Local

A woman was seriously injured early Saturday morning when her car slammed into a utility pole near the intersection of U.S. Highway 90 and SW Commerce Drive. (COURTESY LAKE CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT)

A woman was seriously injured early Saturday morning when her car slammed into a utility pole near the intersection of U.S. Highway 90 and SW Commerce Drive. (COURTESY LAKE CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT)

Woman seriously injured after hitting pole

NEWS STAFF
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
A woman was seriously injured early Saturday morning after her vehicle crashed into a pole on the west side of Lake City. The Lake City Fire Department responded to W. U.S. 90 and SW Commerce Drive just after midnight Saturday to a single-vehicle crash.
Michael Klink with Four Waters Engineering updated Lake City Council members on the progress of the Gwen Lake restoration project. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

Michael Klink with Four Waters Engineering updated Lake City Council members on the progress of the Gwen Lake restoration project. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

Gwen Lake will show ‘good improvement’ after project

JAMIE WACHTER
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
Nearly three quarters of a million cubic feet will be added to Gwen Lake through a restoration project. During a brief workshop Monday, Michael Klink with Four Waters Engineering updated the Lake City Council on the restoration project of the lake on the northwest side of Lake City.

Nobody injured in crash involving Suwannee bus

NEWS STAFF
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
FORT WHITE — Nobody was injured Tuesday morning when a Suwannee County school bus ran into debris on the roadway in southern Columbia County. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a water heater fell off a trailer on U.S. Highway 27 near SW Bobcat Drive around 9:20 a.m.
Columbia County Commissioner Rocky Ford voted against the Land Development Regulations change on RV parks, saying it was picking ‘winners and losers,’ favoring those already in place. (MORGAN MCMULLEN/Lake City Reporter)

Columbia County Commissioner Rocky Ford voted against the Land Development Regulations change on RV parks, saying it was picking ‘winners and losers,’ favoring those already in place. (MORGAN MCMULLEN/Lake City Reporter)

County limits RV park developments

MORGAN MCMULLEN
Friday, March 28, 2025
RV parks and campgrounds will be at a premium in the near future in Columbia County.
Gerard Gardner (clockwise from left), a New Millennium employee, shows Baker County High School students Mikayla Evans and Brooklyn Welsh how to work on building supports. (FILE)

Gerard Gardner (clockwise from left), a New Millennium employee, shows Baker County High School students Mikayla Evans and Brooklyn Welsh how to work on building supports. (FILE)

Build My Future expo set for Wednesday

TONY BRITT
Friday, March 28, 2025
A local corporate manufacturer is hoping expose hundreds of area students to the trade industry next week when a trade expo showcases the tools, skills and career options available.

State pours $3.8M into city wetlands

JAMIE WACHTER
Friday, March 28, 2025
Nearly $4 million in state funding will re-energize a City of Lake City wetland recharge project. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection announced Wednesday $3.8 million in a Springs Restoration Grant to the city to expand its recharge wetlands at the Steedly Field spray field.
Joseph Peurrung, the owner of Security Safe (right), and Chelsea Flores, owner of Chelsea Flores State Farm Insurance, donated 24 smoke detectors to the Lake City Fire Department this week. Assistant Fire Chief Ret Tompkins accepted their donation. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Joseph Peurrung, the owner of Security Safe (right), and Chelsea Flores, owner of Chelsea Flores State Farm Insurance, donated 24 smoke detectors to the Lake City Fire Department this week. Assistant Fire Chief Ret Tompkins accepted their donation. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Detector donations boost LCFD, community safety

TONY BRITT
Friday, March 28, 2025
The Lake City Fire Department is taking more of a proactive role toward protecting life in structure fires. It has also enlisted a few partners to help them achieve its goal.

Lake City man charged for posssessing child porn

NEWS STAFF
Friday, March 28, 2025
A Lake City man was arrested this week for possession of child pornography. According to a Columbia County Sheriff’s Office release, 42-year-old Thomas Rike Jr. was arrested Monday on a warrant for 10 counts of possession of child pornography as part of an “Internet Crimes Against Children” case.
Lake City firefighters Hunter Anderson (from left) and Elliot Redish use two different hoses that will be used to douse blazes as they trained in the department’s newest fire truck. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Lake City firefighters Hunter Anderson (from left) and Elliot Redish use two different hoses that will be used to douse blazes as they trained in the department’s newest fire truck. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

LCFD firefighters get aerial training on new truck

TONY BRITT
Wednesday, March 26, 2025
The Lake City Fire Department is putting its new state-of-the-art fire truck through its paces and firefighters have spent most of the week training on the mobile behemoth.
City of Lake City Wastewater Director Cody Pridgeon looks in on a tank of untreated wastewater Wednesday morning at the North Florida Mega Industrial Park wastewater plant, which recently started operations. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

City of Lake City Wastewater Director Cody Pridgeon looks in on a tank of untreated wastewater Wednesday morning at the North Florida Mega Industrial Park wastewater plant, which recently started operations. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

NFMIP wastewater plant up and running

TONY BRITT
Wednesday, March 26, 2025
The North Florida Mega Industrial Park took a huge step to entice more businesses to the area when the facility’s new wastewater plant started operations a few days ago.