Local

DeSoto Derby Canoe Race committee members Dana Solenski (from left), Brandy Meeks, Troy Markham, Lindsey Markham, Rosy Sparks, Chris Samson and Jerry Solenski, stand on the banks of Lake DeSoto. Elks Lodge #893 is hosting a canoe race this weekend on the lake as a fundraiser. (COURTESY)

DeSoto Derby Canoe Race committee members Dana Solenski (from left), Brandy Meeks, Troy Markham, Lindsey Markham, Rosy Sparks, Chris Samson and Jerry Solenski, stand on the banks of Lake DeSoto. Elks Lodge #893 is hosting a canoe race this weekend on the lake as a fundraiser. (COURTESY)

Elks Lodge to host inaugural DeSoto Canoe Race

TONY BRITT
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Local Elks Lodge #893 is offering up a dose of wet and wild fun in the downtown area this weekend as it hosts the inaugural DeSoto Canoe Race on Lake DeSoto. The DeSoto Derby Canoe Race will take place at Lake DeSoto at 10 a.m. Saturday behind the Elks Lodge.
Jared Hires, Dive Rite’s general manager and son of owner and co-founder Lamar Hires, wears the company’s chest-mounted rebreather on a dive. (COURTESY)

Jared Hires, Dive Rite’s general manager and son of owner and co-founder Lamar Hires, wears the company’s chest-mounted rebreather on a dive. (COURTESY)

Dive Rite celebrates 40 years

JAMIE WACHTER
Friday, March 15, 2024
Even after 40 years, Dive Rite is still serious about “equipment for serious divers.” The Lake City-based diving equipment company celebrated its 40th anniversary of being incorporated Thursday.

Sikes cleared by ethics board

JAMIE WACHTER
Friday, March 15, 2024
Lake City’s clerk has been cleared of any alleged wrongdoing by the state’s ethics board. The Florida Ethics Commission considered a complaint filed by Sylvester Warren last September at its March 8 meeting.
The Florida Department of Transporation recently installed a WeatherStem system on Interstate 10 in Suwannee County. (COURTESY)

The Florida Department of Transporation recently installed a WeatherStem system on Interstate 10 in Suwannee County. (COURTESY)

DOT installs WeatherStem near I-10/I-75 interchange

NEWS STAFF
Friday, March 15, 2024
The Florida Department of Transportation and the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office — Division of Emergency Management should be better informed of dangerous weather moving forward.
Niblack Elementary alumni Conrad Wallace (from left), Vallice Caldwell and Ronald Griffin gather on the stage in the Niblack cafeteria during Thursday’s tour. (MORGAN MCMULLEN/Lake City Reporter)

Niblack Elementary alumni Conrad Wallace (from left), Vallice Caldwell and Ronald Griffin gather on the stage in the Niblack cafeteria during Thursday’s tour. (MORGAN MCMULLEN/Lake City Reporter)

Niblack alum tour campus ahead of demolition

MORGAN MCMULLEN
Friday, March 15, 2024
Sixty years after they passed through the hallways and classrooms of Niblack Elementary, a trio of Soaring Eagles alumni got the chance to take a tour of the school one last time before it’s set for demolition this summer.
Columbia County Commissioner Rocky Ford said the North Florida Water Utilities Authority needs to move forward. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

Columbia County Commissioner Rocky Ford said the North Florida Water Utilities Authority needs to move forward. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

Columbia, Suwannee tired of waiting on regional utility

JAMIE WACHTER
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Officials from Columbia and Suwannee counties are ready to move forward with a regional utility authority, with or without any other members.
Tina Siefert (left) is sworn in as the Third Judicial Circuit’s new General Magistrate by Chief Judge Melissa Olin as Seifert’s fiancee John Blanchard holds the Bible during the private swearing-in ceremony Friday in the Columbia County Courthouse. (COURTESY)

Tina Siefert (left) is sworn in as the Third Judicial Circuit’s new General Magistrate by Chief Judge Melissa Olin as Seifert’s fiancee John Blanchard holds the Bible during the private swearing-in ceremony Friday in the Columbia County Courthouse. (COURTESY)

Seifert sworn in as general magistrate

TONY BRITT
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
A local attorney who has served in the local courts for more than 20 years as a family attorney, prosecutor and personal injury attorney will now get to serve residents as the circuit’s general magistrate.

Gun-wielding man arrested at hotel

NEWS STAFF
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
A social media beef led to shots fired and an arrest at a local hotel Tuesday. According to a Lake City Police Department release, officers were called to the Baymont Inn at 3598 W. U.S. Highway 90 around 5:45 a.m. Tuesday to reports of an armed and dangerous person.