Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference at the Hardee County Cattleman’s Arena near Wauchula.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference at a state college in Hardee County.

After Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd called for the arrest of a driver who struck and killed a 9-year-old boy on Friday, the suspect reportedly turned himself over that night.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Saturday will hold a news conference at the Hardee County Emergency Management office in Wachula.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday awarded a total of $2.3 million to six institutions for Commercial Driver’s License and nursing-related training programs.

FORT MYERS, Fla. – An endangered Florida panther has died after being struck by a vehicle. It’s the fifth panther death attributed to fatal collisions, out of seven total deaths this year, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The remains of the panther were found last Wednesday in Hardee County on a rural road near Wauchula, wildlife officials said. Florida panthers once roamed the entire Southeast, but now their habitat mostly is confined to a small region of Florida along the Gulf of Mexico. Up to 230 Florida panthers remain in the wild.