Here in Florida, swimming and boating are fun year-round activities for people of all ages, but they also come with risk for the state's youngest residents. For kids with autism that risk is much higher— they are 160 times more like to die from drowning than other children. Enter Florida's voucher program for swim lessons, which has been in effect since 2024. A law passed July 1st expanded the program, and pushed kids with autism ages 1 to 7 to the front of the line. WGCU's Midday Host Emma Rodriguez spoke with NPR Education Correspondent Jonaki Mehta. She saw firsthand what effective swim lessons for kids with autism look like.

A new semi-professional soccer club is coming to Cape Coral, offering local players an opportunity to compete as interest in the sport continues to grow in the United States thanks to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

About 300 Immokalee children will walk in comfort and style the rest of this summer and to start the new school year, thanks to Laces of Love.

Santa is coming five months early to help a community center in need. The center in the Suncoast neighborhood in North Fort Myers will hold a Christmas in July event

A food distribution event organized by the SWFL Coalition for Democracy at the New Image Tabernacle Church in North Fort Myers on Friday and Saturday served more than 150 people.

Some heroes wear capes. This one has flippers...and a really cool name. A juvenile green sea turtle named Girl Power returned to the Atlantic Ocean Friday after overcoming injuries so severe she wasn't expected to survive.

A Cape Coral restaurant and a synagogue are working together to collect relief supplies for survivors of Venezuela's recent earthquakes.

A couple from Indiana renews vows with a little help from the island community and the nonprofit Dream Foundation.

A historic World War II painting that was displayed in Marco Island will have a new permanent home at the Tuskegee Airmen National Museum in Detroit.

Gulf Coast Humane Society officials say the Independence Day weekend is one of the busiest times for emergency pet care. This week — Monday, June 29 through Friday, July 3 — Lee County Domestic Animal Services will offer free microchipping to ensure pets can be reunited with their owners if they are displaced.