Under new ownership, Best Pals Pet Resort in DeFuniak Springs has unveiled a stunning remodel, including a warm, welcoming reception area and new healthy treats for every guest. During the renovations, each team member wrote a Bible verse on the interior walls, a quiet reminder of the resort’s mission to nurture both pets and the people who care for them. Discover how this family-owned resort continues to set a new standard in dog care.
A group of local high school juniors recently stepped into the halls of government in Tallahassee through the Youth Tour program hosted by Choctawhatchee Electric Cooperative. From mock legislative sessions to an inside look at how decisions are made, the experience left a lasting impression—and four students have now been selected to represent the cooperative this summer in Washington, D.C. through the national program of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
In early 2026, the Miccosukee Tribe of Florida completed the purchase of about 25 acres of land in Walton County, located on the west side of Highway 331 between DeFuniak Springs and Freeport. The transaction, valued at approximately $2.25 million, has attracted local attention and sparked speculation about potential future uses of the property.
This spring, DeFuniak Springs is striking a new chord with the launch of Faith Factor, a faith-based singing competition that promises more than applause. The grand prize? A $10,000 purse and a spotlight bright enough to change someone’s story.
Over a hundred years ago, on a February Saturday in 1915, a group of women gathered at the request of the mayor of DeFuniak Springs. The town needed beautification. It needed sanitation. It needed leadership.
There are places where history doesn’t sit behind glass. It walks the sidewalk at dusk. It waits on shaded porches. It gathers—still—when given the right invitation.
Lake DeFuniak has always been one of those places.
Nearly perfectly round and improbably calm, the lake has long served as both compass and common ground for DeFuniak Springs. In the late nineteenth century, it drew educators, thinkers, musicians and families from across the country for the Florida Chautauqua—an ambitious experiment in lifelong learning that once placed this small Panhandle town at the center of a national cultural movement.
