The road to Florence isn’t long when country music stars are in town. People flock from the East Valley to the Country Thunder music festival, spurring the question: What else is there to see in Florence? It didn’t take long to find an answer — alpacas.

2013 Team tennis state tournament

While Thursday's opening day at Country Thunder was the shortest day concert-wise, there was no disappointment in the four acts that took the stage – especially not when it came to headliner Brantley Gilbert.

She may have grown up in Michigan, but Jana Kramer is country at heart. The former “One Tree Hill” actress entered into the music scene in 2012 with the release of her self-titled debut album. She has since been enjoying success in the genre — gearing up for a tour with Blake Shelton, planning her wedding with fellow country music star Brantley Gilbert, and heading to Arizona for a performance at Country Thunder, the annual music festival in Florence. In between it all, she chatted briefly with the Tribune about her career and what fans will experience this weekend at her show.

Arizona’s biggest country music festival brings big names Kip Moore, Brantley Gilbert, Jana Kramer, Eric Church, pictured, Lee Brice, Toby Keith and Lady Antebellum to the Valley.

Here are the East Valley high school varsity football schedules for 2013. This list will be continuously updated.

A van carrying Arizona Department of Corrections officers rolled over after the driver lost control when a tire blew out on Interstate south of Phoenix, injuring at least one of the officers.

Cody Bellinger pitched a complete game, three-hitter, striking out 10 to lead Hamilton to a 3-0 shutout of Jenks (Okla.) in the National High School Invitational in North Carolina on Thursday.

Mesa Unified School District will need to hire another high school principal after first-year principal Tim Richard announced he will leave Westwood High School at the end of the school year.

Division I

It’s state playoff time. Here are the final boys basketball rankings as all four divisions begin their state tournaments this week.

TUCSON — Gilbert Christian boys basketball coach Jerome Joseph wasn't a big fan of having to spend several nights in Tucson last February, though any dissent was ignored in the midst of the Knights' state championship season.

Tucked away in the heart of San Tan Valley, The Good Life Festival – a multi-event, season-long gathering at Encanterra Country Club – regularly puts a focus on food, wine and music.

While there is a large amount of funding for higher education available, the mounds of paperwork can be intimidating.

FLORENCE — A man deported five times since 2005 has been arrested in Arizona on a probation violation and for allegedly assaulting a Pinal County Sheriff's deputy.

Savor la dolce vita at Encanterra Country Club, where a bouquet of celebrity chefs, including Food Network stars Duff Goldman and Tyler Florence, host tastings and cooking demos, and the Valley’s best restaurants offer food truck favorites along with a variety of wine and champagne.

In 2010 my wife and I purchased a home in San Tan Valley. We also own a home in Anchorage, Alaska. We would like to see environmentally responsible economic development in the East Valley to provide head-of-household salary jobs along with dollars that can be used to improve and expand public infrastructure, schools, etc.

Division I, II, III, & IV State Tournament (24 team bracket): Four (4) teams from each of the three sections for a total of 12 teams will earn an automatic bid based on how they finish within their sectional tournament. The final 12 spots will be based on overall seeding. The bracket will be seeded according to overall seeding of the 24 teams. Teams seeded #1 to #8 will get a first round bye.

James Contes is a good student with plenty of academic college options, but nothing yet for football.

Federal immigration officials on Friday released the mother of an immigration activist, less than a day after the woman and another relative were arrested at the family's Phoenix-area home.