Dayna Harpster

Jean Hall calls the burrowing owl her “spark bird,” meaning it launched her interest in bird photography. Her image of an owl won a major award from the National Audubon Society. Now a resident of Maine, Hall won the national 2025 Conservation Award for her photo of a burrowing owl on Marco Island.

Food truck parks are increasingly popular, drawing tourists and locals alike to their open-air hubs with a variety of dining options. Southwest Florida is home to quite a few.

A recent poll shows more than half of Americans are stressed about the cost of food -- so what can they do to help save money?

A Punta Gorda student's concern for her grandfather has inspired a national award-winning science fair project. "Making Sense of Scents" attempted to evaluate whether men or women have a better sense of smell.

Labor Day weekend plans usually involve family gatherings and barbecues. But for more than 100 people from all over the state, Labor Day included swooping into FGCU’s food forest in hopes of catching sight of a rare bird.

A new program at FGCU pairs students with mentors from the community. Deadline for application is Sept. 12.

Some Immokalee students are getting scholarships that simply require them to have a good time. Since 2015, Dr. Massoud Eghrari and his wife, Tayebeh, have awarded “fun money” scholarships in honor of Dr. Eghrari’s late wife, Isabella, to deserving Immokalee Foundation students. To be eligible, students must have successfully completed their first semester of college and write an essay about how they would spend $500 purely having fun.

Does anything say summer more than a s’more? A crackling campfire seems to call for the sweetness of graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows. But the KOA Kampground people have some ideas about sweetening the deal with peanut butter cups, strawberries and other enhancements.

Non-farm jobs took a slight uptick over the 12-month period ending in June in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area. During that time, jobs increased by .7 percent. But that lags behind national and state increases of 1.1 percent and 1.4 percent respectively, according to data released by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A town hall meeting at the Alliance for the Arts on Saturday drew a capacity crowd to the Foulds Theatre to discuss the future of the arts. Gov. DeSantis’ decision to deny arts and cultural grants to the vast majority of qualifying arts organizations in the state sparked the discussion.