Good Morning! On this day in 1842, the federal government gave 160 acres of free Florida land in undeveloped areas south of Gainesville to settlers willing to fight Seminoles, mosquitoes, and disease.
Here’s something fun to start the week—seven often misused Southern sayings, according to Southern Living magazine.
Daytona Beach 🌦️ 90/76° | Fort Myers 🌦️ 92/77° | Jacksonville 🌦️ 89/75° | Key West 🌤️ 89/83° | Miami ☀️ 91/83° | Ocala 🌦️ 93/74° | Orlando 🌦️ 94/76° | Pensacola ⚡ 84/76° | Port St. Lucie 🌦️ 93/76° | Tallahassee ⚡ 84/73° | Tampa 🌦️ 93/76°
Don’t feel like reading the national edition of The Flyover? Tune in to The Flyover Podcast! New episodes drop daily—watch on YouTube or listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, all in under 15 minutes.
Sarasota Senator Vies for RNC Head
President Donald Trump reemphasized his support for Sarasota state Sen. Joe Gruters to lead the Republican National Committee (RNC) after Chair Michael Whatley officially announced his campaign for U.S. Senate in North Carolina.
Trump called Gruters a “MAGA Warrior” on Truth Social. The post follows Trump’s endorsement last week, when Whatley first started exploring a North Carolina run.
Gruters, currently the RNC treasurer, says that if elected chairman, he plans to remain in the state Senate, where his term ends in November 2026.
Trump also endorsed Jennifer Saul-Rich, New York’s Republican National Committee member, as his choice to replace Gruters as RNC treasurer.
Sheriff Lemma Elected FSA President
Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma was elected president of the Florida Sheriffs Association (FSA), the largest law enforcement association in Florida and the U.S.
A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, FBI National Academy graduate, and sheriff since 2017, Lemma will lead the FSA’s work among Florida’s 67 elected sheriffs.
Other key appointments include Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods as vice president, Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly as secretary, and Putnam County Sheriff Gator DeLoach as treasurer.
In addition to new leadership, the FSA named Clay County detectives Ryan Ellis and Eva Solis as the 2025 Law Enforcement Officers of the Year. Seminole County Sheriff’s Office Supervisor Jennifer Hernandez was selected as the 2025 Civilian of the Year.
Fallen Officer Honored
A year after Master Deputy Bradley Link was killed in the line of duty, a stretch of highway in Lake County was dedicated to him on Saturday morning.
The newly named Master Deputy Sheriff Bradley Michael Link Memorial Highway spans U.S. 27 from Division Street to County Road 561 in Minneola.
Link, who was shot and killed while responding to a disturbance call in rural Eustis—in what law enforcement described as an ambush—was posthumously awarded the Law Enforcement Medal of Honor and the Purple Heart.
Two other deputies, Harold Howell and Stefano Gargano, were also shot in the incident but survived.
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➤ Fort Lauderdale: A $2,000 reward is being offered to help find three suspects accused of injuring college students during a shooting that occurred at about 1:30 a.m. on June 22. Surveillance video shows three armed men opening fire on the top floor of a parking garage. (See Video)
➤ Sumter County: University of Florida Health launched a mobile stroke treatment unit (MSTU) in The Villages. The lifesaving service is the third in the state, with the others in Gainesville and Jacksonville. (See Video)
➤ Orange County: Under pressure from state officials, Mayor Jerry Demings signed a contract addendum allowing county corrections officers to transport ICE detainees to other facilities. (More)
➤ Hillsborough County: Commissioner Harry Cohen wants to use extra space added to the new span of the Howard Frankland Bridge for a connection between Tampa International Airport and St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport. (See Video)
➤ Osceola County: A neighborhood near Lake Nona is working to eliminate unwanted feral hogs, which are tearing up yards. (See Video)
➤ Tallahassee: Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted sex trafficker and longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein, was moved from Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee to a lower-security facility in Texas. (More)
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➤ Miami Marlins rookie Agustin Ramirez followed up his game-winning walk-off hit Friday night with a two-homer performance on Saturday, scoring the only two runs of the game for either team. (More)
➤ Miami Dolphins former first-round offensive lineman Austin Jackson will be ready for the start of the regular season, according to head coach Mike McDaniel. (More)
➤Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz helped spoil former Rays starting pitcher Blake Snell’s return against Tampa Bay with this home run in the first inning, leading the Rays to a 4-0 victory. (See Home Run)
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➤ A Miami federal jury found Tesla partially liable and awarded the plaintiffs $243 million in a fatal Autopilot crash that killed 22-year-old Naibel Benavides Leon and seriously injured her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo. (More)
➤ Hard Rock Hotel may be coming to Jacksonville, as a development group interested in building downtown continues talks with city officials. (More)
➤ Florida’s minimum wage is going up to $14 an hour on Sept. 30, per the constitutional amendment that voters passed in 2020. According to the law, the minimum wage will be raised by $1 each year until it reaches $15. (More)
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➤ A Hernando County man married to three Florida women in three different counties was sentenced for felony bigamy. No database compares Florida marriage licenses between counties. (See Video)
➤ Nonprofit Tampa Bay Watch hosted its 30th Annual Great Bay Scallop Search on Saturday, which helps to measure ecosystem health. (See Video)
➤ Inside the Worlds of Epic Universe, a one-hour TV special on Universal Orlando’s new theme park, will air on Aug. 20 on NBC and stream on Aug. 21 on Peacock. (More)
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Sarasota Senator Vies for RNC Head
