Happy two year anniversary, Lakeland. We can’t believe that it’s been a full two years since we launched and celebrated with you all at Cob & Pen. Oh, the memories…

To celebrate our second birthday, we put together some of our favorite stories and posts – and a snapshot of how far we’ve come – and where we’re going. Plus, a little reminder of who exactly we are.

🎉 Here’s a snapshot of two years ago today…

Subscribers: We started with 5,525. Today: 32,847K subscribers. We appreciate every single one of you.
Instagram followers: We started with nearly 7,783 followers. Today: 14.1K followers. Y’all make our community thrive with your tags and comments.
Facebook followers: We started with about 9,624 followers. Today: 14K followers. An extra shoutout to the 40+ of you who have given us 5-star reviews.

🎉 Here are some of our favorite conversations our staff has had with you this year…

Trackable Trees at Lake Morton | “This was the very first conversation I wrote as an Editor with LALtoday, and, call me sentimental, but nothing beats the first time you’ve tried something. Being able to write about something so unique + exciting coming to Lake Morton was great.” – Katelyn
We recreated the Polk County soup that went to space | “History + food – what’s there not to like? Around National Soup Day (because apparently that’s a thing), we gave the 411 on a very spac-ial recipe from Polk County that pretty much ended up becoming the official soup for NASA astronauts. Peep that green soup I made (and tried) – just for y’all. ” – Kaylee

Katelyn, Editor, is a Disney Passholder + dachshund mom with a love for literature. She’s just completed her first full-month at LALtoday + you can find her in the Starbucks drive-thru or blasting ‘the oldies’ a little too loud.

Here are a few conversations she had the most fun writing this year:

Meet the LALtoday team
- Want to learn even more about your LALtoday Editors? This convo gives you more insight into Kaylee + Katelyn - their likes, interests, and more.

Polk Businesses on Inc.’s 5,000 Fastest Growing Companies list
- Think of your favorite Polk County business. Then, think of them gracing Inc. Magazine, cool thought, right? Well, multiple Polk County businesses made this list this year. This piece covers all of them.

Trackable Trees at Lake Morton
- This was the very first conversation I wrote as an Editor with LALtoday, and, call me sentimental, but nothing beats the first time you’ve tried something. Being able to write about something so unique + exciting coming to Lake Morton was great.

Kaylee, Editor, is a wannabe hiker, attempting to take on all 1,300 miles of the Florida trail, one boot at a time. When she’s not taking a bunch of words + putting them in a blender, you can catch her researching true crime, playing video games, or exploring Canada with her S.O.

Here’s a few conversations she had the most fun writing this year:

We recreated the Polk County soup that went to space
- History + food – what’s there not to like? Around National Soup Day (because apparently that’s a thing), we gave the 411 on a very spac-ial recipe from Polk County that pretty much ended up becoming the official soup for NASA astronauts. Peep that green soup I made (and tried) – just for y’all.
Will Lakeland ever get a high-speed rail?
- As someone who genuinely tries to avoid I-4 for its spaghetti-like nonsense, I’m holding out hope that a high-speed rail will one day come to town. I loved hearing from the City of Lakeland on if this could ever happen, and even more so, loved hearing your opinions on why it should or shouldn’t happen.
Resources for domestic violence survivors in Polk County
- While I wouldn’t consider this topic “fun,” as a DV survivor myself, I’d say this conversation felt pretty crucial. Shout out to all the organizations around Polk County that continue to tirelessly work toward eradicating domestic violence in our community.

Our partners

We couldn’t do what we do without our incredible year-one Partners. These local bizzes invest back into their community by supporting LALtoday and help us provide this free newsletter every morning.

Want to learn about how you can be a part of the conversation? Check out our advertising opportunities here.

– LALtoday team (Kaylee + Katelyn)

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