Julia Cooper
Monroe County Bureau ReporterJulia Cooper reports on all things Florida Keys and South Dade for WLRN.
Before joining the team full-time, she was WLRN’s Fall 2023 Intern and graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor’s in Journalism and minor in Women’s Studies.
During her time at UF, she served as an audio producer and multimedia journalist for WUFT News, North Central Florida’s NPR-affiliate. She also served as a photojournalist for The Independent Florida Alligator and the Gainesville Sun, and reported for the statewide Fresh Take Florida news desk — you can see some of her reporting here.
Cooper also contributed to the award-winning project, The Price of Plenty which was a collaboration between journalists from the University of Florida and University of Missouri. That project was funded by a grant from the Pulitzer Center’s nationwide Connected Coastlines reporting initiative.
Her contributions to the audio news documentary Surviving Ian were recognized with a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award, she won first place in general assignment reporting from the Florida Association of Broadcast Journalists and placed in the Hearst Journalism Awards for the Audio News and Features category.
Julia can be reached at jcooper@wlrnnews.org.
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The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Thursday that they have an open investigation into the county’s Parks and Beaches Department over their cash handling practices. The move comes on the heels of an audit conducted by the Clerk of Circuit Court and Comptroller’s office released last week. -
Five high school seniors visited Key West from other parts of the country through a program called the American Exchange Project. The goal: send students to politically, socio-economically, and culturally places different from their hometowns. -
The City of Key Colony Beach is memorializing the late, former mayor and city commissioner Ron Sutton by naming Oct. 2 after him.
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Former Division Chief Andrea Thompson was indicted by a grand jury last month over a 2022 investigation into narcotics being stolen from the Trauma Star program.
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Despite being a chain of coastal communities vulnerable to hurricanes, Monroe County was one of the last areas in Florida without an Emergency Operations Center. With just two full months left this hurricane season, local officials in the Florida Keys have finally cut the ribbon on a new EOC. -
Two more artificial reef projects are underway in the Florida Keys, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced Tuesday. The network will be placed in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. -
Key West City commissioners have assembled a search committee to find a new city manager months after the former manager, Al Childress, was fired without cause, despite widespread public opposition. -
New toll rates on Card Sound Road will be effective on Oct. 1, 2024. The toll adjustment is following the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index. -
Amid two ongoing government scandals, Monroe County commissioners have now said they’ll consider hiring a consulting firm to review all county departments and their processes. -
Months after the Florida Keys’ top tourism director was fired following several audits of the Tourist Development Council, the county now faces a whistleblower lawsuit. -
Several stations used by boaters, divers, researchers and meteorologists as a critical tool to understand sea surface conditions are becoming derelict and decommissioned, leaving those who rely on them, in the dark. -
Florida Keys food pantries are struggling to stay stocked up at a time when they’re seeing demand for food nearly double. “The bottom line is Monroe is really starving right now,” said the CEO of the largest food pantry operator in the Keys.
