Local News

In 2025, WLRN reporters brought to light shortcomings of a deadly railway line, the effects of the nationwide immigration crackdown in our communities and the mishandling of public dollars through school vouchers. But there were many South Florida stories of joy as well.

Miami’s new mayor has raised questions about the city’s $400-million Forever Bond program. Members of the Oversight Board who track program spending say the answers to those questions are hiding in plain sight.

With temperatures dropping in parts of South Florida this week starting Tuesday night, local officials activated their cold weather emergency plans. The National Weather Service said a cold front moving through the region Tuesday will bring in cooler air overnight.

The National Hockey league has hosted 43 outdoor games in its history. But none are as ambitious as this week's matchup at the Marlins' home stadium LoanDepot Park in Miami.

America is closing its doors to the world, sealing the border, squeezing the legal avenues to entry and sending new arrivals and longtime residents to the exits. Immigration has woven itself so tightly through the country’s fabric that walling off the country now will profoundly alter daily life for millions of Americans.

Today, the Miami Herald and WLRN publish a memorial list of the 196 people struck and killed by Brightline trains in Florida since 2017 — to honor their lives, raise awareness about the deadly Brightline corridor and spark conversations about how public safety can be improved.

Xael Charters is suing Miami-Dade Tax Collector Dariel Fernandez, asking a federal court to bar him from effectively shutting down their business over alleged illegal activity in Cuba, and to declare that a state law cited by Fernandez is unconstitutional.

Residents still living in cottage-style apartments as 1940s-era federal housing project in West Palm Beach transitions to modern, four-story buildings.

New Mayor Eileen Higgins has nominated James Reyes, who shares her political consultant, as her pick for the city's chief administrator. He must be confirmed by commissioners in January.

Fernando Dávila, a 72-year-old artist in Doral, paints vibrant works despite being colorblind. As a child in Colombia, he failed a drawing class for painting donkeys red. Now, he embraces color with the help of special glasses developed in the 1980s.

As part of an effort to crack down on business relationships with Cuba and strike at the heart of the communist government, Miami-Dade's tax collector has revoked key licenses of more than two dozen companies that allegedly do business in Cuba, according to enforcement letters seen by WLRN. A critic calls the move a "fiscal drive-by."

At last month's Human Rights in the Americas Symposium at the University of Miami, panelists argued that homelessness should be addressed as a pressing human rights issue. Florida, they noted, is leading the way in criminalizing being without a place to sleep.