A rural Florida county is hoping a new $300 million airport will transform its economy and create more than 1,400 new, high-skilled jobs.

Wildlife officials say two endangered Florida panthers have been struck and killed by vehicles.

Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency in seven Florida counties to combat the potentially toxic green algae bloom. While the South Florida Water Management District supported the decision to release water to the St. Lucie Estuary, spokesman Randy Smith said they will closely monitor salinity levels. With rainy season approaching in May, South Florida is still soggy from Tropical Storm Eta last year. If they go wrong, everything goes wrong,” said South Florida Water Management District board member Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch in a February meeting. The Army Corps makes weekly decisions on lake levels, and Perry hopes the water releases end before the April oyster spawning.

LABELLE, Fla. An endangered Florida panther has died after being struck by a vehicle. It's the 14th panther death attributed to fatal collisions, out of 16 total deaths this year, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The remains of the 3-year-old female panther were found Wednesday in Hendry County on a rural road near the Okaloacoochee Slough Wildlife Management Area, wildlife officials said. Florida panthers once roamed the entire Southeast, but now their habitat mostly is confined to a small region of Florida along the Gulf of Mexico. Up to 230 Florida panthers remain in the wild.

LABELLE, Fla. An off-duty Florida wildlife officer was found fatally shot early Sunday after he tried to stop a driver suspected in a hit-and-run crash, authorities said. Florida Wildlife Conservation officer Julian Keen Jr. was found fatally shot in rural Hendry County, and three suspects were in custody, according to the Hendry County Sheriffs Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Julian Keen was killed while off-duty trying to stop a hit-and-run driver. Keen, 30, grew up in LaBelle, Florida, in Hendry County, according to the Fort Myers News-Press. He was a genuine officer who would literally give his shirt off his back to ANYONE who needed it."