Hernando County to Unveil Charlie Kirk Memorial Highway Sign Feb. 27

Hernando County will host a sign unveiling ceremony to mark a portion of California Street as the Charlie Kirk Memorial Highway on Friday, February 27, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. The ceremony will take place at the sign location at the corner of California Street and Powell Road in Spring Hill, with parking available at Chocachatti Elementary School, 4135 California St.

The Board of County Commissioners approved the memorial designation at a regular BOCC meeting on October 14, 2025, voting unanimously 5-0 to rename the stretch between Powell Road and Spring Hill Drive. Commissioner Steve Champion originally raised the proposal during that meeting and received full board support following brief discussion and public comment.

Commissioner Champion described Charlie Kirk’s work in the Oct. 14 discussion, saying, "Kirk stood for faith, family, freedom and open-mindedness." Champion added that Kirk's work "was one of the reasons Trump won the 2024 election" and characterized Kirk as having died "while working to reverse what he called the indoctrination college and university students receive from higher education."

The designated stretch runs past Chocachatti Elementary School and the high school known variously in reports as Nature Coast Technical High School and Nature Coast High School. County organizers directed attendees to park at Chocachatti Elementary, and Hernando County’s Public Information Office provided logistical contact information for the event: (352) 540-6426. The county main line is (352) 754-4000.

County materials note the ceremony and the BOCC action were issued in a Hernando County media release by Reagan Brady on Feb. 17, 2026, announcing the Feb. 27 sign unveiling. At the Oct. 14 meeting, local residents Kevin Rupin, Jill McAllister and Kelly Dodson presented a proposed courthouse mural tied to the Kirk memorial idea and received a warm reception from commissioners, according to meeting materials.

Charlie Kirk, who founded Turning Point USA, was shot and killed at a rally at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10. Sources say Turning Point USA has received more than 120,000 inquiries to start new campus chapters since Kirk's assassination; the figure has been circulated in local reporting and has not been independently verified by the county release announcing the sign unveiling.

Hernando County’s media release states the sign unveiling will commemorate "the designation of a portion of California Street as the Charlie Kirk Memorial Highway." For more information about the Feb. 27 ceremony, contact the Hernando County Public Information Office at (352) 540-6426.