In a 10-minute meeting, the Lakeland City Commission on Thursday night unanimously passed a $730 million budget for 2022-23, with a 5.4323 millage rate for property owners – the same as this year. The budget includes funding to add 13 police officers, 12 firefighters and a new fire station north of I-4.
Author Archives: Kimberly C. Moore
Kimberly C. Moore, who grew up in Lakeland, has been a print, broadcast and multimedia journalist for more than 30 years. Before coming to LkldNow in the spring of 2022, she was a reporter for four years with The Ledger, first covering Lakeland City Hall and then Polk County schools. She is the author of “Star Crossed: The Story of Astronaut Lisa Nowak," published by University Press of Florida. Reach her at kimberly@lkldnow.com or 863-272-9250.
Posted inPeople, Transportation
Air Force Veteran, Air Show Expert Takes Helm at Lakeland’s Airport
Kris Hallstrand, 46, served multiple tours of duty in Afghanistan as a C-130 crew chief and then director of the flight line at Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan, overseeing 30 aircraft and about 90 men and women.
Posted inNews
Lakeland Regional Health’s Kathleen Road Site Doubles in Scope
Workers have already begun building Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center’s satellite site at Kathleen Road and Interstate 4, but now Polk County’s first hospital got a green light from city commissioners Monday to double the square footage to add an emergency room and possibly a nursing home on the 20-acre site.
Posted inEducation
Expert Says Nolte’s Cash Contribution Violated State Statute
Polk School Board member-elect Rick Nolte’s $5,200 cash donation to his own campaign violates Florida law, according to a legal scholar with expertise in Florida election laws; Nolte declined to answer questions about the contribution on Thursday.
Posted inEducation
Southwest Middle School’s $55 Million Rebuild Getting Started
Southwest Middle School is undergoing a $55.2 million reboot, with a completely new, two-story, 183,000-square-foot enclosed structure to be built in the next two years, with most of the old school scheduled for the wrecking ball once construction is finished.
Posted inHousing, Social Services
Salvation Army Doubling Shelter Housing for Families
In March 2021, Carlinys Rodriguez and her two sons, ages 7 and 8, were kicked out of their home by a family member and she thought they had nowhere to go. But she found her way to the Salvation Army’s George W. Jenkins Community of Hope neighborhood off Kathleen Road, a 49-acre, family-friendly neighborhood that […]
Posted inPeople
Lakeland Women Pay Respects to the Queen, Catch a Glimpse of the New King
Two women from Lakeland are in the United Kingdom this week and have witnessed firsthand the grief over the death of Queen Elizabeth II, with one catching a glimpse of the new king and the other leaving flowers and a note from Lakeland residents near Buckingham Palace.
Posted inCity Hall / Local Gov't, History
City Hall Wreath Honors Memory of Queen Elizabeth II
Two blocks north of Lake Morton, where the regal descendants of Queen Elizabeth II’s white swans still glide across its waters, a wreath honoring her life, her contribution to the city, and her passing on Thursday stands in the City Hall lobby.
Posted inCity Hall / Local Gov't, Public Safety
City Commission Holds Millage Rate, Approves $730 Million Budget
Lakeland city commissioners on Thursday evening voted to levy property taxes at a millage rate no higher than the current rate of 5.4323 after a lengthy discussion about possibly going as high as 5.7649 mills to pay for the city’s $730 million budget, which was also tentatively approved.
Posted inRecreation, Sports
City Tentatively Approves $10 Fee For Athletic Field Use, Replaces Library Fees
The city gives and the city takes away. The City Commission this week unanimously voted to replace 10-cents-a-day late fees for library books, and also to begin charging youth athletic organizations $10 per child per season for sports participation on city fields, beginning in January. They will formally vote on the matters as part of […]
