Santa Rosa County Commissioner unanimously adopted the East Milton Master Plan on Feb. 26, paving the way for a long-term blueprint meant to guide officials on how to develop the growing community for years to come.

With an art career spanning 40 years, Dan Beck has built a name for himself.

Beck, an impressionist painter, has won numerous awards and recognitions for his artwork, which bridges traditional impressionism and contemporary art concepts.

On Saturday, March 7, the University of West Florida will host a community event spotlighting the importance of prescribed burns in wildlife conservation efforts.

UPDATE: All lanes of Highway 90 just east of the Blackwater River Bridge in East Milton have reopened. They were previously closed due to a traffic crash.

Multiple first responder agencies responded March 2 to a medical emergency at Kennedy Bridge on the Blackwater River, near the Santa Rosa-Okaloosa County line.

An 18-year-old man has been charged with murder in the shooting death of his 19-year-old girlfriend inside a camper in Harold, according to an arrest report by the Santa Rosa County Sherriff’s Office.

Vernon Compton stands on the edge of Clear Creek Nature Preserve, where Longleaf Alliance, a conservation organization he belongs to, is currently working to create trails for public recreation.

He said it’s an exciting time for conservation in Northwest Florida.

Despite being a well-known figure in Northwest Florida in his time, Jackson Morton’s name has fallen into obscurity.

Born in 1794 in Fredericksburg, Virginia, Morton moved to Milton in the 1820s and began a successful brickmaking enterprise, selling mainly to those building Pensacola’s Naval fortifications.

He later parlayed his business success into a political career, eventually serving a term in the U.S. Senate from 1849 to 1855. Years later, he served in the Confederacy’s version of the Senate.

Loxy, a red fox and longtime animal ambassador with Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge, passed away earlier this year.

Right around the start of 2026, Loxy was diagnosed with bone cancer. During that time, Loxy stopped eating and playing.