News Archive

Santa Rosa County students return Aug. 10 to a district coming off an “A” rating and to a school year Superintendent Karen Barber says is one of the most expansive in recent memory.

A gymnastics coach and social media content creator from Navarre who had moved to Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty Monday, July 20, in federal court to multiple charges related to the production, possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material, as well as money laundering.

Theresa Mitchell, 44, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to produce and distribute child sexual abuse material, two counts of production of child sexual abuse material, one count of receipt of child sexual abuse material, one count of possession of child sexual abuse material and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

A Santa Rosa County woman was sentenced to 12 years in prison on July 27 after pleading guilty to multiple charges related to stealing more than $1 million from a local electrical company.

A Santa Rosa County man was sentenced to five years in state prison for torturing a kitten to death in December 2025, according to a news release from the state attorney’s office.

The City of Milton failed to complete the bookkeeping required for its annual audit, a lapse the city’s outside auditor said will result in multiple findings and at least $15,000 in additional audit work approved by the Milton City Council on July 23.

One of Santa Rosa County’s oldest schools is getting a breath of new life as the Santa Rosa County School Board approved a $34 million phase one project which will see middle and high school students move into a new two-story building by 2029.

A proposed upcoming budget from the Santa Rosa County School Board would trim the property tax rate slightly while collecting more in taxes, as rising property values offset declining enrollment and a drop in state funding.

Santa Rosa County commissioners on July 23 recognized the Navarre Rotary Club for its work to prevent drownings on local beaches, adopting a proclamation marking July 19-25 as National Drowning Prevention Week.

Heart attack patients in Santa Rosa County don’t have to be rushed across the bay into Escambia County for life-saving treatment. Santa Rosa Medical Center now provides 24/7 emergency cardiac catheterization.

A man who fled deputies serving felony warrants and swam into the Blackwater River was found dead July 22, according to a news release from the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office.