Michael Braun
Managing editorMike Braun is a formerly with the Fort Myers News-Press and Naples Daily News where he worked for 17 years as a page designer/copy editor and breaking news reporter.
He also worked for 25 years at The Vindicator in Youngstown, Ohio, serving as a general assignment reporter, rewrite editor, copy editor, Sunday edition editor, outdoors columnist, designer and chief of the design desk.
He graduated in 1977 with a degree in media communications from Youngstown State University where he was editor-in-chief of the school newspaper The Jambar.
He lives in Fort Myers and is originally from Peoria, Illinois.
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The Florida Wildlife Commission reports that a third panther has been found dead since the beginning of December.The most recent big cat death is a 9-month-old, male Florida panther. Remains of the juvenile animal were collected on Monday in Hendry County and the suspected cause of death is vehicle collision. -
The tiniest crack in one of the eggs laid in the North Fort Myers nest along Bayshore was reported early Wednesday by the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam web site -
A Tampa political consultant connected to Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said the county's top cop isn't part of a "draft Marceno" for Congress effort. -
An insidious scam method that preys on people being oblivious to their actions has been seen in Florida but doesn't appear to have filtered down to our neck of the woods. A Facebook Reel made by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office offers a warning for those copying a QR code while parking. -
Naples Botanical Garden conducted a prescribed fire Monday on approximately two acres of their Preserve area. -
Several dozen people were arrested Saturday at the Everglades detention facility in Miami-Dade County. Members of the Sunrise Movement organization, which promotes action on climate change issues, were protesting at the detention center on Saturday afternoon. -
Nobody knew what to expect this year from M15 and F23, the breeding pair of eagles in North Fort Myers. The 2024-2025 breeding season nearly ended in total disaster. The two eaglets that the raptors produced contracted avian flu and died shortly into their young lives. The two adult eagles also fell ill, but survived. All this was watched with dread and anticipation last year via the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam website. This popular daily drama has been livestreaming an intimate view of the North Fort Myers eagle’s nest since 2012. -
An eagle nest in north Lee County that millions have watched over the years is again drawing attention. The breeding pair of American bald eagles in the North Fort Myers nest successfully continued their family this week. One egg was confirmed Wednesday and a second Saturday night at the Bayshore Road nest of F23 and M15. -
A former Naples property manager sought in connection with alleged fraudulent money practices at a number of Southwest Florida condo developments has reportedly been arrested and imprisoned in Colombia. -
Frustration and worry crossed the faces of customers coming Sunday to Immokalee’s only supermarket — Winn-Dixie — after they discovered it had closed. For good. Winn-Dixie’s parking lot was mostly leaves, dust and litter blowing in the windy weather Sunday after the store closed for business Saturday. A steady stream of customers tried for much of the morning to make purchases, only to be turned away by employees.
