Florida

A Whole Lot of Manatees Just Came Together at This Park

Published

2 years ago

January 30, 2024

A Whole Lot of Manatees Just Came Together at This Park

When Florida’s waters cool down in the winter, its resident manatees huddle together for warmth—this year, in record numbers. On Jan. 21, Volusia County’s Blue Spring State Park, which NPR dubs “one of the largest winter gathering sites for manatees” in the Sunshine State, witnessed a total of 932 of the marine creatures congregated, breaking the previous record of 736 just set on New Year’s Day, per the Friends of Blue Spring State Park. The nonprofit Save the Manatee Club notes that Jan. 21 was one of the season’s coldest mornings yet, with temperatures in the park’s St. Johns River hovering just above 58 degrees.

Manatees prefer waters that are at least 68 degrees, on account of their sluggish metabolism and thin layer of fat. Blue Spring’s waters are a comfy 72 degrees, which is why it’s become a literal hot spot for the sea cows. WFLA notes that the creatures typically seek out warmer natural springs around Florida, and even waters around electrical power plants—Tampa Electric, for example, actually hosts a manatee viewing center.

Monica Ross, a manatee expert at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, tells NPR that Florida’s recent spate of back-to-back cold fronts has contributed to the higher-than-usual number of manatees showing up in the state park outside of Orange City. She notes that ample food in warm springs is another factor, as algae blooms elsewhere are stunting the growth of the seagrass that manatees devour.

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Pollution, habitat loss, and run-ins with boats are other threats they regularly face. Citing figures from the state’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, NPR notes “an unusually high number” of manatee deaths on Florida’s east coast, with more than 1,000 perishing in 2021, mostly due to starvation. Estimates from the FWCC put the total number of manatees in Florida somewhere between 8,350 and 11,700, as of 2022. “The fact that [manatees] are choosing to be at Blue [Spring] shows how important of a site it is and what a manatee is really looking for, for survival,” Ross says. (Read more uplifting news stories.)

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Florida

Indiana Fever player has her Florida State women’s basketball jersey retired

Published

9 hours ago

November 17, 2025

Press Room

Indiana Fever player has her Florida State women’s basketball jersey retired

Indiana Fever forward Natasha Howard’s Florida State jersey was retired Sunday.

Howard wore No. 33 for the Seminoles from 2010-14, starting 127 games. She also holds heralded spots in program history:

1,811 points, fourth-most
1,046 rebounds, second
186 blocked shots, fourth

Howard’s scoring total was second when she left the program. She led FSU in career rebounds before Fever teammate Makalya Timpson (2021-25) grabbed more. The blocks were third most when Howard left, but Timpson has more.

The Fever selected Howard fifth overall in the 2014 WNBA Draft, and she played her first two seasons in Indiana. She returned in 2025 free agency, averaging 11.4 points and 6.6 rebounds for the league semifinalists.

Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at capeterson@gannett.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Subscribe to IndyStar’s YouTube page for Fever Insiders Live.

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Florida

Coast Guard rescues eight boaters 35 miles off Florida coast in disabled boat

Published

1 day ago

November 16, 2025

Press Room

Coast Guard rescues eight boaters 35 miles off Florida coast in disabled boat

VENICE, Fla. (CBS12) — A Coast Guard boat crew rescued eight boaters on Saturday after their 26-foot boat broke down 35 miles off the Venice Inlet.

At 9:30 p.m., the US Coast Guard (USCG) says an Air Station Miami aircrew located the disabled vessel in two to three foot seas and sent a boat crew to the boat’s location.

The boat was reported overdue by an officer with the Venice Police Department hours earlier at 1:44 p.m., per USCG.

See also: Florida deputy rushes into blazing trailer to pull residents to safety

The Coast Guard says all eight boaters were brought back to the boat ramp uninjured.

“Before going out on the water, make sure you tell someone where you are going and when you will be back,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Tyler Beasley, a Station Cortez boarding officer. “We recommend being as specific as possible so rescue crews have a reliable place to start searching in case of emergency. Boaters should always have Coast Guard-approved life jackets, VHF radio, signaling devices, and an emergency position locator beacon or personal locator beacon.”

USCG also highlighted the importance of mariners taking a safety course before going on the water.

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Florida

Ole Miss football fans chant, ‘We want Lane’ as Rebels defeat Florida

Published

2 days ago

November 15, 2025

Press Room

Ole Miss football fans chant, ‘We want Lane’ as Rebels defeat Florida

Ole Miss football took home a win in the “Lane Kiffin Bowl” in Week 12 with a 34-24 come-from-behind win vs. Florida.

Just as the Rebels closed off their 10th win of the season, moving one step closer to appearing in the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history, Ole Miss fans at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium made one thing clear to the Rebels brass and Kiffin: They want Lane.

As captured by the ESPN broadcast, “We want Lane” chants broke out in the Ole Miss student section after Kiffin has been linked to the Florida open head coach vacancy, on top of numerous other Power Four conference openings. It appeared not to faze him, as he remained locked in on the final 60 seconds of the game:

Given what he has done in seven seasons at Ole Miss, Kiffin has become a regular on coaching hot boards as positions become available across college football.

On top of his ties to the state of Florida, former Gators coach Steve Spurrier, who told USA TODAY Sports’ Blake Toppmeyer last month that he is a fan of Kiffin and thinks he is a “very good coach.”

“I wanted to be Steve Spurrier,” Kiffin said during a recent appearance on the “Pardon My Take” podcast. “When I watched him and his offenses in the visor and kind of the way he’d throw jabs at other coaches and team and stuff, I was like, Steve Spurrier is the man. That’s what I want to be.”

Kiffin himself has talked at length about his name being tossed around in the coaching carousel, including saying on an appearance on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” that he will never “make a decision based on money” and that he hasn’t made one based on money in his coaching career.

The win over Florida moved Ole Miss’ record to 54-19 overall under Kiffin.

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