Hurricane Milton’s devastating landfall along Florida’s Gulf Coast hit one of the most popular areas for temporary residents who spend the winter months living in the Sunshine State.

Residents in the Sarasota area are starting the process of evaluating the damage, again.

Milton is the third hurricane to hit Florida this year, and it dumped record rain on the state.

Residents in Siesta Key returned to the island on Thursday following powerful Hurricane Milton moving through.

Hurricane Milton was only hours away from landfall Wednesday night in Florida’s Gulf Coast, and there were already reports of tornadoes.

Time is running out for residents in the Sarasota County area to either get out or hunker down.

Tropical storm Debby made landfall as a hurricane in one of the least populated areas of Florida, but it's been blamed for at least four deaths in that state.

Tropical Storm Debby slammed Florida with torrential rain, high winds and flooding, contributing to at least five deaths as it turned menacingly toward the Eastern Seaboard’s low-lying regions and threatened to flood some of America’s most historic Southern cities.

A 54-year-old convicted felon wanted in Sarasota County was awaiting extradition behind bars on Saturday in Miami-Dade County.

An endangered sawfish rescued last month in the Florida Keys after it was spotted acting erratically and swimming in circles has died as wildlife officials continue to search for what is causing fish to become distressed.

A 30-year-old woman, who is from Illinois and lives in the Sarasota area, was facing charges on Saturday in Monroe County.

A Miami man is facing charges in Sarasota County after authorities said he went there to steal catalytic converters and ended up killing a motorcyclist in a hit-and-run crash.

The Sarasota County School Board voted on Tuesday to ask for board member Bridget Ziegler to resign.

A co-founder of the conservative Moms for Liberty group could move a step closer to getting ousted from a Florida school board on Tuesday, as she is embroiled in the fallout of a sexual assault investigation into her husband, the Republican Party state chairman.

Our Eco Team saddled up and visited a ranch where the first of its kind project is protecting cattle and Florida's wildlife.

Amid a conservative makeover launched by Gov. Ron DeSantis, trustees of the New College of Florida voted Tuesday to stick with DeSantis ally Richard Corcoran as the school’s president.

A woman is $1 million richer after playing the $5 Monopoly Doubler scratch-off game, the Florida Lottery announced this week.

In support of a retired U.S. Marine in New York City, Gov. Ron DeSantis asked his supporters to donate to the Raiser & Kenniff law firm on Friday night, and by Monday afternoon there were more than $2 million.

Gov. Ron DeSantis was at the New College of Florida in Sarasota to sign education bills — including two to continue to stand against a “woke agenda.”

A Sarasota woman claimed a $1 million prize playing the 50X The Cash holiday edition scratch-off game, the Florida Lottery confirmed Monday.

A Florida man is $5 million richer after claiming the top prize for a Lottery scratch-off game.

A driver from South Florida was caught on camera slamming into a Sarasota police officer, sending the man flying over the car as it sped away.

A 62-year-old Illinois woman claimed her $1 million winnings this week after playing the 300X The Cash scratch-off game, Florida Lottery officials confirmed Friday.

Federal investigators say an air traffic controller cleared one plane to land and another to take off from the same runway in Florida last month.

Trustees picked by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to oversee New College of Florida voted Tuesday to abolish its small office that handles diversity, equity and inclusion programs targeted by conservatives throughout the state university system.

Sarasota Fire Rescue crews helped save a chihuahua who fell into a waterway when her owner went overboard.

The New College of Florida board of trustees — now dominated by conservatives chosen by Gov. Ron DeSantis — voted Monday to approve hiring a DeSantis ally as the interim president.

A 55-year-old man won a whopping $1 million playing the 500X The Cash scratch-off game, Florida Lottery officials confirmed this week.

A U.S. congressman from Florida who was seriously injured in a tree-trimming accident in Sarasota says he has been discharged from the hospital and is recovering at home.

The office of Florida congressman Greg Steube says he sustained several injuries in an accident at his home on Florida's Gulf Coast.

U.S. Rep. Greg Steube sustained “several serious injuries” when he fell off a ladder while cutting trees at his property on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Former national security adviser Michael Flynn has had his Twitter account reinstated as the United States marked the two-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection.

A 38-year-old man from Sarasota was arrested Tuesday on accusations that he beat and choked a woman at a motel in the Florida Keys.

A Sarasota man is behind bars facing charges for allegedly selling LSD to an 11-year-old.

A Florida man was arrested after he allegedly shined a laser at a Sarasota County Sheriff's office helicopter.

The devastation from Hurricane Ian has left schools shuttered indefinitely in parts of Florida, leaving storm-weary families anxious for word on when and how children can get back to classrooms.

A Florida man was hospitalized with serious injuries from an alligator attack on the state’s west coast Wednesday evening.

A Florida judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit in which the parents of Gabby Petito claim that Brian Laundrie told his parents he had killed her before he returned home alone from their western trip.

Florida deputies responded to calls of a driver seen driving on a Sarasota County sidewalk to avoid rush hour traffic.

Two people from Sarasota both won $1 million playing the new 500X THE CASH Scratch-Off game at Publix, the Florida Lottery announced Thursday.

Baseball’s regular season begins this week, so that means the abbreviated spring training session for teams, which started late due to the offseason lockout, is over.

Automatic runners in extra innings are sticking around for a third straight season.

Even for a Sarasota area lauded by many for having one of the most exquisite and diverse set of restaurants in the country, it’s a place and occasion on Sundays that still stands out.

An Air Force veteran from Sarasota is flying high after winning a $1 million top prize playing Florida Lottery’s “Fastest Road to $1,000,000″ scratch-off game.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is holding a news conference Friday morning with Department of Economic Opportunity Secretary Dane Eagle in Sarasota.

Florida is lifting its three-decade ban on catching and killing goliath groupers after wildlife officials argued their numbers have rebounded.

Florida is proposing to lift its three-decade ban on catching and killing goliath groupers after wildlife officials argued their numbers have rebounded.

Police in Florida searched a vast wildlife reserve near the Gulf Coast for 23-year-old Brian Laundrie, a person of interest in the disappearance of his girlfriend, Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito.

Florida is filled with the best beach towns to actually live in, the personal-finance website WalletHub found in a study. Naples ranked No. 1 overall.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is holding a news conference Friday morning at the Sarasota County Terrace Building.

Florida game regulators took a tentative step toward allowing the catching and killing of goliath groupers.

It has become a race against time as workers hope to ensure that the containment wall doesn't collapse.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is looking to hire an alligator trapper

Youth soccer is getting quite competitive. The video you can watch above shows 7-year old Logan Barzola from Weston Academy making a crunching tackle during a tournament in Sarasota. Thankfully, nobody was hurt. The video has gone viral, getting more than one million views on TikTok. We’re thinking Inter Miami should reach out to logan in about a decade to anchor the defense.

SARASOTA, Fla. – A city official in Florida was involved in a fight outside a bar on Christmas, a local newspaper reported. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported Monday that Sarasota Commissioner Kyle Battie was attacked by multiple men after a verbal dispute. A witness told police Battie fell to the ground and was kicked and punched. According to the newspaper, another witness who is the girlfriend of one of the men involved in the fight told police that her boyfriend was approached by a tall, Black man. The victim told police three of the men surrounded him and began striking him.

SARASOTA, Fla. – A Florida man has found a badly decomposing body inside a trash can. The unidentified man told the Manatee County Sheriff’s office he’d been holding the 55-gallon container for a friend who promised to retrieve it later. But the friend never returned and after about two months, the man smelled a foul odor and opened the container. The sheriff’s office is investigating the identity of the remains and how they died. An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday.

SARASOTA, Fla. – A Florida man has found a badly decomposing body inside a trash can. The unidentified man told the Manatee County Sheriff’s office he’d been holding the 55-gallon container for a friend who promised to retrieve it later. But the friend never returned and after about two months, the man smelled a foul odor and opened the container. The sheriff’s office is investigating to identify the remains and how that person died. An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A private plane with 8 people aboard registered in Sarasota missed the runway at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport Saturday. Fort Lauderdale Fire Department was dispatched to the airport at 11:44 a.m. after the call came in of an “aircraft down.”The Piper PA -31 that missed the runway at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport on Saturday. (WPLG)The Piper PA-31-350 plane’s pilot had reported issues on approach to the airport as it was attempting to land on Runway 13, then veered off into the grass upon making a hard landing. 1 female passenger sustained minor injuries and was treated and released at the scene. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident, according to the FAA.

FORT PIERCE, Fla. – The body of a Florida Highway Patrol trooper who was fatally shot after he stopped to help a motorist was escorted across the state Friday morning. Trooper Joseph Bullock was killed Wednesday on Interstate 95 in Martin County. The tow truck driver, who hasn't been identified, said Reed was upset about having to pay for a towing service when he shot Bullock. Trooper Joseph Bullock was fatally shot by Frankin Reed III, who was then shot to death by a Riviera Beach police officer. (FHP, Martin County Sheriff's Office)Shortly thereafter, a Riviera Beach police officer who was passing by shot Reed, killing him.

2002: Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm, recognized as the first pitcher to save 200 games in his career and the first pitcher to appear in 1,000 games, dies at age 80 in Sarasota, Florida. One of the oldest players to have pitched in the major-leagues, last pitching just 16 days short of his 50th birthday, he retired in 1972 with the lowest career earned run average of any major-league hurler after 1927 who pitched more than 2,000 innings. Wilhelm pitched for 10 different teams in his career, earning an All-Star berth eight times and winning a World Series title with the New York Giants in 1954. Hide Caption