16 transported after 2 airboats crash in Collier CountyNew bill filed: Auto shop and law enforcement must work together to solve hit-and-run crashes
16 transported after 2 airboats crash in Collier County According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, two airboats crashed south of U.S. 41 east between mile markers 74 and 75, leaving well over a dozen people injured.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA New bill filed: Auto shop and law enforcement must work together to solve hit-and-run crashes There could be new detectives on the block, located in your nearest auto shop. A new state bill aims at trying to stop hit-and-run drivers from getting away.
CAPE CORAL New leash on life; Cape Coral shelter dog beats cancer with drug being tested for humans A drug now being studied in human trials to kill cancerous tumors, is already approved and helping animals.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral planning a new interchange with I-75 The city of Cape Coral is in the early stages of planning a new interchange with I-75, an idea that has been discussed for more than a decade.
Tracking invasive species after hurricanes Hurricanes Helene and Milton didn’t just bring wind and rain, they brought new threats to southwest Florida’s ecosystem.
PUNTA GORDA Woman in Punta Gorda shooting charged with 2nd degree murder A woman in a homicide investigation on Nasturtium Drive in Punta Gorda has been charged with 2nd-degree murder.
Lee County mother continuing fight to get children a bus stop The school district already told her she lives too close to the school to qualify for a bus route but she has not given up.
NORTH NAPLES Grant Thornton Invitational returns to Tiburon Golf Club Stars on the PGA and LPGA Tours are back in Southwest Florida for the Grant Thornton Invitational at Tiburon Golf Club.
FORT MYERS Black Flag brings classic punk energy to The Ranch in Fort Myers Legendary punk band Black Flag made their mark in Southwest Florida during the Fort Myers stop of their “First Four Years” tour.
Charlotte Technical College breaks ground on aviation facility The Charlotte County School District is flying high and keeping its “Space Academy” designation with a new aviation training facility for students.Â
CAPE CORAL Man arrested in connection with Cape Coral home invasion The Cape Coral Police Department has announced the arrest of one of three men suspected in a home invasion that took place earlier this month.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral residents react to $100M North Cape land deal The city of Cape Coral is seeing two projects that will change the city. One is called one of the most lucrative deals in county history.
Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association breaks ground on new Fort Myers headquarters As Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association’s president pointed out, about 1,000 people are still moving to Florida every day, and many of them are finding their way to Southwest Florida.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte County drug trafficker sentenced to 10 years A Charlotte County man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for drug trafficking.
lehigh acres ‘How to sign away parental rights?’; Lehigh Acres woman accused of killing her 4-month-old baby The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a woman accused of killing her 4-month-old baby.
16 transported after 2 airboats crash in Collier County According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, two airboats crashed south of U.S. 41 east between mile markers 74 and 75, leaving well over a dozen people injured.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA New bill filed: Auto shop and law enforcement must work together to solve hit-and-run crashes There could be new detectives on the block, located in your nearest auto shop. A new state bill aims at trying to stop hit-and-run drivers from getting away.
CAPE CORAL New leash on life; Cape Coral shelter dog beats cancer with drug being tested for humans A drug now being studied in human trials to kill cancerous tumors, is already approved and helping animals.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral planning a new interchange with I-75 The city of Cape Coral is in the early stages of planning a new interchange with I-75, an idea that has been discussed for more than a decade.
Tracking invasive species after hurricanes Hurricanes Helene and Milton didn’t just bring wind and rain, they brought new threats to southwest Florida’s ecosystem.
PUNTA GORDA Woman in Punta Gorda shooting charged with 2nd degree murder A woman in a homicide investigation on Nasturtium Drive in Punta Gorda has been charged with 2nd-degree murder.
Lee County mother continuing fight to get children a bus stop The school district already told her she lives too close to the school to qualify for a bus route but she has not given up.
NORTH NAPLES Grant Thornton Invitational returns to Tiburon Golf Club Stars on the PGA and LPGA Tours are back in Southwest Florida for the Grant Thornton Invitational at Tiburon Golf Club.
FORT MYERS Black Flag brings classic punk energy to The Ranch in Fort Myers Legendary punk band Black Flag made their mark in Southwest Florida during the Fort Myers stop of their “First Four Years” tour.
Charlotte Technical College breaks ground on aviation facility The Charlotte County School District is flying high and keeping its “Space Academy” designation with a new aviation training facility for students.Â
CAPE CORAL Man arrested in connection with Cape Coral home invasion The Cape Coral Police Department has announced the arrest of one of three men suspected in a home invasion that took place earlier this month.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral residents react to $100M North Cape land deal The city of Cape Coral is seeing two projects that will change the city. One is called one of the most lucrative deals in county history.
Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association breaks ground on new Fort Myers headquarters As Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association’s president pointed out, about 1,000 people are still moving to Florida every day, and many of them are finding their way to Southwest Florida.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte County drug trafficker sentenced to 10 years A Charlotte County man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for drug trafficking.
lehigh acres ‘How to sign away parental rights?’; Lehigh Acres woman accused of killing her 4-month-old baby The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a woman accused of killing her 4-month-old baby.
Iowa Caucuses 2020 (Credit: MGN) The Iowa caucus was held Monday, where Democratic candidates are making their last-minute pushes for votes. They are sending everything from text messages, to having people wear their gear and holding rallies. Those who are registered to vote in Iowa but were in Southwest Florida curing the day’s caucus got to take part in the event at the satellite caucus office in Port Charlotte. We looked at how the surrogate site works for Iowa voters in Southwest Florida. Temporary Iowa caucus chair Tome Andre and temporary secretary Susan Hegland have been hard at work preparing for the first Democratic Iowa satellite caucus in Charlotte County. “Last week, I participated in online training for the satellite caucus,” Andre said. Andre and Hegland have participated in caucuses since they first started in the 1970 and never left Iowa to go on vacation around caucus time. The caucus is called to order. The caucus chair and caucus secretary were just elected. Check out the room full of Iowans who were vacationing all over southwest Florida. @winknews pic.twitter.com/cqPGrrFn5u — Morgan Rynor (@Morgan_Rynor) February 3, 2020 “It does get cold in Iowa in the winter, and there are snowbirds that come to Florida or other southern places,” Andre said. “And why shouldn’t they have the opportunity to participate?” The caucus veterans tell us the satellite caucus, for the most part, will be the same as the ones held in Iowa, with a couple of exceptions. “You had to pre-register for the satellite caucuses, and you can’t just show up at the door and be a participant,” Andre said. How the satellite caucus works: Instead of casting votes, Iowans will debate the merits of candidates and go stand in a section of the room that is assigned to the candidate they want to win. “Absentee balloting is available for every other election but not this,” Hegland said. “And so this takes the place of absentee ballots.” The caucus officials will count the number of people in each group and double-check Candidates with the least amount of support are eliminated until there’s enough to declare a winner. Each candidate has a representative that is speaking for a minute on their behalf before Iowans go stand in a section of the room. @winknews pic.twitter.com/eiHB3rDQMp — Morgan Rynor (@Morgan_Rynor) February 3, 2020 As the caucus got underway, the atmosphere was fun with people laughing and getting along with everyone, even if they support a different candidate; because at the end of the day, the Democrats here say they want to take the White House back. The final results are already in with Amy Klobuchar taking the lead with 56 votes, Pete Buttigieg had 43 and Joe Biden had 33. All other candidates were eliminated from this caucus because they didn’t have enough people standing in their corner. That would include Elizabeth Warren, Mike Bloomberg, Bernie Sanders and others. People who caucused for them had to go and stand in another candidate’s section. Based on the final percentages, Klobuchar gets four delegates, Buttigieg gets three and Biden gets two. Those numbers are sent back to the state and the candidate with the most delegates will win the Iowa caucus. Iowa is a swing state, so Iowans we spoke to today say it’s important for everyone in the country to pay attention to the Iowa caucus. “We’re the start,” said caucusgoer Jean Carlson. “I think people see that we are not all decided. Some people are coming to the caucus today and making their decisions today because there are so many that have great qualities.” “We’re fairly educated on what the issues are and the stances of all the candidates are,” said caucusgoer Bob Shoemaker. What was interesting here is no one we spoke to could have predicted this outcome. “I came here to support Joe Biden, and it was a nice group of support, but it wasn’t enough. It’s a little concerning to see a lot of the moderate voters here in Florida from Iowa they really didn’t go for Joe as much as I hoped they would,” said Michael Sondergard. “We’ll see what happens tonight because this is a select group of older Iowans who are retired and have different ideas about things than what possibly the whole state might have,” said Janice Hopkins. We spoke to people who were certain Warren was going to be a viable candidate, but then they ended up picking Buttigieg when she was eliminated. Most people had left the room at about 5 p.m., but the people that were left discussed important issues that should be on their candidate’s platform. There were 96 satellite caucuses across the world as afar away as the country of Georgia. This caucus was also surprisingly fast, but we have a while before the final tally comes out. Most of the caucuses started at 7 p.m.