WINK in a Blink: The Top Stories of 2025

With 2025 coming to a close, WINK News wants to take a stroll down memory lane. Join us as we look back on the stories that connected with you throughout this year! 

Travel Restrictions Impacting Tourism

In April, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security initiated a travel rule requiring Canadian visitors aged 14 and older to undergo a background check, which includes submitting fingerprints and providing biographic information such as name, gender, and date of birth.

We asked Canadian’s how this change would impact their travel plans in Florida. 

“My first thought is why does he [Congressman Byron Donalds] hate Canadians so much,” said John Engelmann, a Canadian snowbird and homeowner in North Fort Myers. “One thing Canadians do is they come here, they eat, they go to groceries, they go shopping; we spend a lot of our hard-earned money here in the US of A.”

For the full story, click here.

Following Death Row 

Many had invested interest in death row inmate Wade Wilson, who was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in 2023 for the killings of two Cape Coral women. Wilson had been on death row since August 30.  

In May, WINK News obtained exclusive access to Wilson's disciplinary reports, revealing a series of troubling incidents during his nine months on death row.

The Department of Corrections' documents, spanning 163 pages, show that Wilson quickly landed himself in trouble. Within just 20 days of arriving on death row, he was already facing disciplinary action.

For the full story, click here.

Searching for Missing Boaters

Southwest Floridians gathered together in search of two missing boaters who were last seen going on a fishing trip about 70 miles offshore in late December. The four-day-long search, initiated by the United States Coast Guard and local agencies/ volunteers, gained national attention; however, Coast Guard officials suspended the search—sending thoughts and prayers to both men’s families. 

Community members grieved for the loss of Randy Spivey and Brandon Billmaier after the search was called off. 

For the full story, click here.

License Plate Debate

The topic of driving in Florida is nothing short of contentious, yet many will agree that decorative license plate frames are a common sight. In November, a change in Florida law would penalize motorists who obscure any part of a license plate, whether it be a number, letter, sticker, or other feature, which could result in a second-degree misdemeanor, with penalties as severe as a $500 fine and 60 days in jail.

WINK News decided to help motorists by informing them of the recently enacted law and offering to assist in removing the decorative plate covers to avoid trouble with the law.

For the full story, click here.

Peeling Back the Alfie Oakes Investigation

WINK Investigates was the first to cover the FBI raid of prominent businessman and founder of Oakes Farms, Alfie Oakes, in November 2024. 

Our persistent team continued to dig into this story, where they uncovered court records, revealing allegations of millions in agriculture-related fraud and guilty pleas from numerous local harvesters.

WINK Investigates then discovered that the former Vice President of Oakes Farms, Steven Veneziano, pled guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.

While working at Oakes Farm, he is accused of assisting several agriculture-based business owners with falsifying applications to the Department of Agriculture's [USDA] 'Farm Service Agency' through its 'Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.' [CFAP], which awarded money to livestock and agricultural producers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the full story, click here.

Python Palooza 

For years, Florida has grappled with the ever-growing species of invasive Burmese pythons, with local and state ran efforts to help decrease the population. In June, The Conservancy of Southwest Florida made a stunning announcement where they removed 6,300 pounds of invasive Burmese pythons throughout its hunting season.

Through the use of scout snakes, volunteers were able to effectively combat the evergrowning python numbers and giving other species are given a chance at thriving.

According to the conservancy’s website, “Burmese pythons are thought to be responsible for a 90% decline in native mammal populations across their established range.”

For more on this story, click here.

Fighting Back Against a Rare Infection

A Naples man, Albert Allison, had battled a rare and dangerous infection from Vibrio vulnificus, often referred to as "flesh-eating bacteria,” after a fishing trip to Naples Bay.

After spending the day fishing, Allison recounted the day with "I like to watch the sunset and fish. And I was lucky, I caught a couple of big fish that I liked, black drum, and took them home, cleaned them, put the filets away, threw the guts and the heads in the garbage, and later went to sleep. Everything was fine."

Allison was unaware that a small bruise on his left calf began to worsen, escalating to his eventually diagnosis. The bacterium is known to be fatal in 50% of cases reported, and as Allison is immunocompromised, he perfectly described himself as "the perfect person. I'm old and I'm vulnerable, and I have thin skin."

To see how Allison survived this rare infection, click here.

When Nature Bites Back 

In what can only be described as a “Florida Man” story, Shawn Meuse ventured on a shark fishing trip in Boca Grande where he experienced the bite of a lifetime.

"We just finished taking the hook out of his mouth. We were gonna go release him, and the shark just turned and bit me," said Meuse.

Meuse was airlifted to Gulf Coast Medical Center in Lee County. He spoke enthusiastically with our reporters about his eventually return to shark fishing, saying “I'm one of the fortunate ones. And you know, I'm a shark bite victim, so that means I have a lot of good stories now.”

For the full story, click here. To view the shark bite encounter, head over to our WINK News Instagram page.

We hope you had a wonderful 2025 and hopefully an even better 2026. Thank you from all of us at WINK News.