Nicole may cause flooding along the Peace River

The Peace River in Southwest Florida was flooded for weeks before Ian made landfall, is finally seeing the flood water go down. But, with Nicole inching closer to Florida, people near the river quickly need to get ready for more rain. WINK News spoke with Mandie Moore, who lives in River Acres. She and her […]

Debris clustered on Bonita Springs streets while Nicole approaches

Many Southwest Florida residents are working on picking up trash and debris from our streets as subtropical storm Nicole is expected to make landfall in Florida. Hickory Boulevard on Bonita Beach was one of the hardest hit areas by Ian. And as people try to clean up the massive damage, they must figure out preparations […]

Tropical Storm Nicole weakens as it approaches Tampa Bay area

The Weather Authority is currently tracking Tropical Storm Nicole. Nicole made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane at 3 a.m. on Hutchinson Island (just south of Vero Beach). By the 10 a.m. advisory, its maximum wind speed had dropped significantly to 50 mph. While primary impacts are being felt on the east coast of Florida, […]

Hurricane relief private charity event in Naples

  A chance meeting for one woman and a child both wanting to help after Hurricane Ian, and now they have teamed up. A quest that Aletha Shapiro went on to help her community after Hurricane Ian turned into a blessing in disguise. The Florida Poor Peoples Campaign rallied on Saturday at St. Phillip CME […]

Portable campus approved for Lee County school worth nearly $20M

The price tag on a proposal to get kids out of crowded classrooms just got bumped up to $20,000,000. The Lee County School District approved the contract to build a portable campus next to Hector Cafferata Elementary. The building in Cape Coral was severely damaged in the storm, and students were moved to other schools. […]

septic tank

Septic tanks affected in SWFL after Hurricane Ian

Septic tanks are all over our community, and many WINK News viewers may have a septic tank at their homes and not even realize it. And because they’re underground, if they get damaged, it could dramatically affect the water quality in Southwest Florida. WINK News spoke with the Southwest Environmental Septic Service, who said, “Everything […]

Habitat For Humanity first home wall-raising since Hurricane Ian

Habitat For Humanity is still, despite Hurricane Ian, helping families find homes through its affordable homeownership program. Volunteers with Pelican Landing and The Colony in Bonita Springs came out and helped future homeowners Itzel Garcia and Jorge Mong as they raised the walls to see their future home. “I’m very grateful, I mean, it’s a […]

WINK News ride along as Hurricane Ian debris cleanup continues in Lee County

WINK News was allowed to ride along as crews went out in Lee County to clean up the mess Hurricane Ian left behind. The site has already handled 3,000,000 cubic yards of debris. And it’s not just from Lee County, surrounding cities have contributed a fair amount to the pile. CrowderGulf project manager, Barry Lund, […]

Getting Lee County students out of shelters and back into class

School staff is inside an emergency shelter helping students get back into the classroom after Hurricane Ian. There are 87 children inside the North Fort Myers shelter, the school district gave WINK News the numbers on Tuesday. There are dozens of kids in that shelter between the ages of 1 and 19, and it hasn’t […]

Damage around Bonita Beach after Hurricane Ian

A long road to recovery for a lot of Southwest Florida, and in particular Bonita Beach, four weeks after Hurricane Ian. Looking down onto Hickory Boulevard, it’s hard to make out what used to stand there. The trailer park is gone and pieces of homes are piled onto the side of the road. Trailers, cars, […]