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This was 2024: The most impactful and joyful stories of the year

Some of WLRN's stories of joy and impact in 2024.
FWRI / Daniel Rivero / Mouldbreaker Interactive / Arts Garage / Todd Brewer / Matias J. Ocner
Composite: Some of WLRN's stories of joy and impact in 2024.

Another year comes to an end and WLRN's small but mighty news team has again covered the joy and the challenges of South Florida life, on the airwaves and on our digital platforms.

As always, the region was on the front lines of some of the country's biggest issues, particularly in an election year featuring our most famous resident.

But at WLRN we stay true to our public service mandate, covering local elections and community stories, bringing local government to account, keeping on top of South Florida's fragile environment, investigating regional health and education issues, examining the Latin America and immigration news that affect our residents, exploring the many facets of the affordability crisis — and also highlighting the beauty and hope in our region, along with the people behind it.

This year, our newsroom won five regional Murrow Awards as well as nine prizes — including reporter of the year — at the Florida Association of Broadcast Journalists. Among those wins was 2023's consequential Unguarded investigation, which also won other top prizes including in the annual Esserman-Knight Journalism Awards and from the national organization Investigative Reporters and Editors. Reporter Daniel Rivero won a human rights award, while WLRN's reporting series on immigration also won a public service journalism award.

As we ring in 2025, we revisit some of our best work from 2024. Read on for a collection of our most impactful and joyful stories.

The year in... Impactful stories

Florida Wildlife Research Institute researchers performed necropsies on 40 sawfish that died between January and June in an unprecedented die-off of the endangered species.
FWRI
Florida Wildlife Research Institute researchers performed necropsies on 40 sawfish that died between January and June in an unprecedented die-off of the endangered species.

One of the rarest fish on the planet is dying in the Keys. Scientists are struggling to find out why

In May, WLRN environment editor Jenny Staletovich broke the story of a worrying mystery in the Florida Keys: dozens of sawfish had been found dead, with over a hundred more reported in distress during a rare event that had also sickened more than 50 other species since November 2023.

In July, scientists declared the event was likely over, but scientists are still trying to figure out exactly how the die-off came about. In 2024. Jenny also uncovered a serious issue with Florida's most popular fish, the Mahi, which appear to be fleeing our waters — but reported on a hopeful project for queen conchs.

Read the full story here.

A man with wearing dark glasses and a gray polo looks directly into the camera
City of Miami
/
YouTube
Miami City Manager Art Noriega in a produced video message from November, 2023.

Miami city manager's wife was hired for office remodeling, raising ethics concerns

WLRN reporters Danny Rivero and Joshua Ceballos followed up their eye-opening 2023 investigation of the Guardianship Program of Miami-Dade with another consequential exposé. They found that the furniture company belonging to the family of Miami city manager Art Noriega's wife had picked up over $400,000 in contracts with the city, including for his own office.

Noriega immediately promised to release a full accounting of the dealings — but, two months later, produced an incomplete report. Chastised by commissioners and former city managers, he denied a conflict of interest but agreed to stop buying furniture from his wife's company.

Read the full story here.

Volunteers for United Way carry canned vegetables as they sort through donations to the "Be Like Mike" Feeding the Keys event on Friday, May 17, 2024.
Julia Cooper
Volunteers for United Way carry canned vegetables as they sort through donations to the "Be Like Mike" Feeding the Keys event on Friday, May 17, 2024. Pantry operators say that it's community events like this one that helps them stay stocked up.

As demand doubles, food supplies diminish in Florida Keys food pantries

The Florida Keys’ image etched in the minds of most is that of a paradise in the southernmost corner of America. Yet the reality is one of hardship and hunger for many in the service industry and other working-class who cater to the millions of tourists seeking an escape from the routine.

WLRN’s Julia Cooper, who covers the Keys, dug deeper to learn that demand for food pantries had doubled as families were overwhelmed with rising grocery and housing costs. She spoke to nonprofit food managers to learn what daily life was like for one in eight Monroe County residents who are deemed food insecure.

Read the full story here.

Vote-Blocked Venezuelans: Venezuelan expats, who have been effectively barred from voting in Venezuela's July 28 presidential election by the regime there, demonstrating in Doral this month for the political opposition in Venezuela after a forum on how to help Venezuelans back home vote.
Courtesy Edgar Simon Rodriguez
Venezuelan expats, who were effectively barred from voting in Venezuela's July 28 presidential election by the regime there, demonstrate in Doral ahead of the vote.

Venezuela’s massive diaspora can’t vote — but it’s still firing up voters

Venezuela has been in political crisis since a July election marred by serious fraud allegations. Both President Nicolás Maduro and the opposition claim to have won. Amid opposition protests and a harsh crackdown, opposition candidate Edmundo González went into exile in Spain.

In the week leading up to the July 28 election, WLRN Americas Editor Tim Padgett chronicled the democratic desires of millions of Venezuelans abroad who, despite Maduro’s efforts to squash their voice and votes, used their social media power and organizing efforts to try to oust the authoritarian regime.

Read the full story here.

And here are some of the highlights of Tim Padgett's Americas commentaries in 2024:

Blues musician Selwyn Birchwood strumming his base guitar at the Arts Garage in Delray Beach, a performing arts venue featuring music, theatre, visual arts, comedy, and arts education programming.
Arts Garage
Blues musician Selwyn Birchwood strumming his base guitar at the Arts Garage in Delray Beach, a performing arts venue featuring music, theatre, visual arts, comedy, and arts education programming.

South Florida arts community reeling from DeSantis veto of millions of dollars in state funding

After Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed $32 million in grants for arts and culture — the first time anyone can remember that there was no money for arts organizations in Florida's state budget — WLRN Palm Beach County reporter Wilkine Brutus looked at how the more than 600 groups statewide were scrambling to fill the financial void.

South Florida arts leaders, who say the industry pumps nearly $6 billion into the economy, called the decision ‘shocking.’

Read the full story here.

AFSCME Local 199
Daniel Rivero
/
WLRN
Members and staff of AFSCME Local 199 held a drive to get the amount of dues paying members past the 60% threshold created by a new Florida law.

Tens of thousands of workers in Florida have just lost their labor unions. More is coming

WLRN kept tabs on Gov. Ron DeSantis' sweeping 2023 anti-union bill, which required most public sector unions to boost the rate of members paying dues or be disbanded. A year after it came into effect, reporter Daniel Rivero painstakingly put together data from across the state — and what he found was astonishing.

His thorough report, revealing the devastating effect the law had on unionized labor, was one of our most read and shared stories of 2024. By August, 63,000 public employees across Florida had lost representation.

Read the full story here.

Sydney Melvin is helping 4th graders at Daughtrey Elementary
OCTAVIO JONES
Sydney Melvin is helping 4th graders at Daughtrey Elementary.

Role Call: Universities, schools partner to train more qualified teachers, but shortage persists

With more than 4,000 open positions in the run-up to the 2024-25 school year, the teacher shortage in Florida was among the worst in the nation. Elementary, special education and STEM teachers are the hardest to recruit.

In WLRN’s monthslong statewide project Role Call, reporter Yvonne zum Tobel spent time in classrooms throughout Florida to examine government-funded incentive programs that aim to mitigate the ongoing and pervasive shortage. She found that the programs are successful or promising — but too small to solve the problem.

Read the series here.

The City of Miami planned to demolish the Caribbean Marketplace at the Little Haiti Cultural Center when it took ownership of the property in 2005. Some fear for what could happen next, after the city gave the property two unsafe structures violations.
Daniel Rivero
/
WLRN
The Caribbean Marketplace at the Little Haiti Cultural Center.

After years of neglect, the Little Haiti Cultural Complex is getting needed repairs

Cultural landmarks around the City of Miami find themselves in limbo. Theaters and community spaces are closed and face expensive repairs. In the four-part series Culture of Neglect, WLRN shone a light on what our community leaders are doing — or not doing — to restore these long-standing institutions.

WLRN producer/reporter Jimena Romero reported on the reopening of a part of the long-neglected Little Haiti Cultural Complex. However, the outlook for the Olympia Theater, the Miami Marine Stadium and the Tower Theater was less hopeful.

Read the full story here. Read the series here.

A street in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, lies flooded during the passing of Hurricane Irma on Wednesday.
Jose Jimenez
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Getty Images
A street in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, lies flooded during the passing of Hurricane Irma on Wednesday.

How real trauma inspired an author to prepare children for hurricane season

As the 2024 hurricane season got underway, with frightening predictions of devastating activity, WLRN producer Ammy Sanchez looked at how children cope with storms. She spoke to a clinical psychologist about tips for hurricane anxiety, and interviewed author Sara Echenique, who had taken a story of trauma and turned it into a beautiful book.

She had read about a child who hadn’t been able to speak since the hurricanes Irma and Maria hit Puerto Rico. Her children’s picture book, Our Roof is Blue, follows two young siblings as they navigate the aftermath of a hurricane. Through the siblings’ journey, children learn practical preparedness tips.

Read the story here.

The year in... Stories of joy

John Crimber rides Cooper and Scruggs Bucking Bulls' Strker for 88 during the PBR Teams event in Oklahoma City, OK on July 14, 2024. Photo by Todd Brewer for Bull Stock Media
Todd Brewer/Todd Brewer for Bullstock Media
John Crimber rides Cooper and Scruggs Bucking Bulls' Strker for 88 during the PBR Teams event in Oklahoma City, OK on July 14, 2024. Photo by Todd Brewer for Bull Stock Media

No bull: South Florida's next professional sports team is bull riding

People don't usually associate bull riding with South Florida, but this year the state debuted its first professional bull riding team, based in Hollywood. What particularly drew WLRN digital producer Alyssa Ramos to the story was the team's ties to Latin America: more than half of the riders, as well as their internationally-renowned coach, are Brazilian.

In a wonderful audio and digital report — enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of readers — she painted an image of what rodeo culture looks like in South Florida and why people from as far as Brazil to chase the dream of being a bull rider.

Read the full story here.

A concert on Feb. 12, 2024, starring Lisa Fishman at the Weisman Delray Community Center, aimed to help people who have dementia or other causes of memory loss enjoy Yiddish music.
Verónica Zaragovia / WLRN
A concert on Feb. 12, 2024, starring Lisa Fishman at the Weisman Delray Community Center, aimed to help people who have dementia or other causes of memory loss enjoy Yiddish music.

Music rejuvenates the culture, history and memories of dementia patients

Medical experts have long explored how music can activate memory for years. Neurologists explain that episodes of our lives first get filed away in an inner region of the brain called the hippocampus. Over time, memories get stored for the long term in the outer layer of the brain, which is the cerebral cortex.

WLRN’s health reporter Veronica Zaragovia translated this medical mystery with the story of the late Lillian Cohn, of Delray Beach, and her daughter, Candy Cohn. The daughter told WLRN that a beautiful Yiddish love song called Sheyn Vi Di Levone did something she never imagined: the music tapped into her mom’s memory bank, bringing both joy.

Read the full story here.

Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) holds the Stanley Cup as fans cheer after The Florida Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Matias J. Ocner
/
Miami Herald
Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) holds the Stanley Cup as fans cheer after The Florida Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Meet the 'Keeper of the Stanley Cup' who spent the summer with the Panthers

The Panthers winning their first Stanley Cup was, without a doubt, one of the highlights of the year for South Florida. Among those celebrating was WLRN's new Broward bureau reporter and sports fanatic Carlton Gillespie, who followed his coverage of the nail-biting Game 7 win with a fascinating look at one of the sport's greatest traditions.

As the 38-pound-trophy went on a world tour, he spoke with the man who is always alongside it — and keeps it in pristine condition even as players take it into the sea or eat pasta from it.

Read the full story here.

Alexis Fishman in 'Anne Being Frank,' a play by Ron Elisha
Richard Rivera
Alexis Fishman in 'Anne Being Frank,' a play by Ron Elisha

Drama asks 'What if Anne Frank had survived the Holocaust?'

The story of Anne Frank, the teenage girl who died in a Nazi concentration camp after hiding for two years in a secret annex behind her father's business in Amsterdam, has long reminded the world of man’s never-ending fight against antisemitism and hatred.

WLRN’s Christine DiMattei penned a preview of a new play that reimagined the celebrated diarist’s by exploring whether Frank, if she had survived to become an adult, would have kept her hopeful outlook about human nature. She found joy in the artists’ dedication and devotion to fixing the world’s problems.

Read the full story here.

A video game character stands on top of a red and yellow cart in front of palm trees and a grocery store.
Courtesy Mouldbreaker Interactive
In the upcoming game "Floridale Man: The Joy of Chaos," the main character works for a grocery chain called "Hublix" and causes mischief around the fictional "Floridale."

New video game channels the chaos and creativity of the 'Florida Man'

The 'Florida Man' gets a lot of flack. The popular trope usually features a Florida person getting up to less-than-legal shenanigans, sometimes involving reptiles. But rather than mocking the Sunshine State, the upcoming video game Floridale Man: The Joy of Chaos celebrates the authenticity and sometimes chaotic nature it has to offer.

WLRN's resident gamer Joshua Ceballos — a Florida Man himself, of course — loved the chance to celebrate it all too.

Read the full story here.

Mia Sanquintin receives her diploma from Miami Coral Park Senior High School in May 2024.
Mia Sanquintin receives her diploma from Miami Coral Park Senior High School in May 2024.

A first-generation student shares the highs and lows of getting into university

Each school year, WLRN News welcomes high school students for internships. They get hands-on experience in news production, writing and voicing stories for broadcast and publication on WLRN.org. In her 2023-2024 internship, Miami Coral Park Senior High senior Mia Sanquintin got the chance to share her experience applying to college as a first-generation college student.

Her distinct voice guided us through the ups and downs of her story: the fear of the unknown, feelings of self doubt, the pressure to set a good example for your family. Her journey resonated with many in the WLRN newsroom — and brought some to tears — who had been in her shoes once.

Read the full story here.

Sunbathers crowd Fort Lauderdale Beach on Feb. 28, 2024.
Tom Hudson
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WLRN
Sunbathers crowd Fort Lauderdale Beach on Feb. 28, 2024.

New parking rules aim to nudge, shove — and even 'sludge' — spring breakers

Business reporters can find joy in the most unexpected places — even a story about parking. As he reported on the annual crush Spring Break brings on Miami Beach, Tom Hudson took a light-hearted dive into the psychology and behavioral economics behind the city's attempts to drive breakers away.

To help break down the theories, he used an example of living by the beach as a metaphor — reminding us that even at the craziest times... it's nice to be in paradise.

Read the full story here.

Matheus Sanchez is WLRN’s Digital Director. He commissions, edits and curates WLRN News’ online content, and leads the development of the newsroom’s digital platforms and strategy. Matheus can be reached at msanchez@wlrnnews.org
Sergio Bustos is WLRN's Vice President for News. He's been an editor at the Miami Herald and POLITICO Florida. Most recently, Bustos was Enterprise/Politics Editor for the USA Today Network-Florida’s 18 newsrooms. Reach him at sbustos@wlrnnews.org
Alyssa Ramos is the multimedia producer for Morning Edition for WLRN. She produces regional stories for newscasts and manages digital content on WLRN.
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