bricks are being joined by the newly-exposed original brick facades of historic buildings that have been hidden behind stucco for years. The work is being undertaken by individual property owners,...

  • Annual 39 Mile Yard Sale Happens November 4

    Special to the News|Updated Aug 4, 2023

    You can expect to meet crowds of bargain-hunters on one area roadway as the 16th annual Ridge Scenic Highway "39 Mile Yard Sale" takes place on on Saturday, November 4th. The event typically draws thousands of visitors from across central Florida and beyond, coming to seek unusual finds and great bargains brought forth from barns, garages, attics, and other treasure storerooms. The sale runs from 8:00 am until 2:00 pm along the entire length of the Ridge Scenic Highway,...

  • Kris Fitzgerald Files For US Congressional Race

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Jul 27, 2023

    Former Lake Wales City Commissioner Kris Fitzgerald has filed to run for the US Congress from Florida's 15th district, which includes a portion of Polk and Pasco counties and much of Hillsborough County. Fitzgerald's formal announcement of candidacy is expected to come in a news conference next week. Her filing makes her the first challenger to Republican incumbent Laurel Lee, who won the seat only last year. Fitzgerald met with LakeWalesNews.net for an exclusive interview...

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