If last year was any indication, this year’s Rural Roots Day Agriculture Expo seems to be another hit in northern Santa Rosa County.

Milton expects crews to finish their first pass of storm debris by Oct. 30 and to substantially complete all work a month later, according to Milton City Manager Ed Spears.

Thirteen nonprofits serving Northwest Florida are celebrating after they each received $101,000 from a local organization.

The funds came from IMPACT 100 Pensacola Bay Area, a women’s philanthropy group that collects donations and distributes them to nonprofits each year through grants. Most of the organization’s money comes from its members, each of whom pays $1,000 annually.

A man was killed Oct. 25 when he was struck by an SUV while walking along Chumuckla Highway, according to a report by the Florida Highway Patrol.

Kayem Foods Inc., a Chelsea, Massachusetts, establishment, is recalling approximately 1,584,361 pounds of ready-to-eat (RTE) meat and poultry products because they may have experienced temperature abuse during storage, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Oct. 17.

According to FSIS, the meat products were produced from March 31 to Oct. 7, 2026.

Drivers should be ready for some delays beginning Oct. 26 as Highway 182 will undergo a yearlong improvement project, Santa Rosa County announced Oct. 21.

The Santa Rosa County Zoning Board has recommended approval of a request to allow the school district to build a wastewater treatment system next to Central School.

Board members approved the recommendation without objection on Oct. 8. The request now goes to the Santa Rosa County Commission, which will have the final say.

Santa Rosa County, along with every other county in Northwest Florida, is still waiting for federal disaster relief following Hurricane Isaias, which made landfall Oct. 9.

County officials told the Santa Rosa Press Gazette that debris removal is moving at a quick pace, with the county expecting the cost to climb to $25 million. The rub: The county only has $25 million set aside for disaster relief.

Residents on private roads in Santa Rosa County who have watched debris trucks pass by their neighborhoods since Hurricane Isaias should start seeing crews soon.

Santa Rosa County officials say that debris crews had hauled away nearly 62,000 cubic yards of debris from Hurricane Isaias by Oct. 19, with the county on pace to collect nearly all of the debris within the next 30 days, according to County Administrator Brad Baker.