Lakewood Ranch, FL

A night of bourbon tastings at Loaded Cannon Distillery is doing more than filling glasses. On Wednesday, November 11, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., the Southwest Florida Council of Scouting America brings Bourbon & Bowties to Lakewood Ranch for the third year running. The lineup includes whiskey tastings, a best bowtie contest, auctions, and a…

Surrounded by close friends, family members and his campaign volunteers at the Grove in Lakewood Ranch, Cam Bedinghaus couldn't find the words.At 23 years old, he was voted to the school board, representing District 5 in the School District of Manatee County.His opponent, Jonathan Mullis, earned 20,999 votes, or 48.29%, of the vote. Bedinghaus edged him with 22,490 votes, or 51.71% of the vote."I'm a little overwhelmed with emotion, but I'll say I'm hoping we get the priori

The Suncoast now has the top two farmers markets in the country, at least by popular vote. The Sarasota Farmers Market placed first nationally in the 2026 America’s Farmers Market Celebration People’s Choice rankings with 10,728 votes, and the Farmers’ Market at Lakewood Ranch finished second with 10,065. The celebration is run by American Farmland…

Lakewood Ranch residents should sleep better knowing a new, 5,000-square-foot Manatee County Sheriff’s Office substation opened at Premier Sports Campus North with a ribbon cutting Oct. 30. “As Manatee County continues to grow, we envision using this facility, allowing us to expand our presence and better position this agency to meet the needs of our growing community out east,” Sheriff Rick Wells said.Unincorporated Manatee County, which encompasses 741 square miles, is

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has selected a project team to build a 135,000-square-foot outpatient clinic to serve veterans in Sarasota and Manatee counties. Spanning two stories, the clinic will be at 2390 Lakewood Ranch Blvd., in a fast-growing area near Fruitville Commons. It will have about 200 employees, according to VA documents. The VA awarded the rights to develop, own and lease the new clinic to CMI Cullinan JV LLC, a joint venture between Illinois-based commercial and

A new visitor center from Dogs Inc. opens in Lakewood Ranch this weekend, giving Suncoast residents a free, hands-on look at how guide and service dogs are trained. The grand opening is Saturday, Oct. 24, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 5815 Lakewood Ranch Blvd. in Bradenton, with guide and service dog demonstrations, a…

A new local guide has mapped out a dozen ice cream shops between downtown Sarasota and Lakewood Ranch, and the range is bigger than you might expect. Main Street Creamery downtown partners with Yoder’s Southern Creamery for dozens of flavors plus shakes, malts and floats. In the Rosemary District, Great Heights Creamery makes small-batch ice…

The School Board of Manatee County has filed an action for declaratory relief — a civil lawsuit — against Southwest Charter Inc. in the 12th Judicial Circuit Court.A judge will decide the dispute regarding the claims by Lakewood Ranch Prep and Manatee Charter School (both Southwest Charter Inc. schools) that they should be receiving a full share of what every non-charter district school is receiving from the half-cent sales tax. In 2002, the voters of Manatee County first appro