Senior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior nightPolice: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg
NORTH NAPLES Senior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior night Aubrey Rogers senior pitcher and infielder McKenzie Vargas surprised by her Air Force cousin for Senior Night.
BONITA SPRINGS Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg Lee County deputies say the teen was accidentally shot in the leg.
PUNTA GORDA Exclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out Riley’s brother reached out to WINK on Friday, saying people aren’t getting the full story.
IMMOKALEE Caught on video: Huge gator crosses Immokalee neighborhood Fridays in Florida are for gators
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues Trying to get treatments for the brain when fighting neurological diseases like epilepsy and ALS is a challenge.
FORT MYERS NTSB report reveals new details in helicopter crash after Hurricane Ian The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on a helicopter crash that occurred in Iona, Florida, shortly after Hurricane Ian.
NAPLES Memorial celebrates the life of John Passidomo Hundreds of friends and family gathered for a memorial at Baker Park in Naples.
‘Latinos in Action’ empowers all students to succeed WINK News talked with teachers who are a part of the program, helping kids reach their full potential.
Immokalee ‘The eyes always draw me in’; Immokalee portrait artist turns dark times into color One of Southwest Florida best portrait artist, Martha Maria Cantu, almost gave up art. Now she’s on the forefront of the city of Immokalee, to make her community filled with color.
NORTH NAPLES Senior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior night Aubrey Rogers senior pitcher and infielder McKenzie Vargas surprised by her Air Force cousin for Senior Night.
BONITA SPRINGS Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg Lee County deputies say the teen was accidentally shot in the leg.
PUNTA GORDA Exclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out Riley’s brother reached out to WINK on Friday, saying people aren’t getting the full story.
IMMOKALEE Caught on video: Huge gator crosses Immokalee neighborhood Fridays in Florida are for gators
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues Trying to get treatments for the brain when fighting neurological diseases like epilepsy and ALS is a challenge.
FORT MYERS NTSB report reveals new details in helicopter crash after Hurricane Ian The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on a helicopter crash that occurred in Iona, Florida, shortly after Hurricane Ian.
NAPLES Memorial celebrates the life of John Passidomo Hundreds of friends and family gathered for a memorial at Baker Park in Naples.
‘Latinos in Action’ empowers all students to succeed WINK News talked with teachers who are a part of the program, helping kids reach their full potential.
Immokalee ‘The eyes always draw me in’; Immokalee portrait artist turns dark times into color One of Southwest Florida best portrait artist, Martha Maria Cantu, almost gave up art. Now she’s on the forefront of the city of Immokalee, to make her community filled with color.
FILE: A sleepy burrowing owl. (Credit: WINK News/FILE) Florida’s dwindling population of burrowing owls is having trouble finding homes. So, one island town is letting the birds stay in residents’ yards, rent-free. Those humans can then pocket an easy $250 for being generous landlords. This week, the Marco Island City Council agreed to set aside $5,000 every year to pay residents who host burrows for the vulnerable birds. Wildlife crews will dig the holes, and then it’s up to the owls to move in. About 500 burrowing owls live on Marco Island, but they’re exceedingly rare in the rest of the state, said Alli Smith, a biologist with Audubon of the Western Everglades, a conservation group. Urban owls live in empty lots Florida’s burrowing owls were listed as threatened in 2017 by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Historically, the pint-sized birds inhabited the grasslands of central Florida that have been lost to developments and farmland, Smith said. Now, the owls have relocated to more urban spaces. Marco Island and Cape Coral, about 45 miles north on Florida’s Gulf Coast, host the largest urban burrowing owl populations in the state. About 95% of Marco Island’s live on vacant lots, Smith said. Owners looking to build on the lots must get a permit, but then they can remove the burrows, displacing what few owls the state has left. “We’re just trying to give them some extra places to live,” she said. The first program of its kind In the future, the $5,000 grant will be supplemented by fines paid by residents who violate environmental protections. “Marco Island is the first in the state of Florida to enact a specific program like this, designed to expand the limited habitat of a state-threatened species while rewarding participants who wish to participate voluntarily,” Jared Grifoni, vice chairman of the city council, told CNN. The island’s burrowing owls have adapted to their human neighbors, compared to rural burrowers that avoid human contact. “That’s why this new program works for them,” he said. How to dig the perfect owl burrow Smith and the Audubon squad have hole digging down to a science. The owls don’t like being near trees or too close to homes, and digging in some spots could nick a pipe. They also don’t like sharing space; one owl family usually owns an entire lot. Marco Island was largely built above sea level, so their burrows aren’t at risk of flooding until summer. By then, the owls will be old enough to fly to safety, she said. Smith and her squad stick perches near the burrows to mark the entrance and give the owls a place to peer out. Then comes the waiting. Since fall 2017, the team has dug out 92 “starter burrows.” Owls have visited and lived in about one-third of them, she said. About 14 of the burrows have been “fully excavated” by owls, which means the owls visited, liked it, and built a series of tunnels to establish a permanent residence. “They’re pretty tied to their burrows,” she said. “Owls seem to be pretty good architects.” Since the grant was approved, Smith and her staff have been inundated with calls from excited Marco Islanders ready to adopt . “Most people I’ve talked to on the phone didn’t care about the money,” she said. “People just want owls in their yards.”