WGCU Staff

Work is progressing on the new Fort Myers Beach pier. The original pier was all but washed away by Hurricane Ian in 2022.

Two men from Lehigh Acres were among three people arrested Monday on multiple charges related to commercial trap robbing.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is the federal government's primary science and natural-resource research agency. It operates thousands of stream gauges, well monitors, and sampling stations that track real-time river flow, groundwater levels, and water quality. Since the late 1990s the primary model or tool they use to estimate how pollutants (primarily nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus) move from the land into streams and rivers has been the SPARROW model. That stands for SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes. New research details a new kind of SPARROW model that improves or extends the understanding of nutrient pollution by accounting for what's called 'storage lag' — meaning legacy nutrients stored in soils or groundwater for longer than one season before entering streams, and how those lagged nutrients are impacting water quality across the United States. We learn more about this new model, and who will be using it from USGS research hydrologist who led the study, Olivia Miller.

Starting in the late 2000s, environmental engineers and policymakers began talking about taking "nature-based" approaches to protect ourselves from storms. Concepts like 'living shorelines' were developed, where planners would work with nature. Think planting seagrasses and protecting or restoring dunes along the beach, or strategic mangrove placement as examples. But those approaches are still far from standard. The Conservancy of Southwest Florida has created a new Flood Resilience Blueprint called Working with Nature that uses the City of Naples as a test-site to show just what's possible, and what approaches would work best and where. We learn more from their Climate Resilience Advisor, Dr. Carrie Schuman.

Lee County Commissioners Tuesday approved construction for a new Emergency Medical Services station and approving a lease for a temporary location, both in Alva on each side of the Caloosahatchee River.

The Pepper Ranch Preserve in Pepper Ranch Preserve in Immokalee annually experiences a native sunflower bloom. Reservations are now available to view the 2026 annual bloom event of native Southeastern sunflowers.

Tuesday, Sept. 15, is National Voter Registration Day. This annual nationwide event serves as a reminder of the fundamental importance of voting and is an opportunity to encourage and assist eligible citizens in registering to vote.

NASA launched the new Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope from Kennedy Space Center on Aug. 30. It's field of view will be about 100 times larger than the Hubble Space Telescope. Its initial primary five-year mission will focus on finding and understanding exoplanets (planets around other stars), doing astrophysics (studying other stars and how they behave), and mapping our galaxy to hopefully get a better handle on both Dark Matter and Dark Energy We talk with space reporter Brendan Byrne, and astronomer Dr. Derek Buzasi from University of Chicago to learn what makes Roman different, and what scientists have planned for it once it starts sending data back to Earth.

A broken bolt at Southwest Florida International Airport on Saturday caused water to rain down from the ceiling inside Terminal D.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that the cyclospora outbreak that sickened hundreds across the United States since May has ended.