Even on a little island with fewer than 10,000 full-time residents, a lot can happen in a year. From restaurant merry-go-rounds to city leadership shakeups, high-dollar construction projects and state law changes that hit home in the Keys, here’s our look back at the top headlines from 2025. From the entire staff of the Keys Weekly, we wish our readers a happy and healthy start to 2026. We’re honored to serve as your only locally-owned news source in the heart of the Florida Keys.
January
- Alleged mismanagement and delayed paychecks for employees led to the entire staff of Overseas Pub and Grill walking out on the local favorite, heading to a reimagined Marathon Grill and Ale House under new ownership. The shuttered Overseas would later be sold and reopen as El Siboney Overseas in November.
- Roadside bucket trucks working on power lines were a daily sight as FKEC worked to provide electrical infrastructure upgrades throughout Marathon and the Upper Keys, including storm-resistant utility poles and resilient power lines.
- Sheep herding, the Highland Games, the Screaming Orphans and kilts in every direction delighted thousands at Marathon Community Park for the 2025 Florida Keys Celtic Festival.
- A years-long debate over the fate of a homeless encampment on 20th Street came to a head as residents filed a lawsuit against the city of Marathon, alleging violations of a new Florida state law governing public camping. The city refused responsibility for the property, which is technically owned by FDOT. The agency ordered the camp cleared by Jan. 31, leaving many of the street’s residents without another option in the absence of a local homeless shelter.
- Convicted Jan. 6 Capitol rioter Bryan Bishop was among more than 1,500 pardoned by president Donald Trump, leaving prison after serving less than five months of a 45-month sentence.
February
- As the city of Marathon weighed the threat of takings cases while watching its supply of building rights dwindle, a critical opinion by Florida’s Third District Court of Appeals struck a blow in a landmark case spanning nearly 20 years over the small offshore island of Shands Key. Marathon would later ask the Florida Supreme Court to hear the case, but was denied in December, leaving an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court as a final option to avoid a multimillion-dollar payout for the downzoned island.
- An advisory from the Florida Department of Health confirmed the presence of red tide at Marquesas and Marvin Key in Monroe County. An expanded annual bloom brought a high price to pay for commercial lobster fishermen on top of damage already caused by the 2024 hurricane season.
March
- Federal turmoil over tariffs and international travel boycotts began to pose threats to Keys tourism, as funding cuts at the national level ignited uncertainty for local offices like NOAA and the National Weather Service.
- County judge James Morgan III was appointed to the 16th Judicial Circuit, succeeding Luis Garcia at the Plantation Key courthouse.
- It wasn’t a UFO that lit up the skies over the Keys on March 6 – it was SpaceX’s uncrewed 403-foot Starship rocket exploding on a test flight. Or, in the company’s words, a “rapid unscheduled disassembly.”
- After scrapping previous plans for a complete demolition and rebuild of City Hall, Key Colony Beach began to move forward with a new concept, hardening the existing post office and Marble Hall while expanding the building’s south side with a two-story office and lobby addition.
- The Keys received a prime reminder of just how close to isolation we truly are when raging brush fires intermittently closed both the 18-Mile Stretch of U.S. 1 and Card Sound Road for multiple weeks.
April
- Despite another annual outcry from residents, the Marathon City Council voted 3-2 to continue a final year of a special taxing district supporting Fishermen’s Community Hospital. While the tax collected roughly $2 million per year since its inception, the final year served to pay off the balance of $774,339 remaining in the maximum 10-year, $15 million pledge.
- A long-awaited road raising and drainage project on Sombrero Boulevard broke ground, following years of chronic flooding that left several motorists stranded and some locals wondering whether they’d be able to get home on stormy nights.
- Facing brutal headwinds for the second year in a row, 1,500 runners braved the Keys’ longest over-water span in the 7 Mile Bridge Run. Local distance phenom Vance Bursa finished second to Key West native Owen Allen, while Joanna Stephens of Dallas, Georgia broke the tape for her third consecutive women’s win.
- A runaway skiff that broke free from a grounded vessel off Bahia Honda State Park was retrieved in 24 hours thanks to the watchful eyes of local charter captains, who spotted the boat five miles offshore from Key Largo. The grounded boat, an eyesore from the highway for months, was removed in late August.
- On the diamond, the Marathon Dolphins’ sluggers claimed their second consecutive South Florida Baseball Conference championship. The squad would go on to win their first division title since 1979.
- Up in Tallahassee, bills threatened to divert tourist development tax dollars to fund property tax relief. The proposals ultimately failed, though the fate of property taxes remains a central topic in Florida’s 2026 legislative session.
- In the Southernmost City, Key West’s airport renovation was cleared for takeoff, eschewing the traditional hot-as-heck tarmac walk and instead sending passengers to Atlanta via a new terminal and glass jet bridges.
May
- After 40 years of service to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, lieutenant colonel Don Hiller called it a career, regaling the Weekly with epic stories of his years seizing millions in illicit drugs and cash.
- In a notable departure from previous reviews, the Marathon City Council shot down an addition to an already-greenlit 16-home development on 107th Street. The decision would continue to resurface throughout the fall in the race for three open seats on the council. Meanwhile, a much-awaited and often-debated skate and wheel park got the go-ahead at the east end of Marathon Community Park. Construction is underway.
- What began as a man throwing objects off the roof of an apartment building soon turned tragic when the man began firing shots at police cars with an AR-15. A midnight standoff lasting more than two hours ended in devastating fashion as the gunman took his own life – with no other injuries.
- After a nationwide search, the Monroe County School Board selected Ed Tierney, former superintendent of Palm Beach County schools, to be its next superintendent, succeeding Theresa Axford after her retirement in July.
- For the second straight year, Marathon’s Unified soccer team earned a state championship at the 2025 Special Olympics Summer Games in Orlando.
- Four local teens were airlifted to Miami after a boat struck the Seven Mile Bridge, hurling all seven of its passengers into the water. Thankfully, there were no fatalities.
- Florida’s new Boater Freedom Act redefined the criteria for stops on the water by local law enforcement, preventing sheriff’s offices from stopping vessels for the sole purpose of conducting safety checks.
- In a move widely panned by dental health providers and public health organizations, Florida banned fluoride from drinking water supplies.
- The Marathon community showered graduates with well over $2 million in scholarships at the 2025 Class Night before a record-breaking class of 122 seniors bid Marathon High School farewell on May 29.
June
- As court cases continued to unfold from a highly-publicized cocaine ring bust in 2024, prosecutors claimed the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office was deliberately excluded from the investigation due to the possibility of an internal leak. Sheriff Rick Ramsay was quick to shoot down these allegations, pointing instead to brewing tensions between his office and a single FBI agent operating in a vacuum in the Keys.
- Following union negotiations, the nonprofit Florida Keys Electric Cooperative moved to a four-day work week – still preserving modest wage increases for employees.
- The Marathon City Council divvied up $149,000 in grant funding for local nonprofits, handing out awards from $200 to $12,700. The subject of continued funding would resurface later in the year as DOGE cuts directed local governments to cease funding of non-essential services.
- Rising tensions between the city of Marathon and local contractors came to a head as contractors requested an open-format workshop to air their struggles. The request was ultimately denied in favor of e-mail communication to create a record of issues and their resolution – a choice that reverberated throughout the fall election cycle.
- Co-owner Cesar Sandoval gave the Keys Weekly a first look inside the completely revamped Hurricane Bar and Grill. Gutted from top to bottom, the restaurant eventually opened in October.
July
- County commissioner Michelle Lincoln took the reins as president of the Florida Association of Counties.
- Key Colony Inn was the next in line in a series of restaurant shakeups. Owners Ali and Andy Baker left town in the middle of the night, telling staff a day later via text message that the eatery was permanently closed. Shuttered for several months, the building sold, and the new Inn at Key Colony reopened in December.
- Also in Key Colony Beach, former Vice Mayor Joey Raspe tendered his resignation. The commission appointed Kirk Diehl to fill his place.
- After 30 years protecting the Keys’ waters and wildlife, former FWC Capt. David Dipre sailed off into retirement.
- In a showdown at the Elks Lodge, local boxer Noah Casillas earned a highlight-reel knockout win in the main event at Spar Wars: Island Wars Volume 2.
- Municipalities and utilities squabbled over how to split up $20 million in annual funding from the Florida Keys Stewardship Act. While smaller governments preferred an even split among municipalities, larger ones like Key West and unincorporated Monroe said funds should be split by relative populations. Today, governments still apply through a state-managed portal to fund individual projects.
- Plenty of folks got an illegal “head start” on lobster mini-season, ending up in MCSO’s crime log for undersized, out-of-season and over-the-limit bugs and fish. The season saw two fatalities for snorkelers who lost consciousness, as well as one propeller injury to a child’s leg. After the season closed, an arrest on Aug. 3 in Indian Key Fill nabbed poachers with 53 out-of-season lobster.
August
- Already facing state manslaughter and civil cases for a parasailing accident that killed a mother and left two children injured, former captain Daniel Couch was federally indicted on a charge of seaman’s manslaughter.
- Embattled commercial lobster fishermen fought to stay afloat as ICE operations depleted their workforce. Meanwhile, changing international landscapes, tariffs and low-priced imports from Caribbean nations raised material costs while crippling the value of exported product and making local sales more difficult.
- A field of seven candidates for three open positions on the Marathon City Council crystallized, including newcomers Debbie Struyf, Dave Perry, Greg Robinson and Gerrit Hale along with incumbents Lynn Landry, Robyn Still and Jeff Smith.
- Already sentenced to 20 years behind bars for a federal conviction, former Marathon liveaboard Eric Cadogan was sentenced a combined 40 years in prison for his role in an incestuous child sex abuse case. Kia Lynn Cadogan, Eric’s wife, was sentenced earlier in the year to 13 years in Florida state prison.
- The first two of three state-of-the-art Leonardo AW139 helicopters, part of an all-new Trauma Star air ambulance fleet, touched down, ready to serve Monroe County. Funding for the $52 million purchase to replace Trauma Star’s aging Sikorsky S76 aircraft came from the infrastructure penny sales tax paid by residents and visitors.
- Trailerama, one of Marathon’s largest mobile home parks – and most affordable housing options for year-round residents – sold for $17.5 million to EPH Trailerama LLC, a corporation backed by commercial real estate firm Moses Tucker Partners and real estate investment firm Equity Partnership Holdings. New ownership promised, and began to deliver, more resident services and a facelift for the property, which still currently operates as a mobile home park.
September
- Concerns over Sunshine Law violations sparked debate and criticism as Marathon City Council incumbents were unable to attend some local candidate forums.
- The Rotary Club of Marathon welcomed a new companion club, available to meet less frequently in the evenings while furthering Rotary’s motto of “Service Above Self.”
- Marathon elected to meet the rollback tax rate in its $144.6 million budget for the third consecutive year, electing to draw down a portion of the city’s more-than-healthy reserves to fund the planned deficit.
- A new court ruling paved the way for open carry of firearms, prompting questions from both the public and local law enforcement about if, and how, certain properties, businesses, schools or government buildings could restrict weaponry.
- The Keys Weekly and Rotary Club of Marathon hosted our favorite night of the year: the 2025 Best of Marathon Awards, bringing more than 300 guests together at Hawks Cay to raise money for a great cause while celebrating the true standouts in our community.
- High winds, heavy summer rains and frequent cancellations of aerial missions led to a notable surge in saltmarsh mosquitoes throughout the Keys, prompting the public to ask the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District for answers amid the itchy bites.
- For the first time in school history, the Marathon Middle School Dolphins defended their home football field against Horace O’Bryant School, winning 32-20 over their Key West rivals.
October
- The seven-candidate field for Marathon City Council covered wide-ranging topics from the city’s budget to its basic command structure in the Keys Weekly and Greater Marathon Chamber of Commerce’s annual candidate forum.
- The seated council debated, and eventually approved, construction of a unique affordable housing project at the site of the old Monroe County Emergency Operations Center. The land and building rights for the project would come from the county, with construction costs covered by surplus TDC revenues approved for use in workforce housing projects.
- The state Supreme Court upheld the death sentence for Steven Wolf, convicted in 2023 of murder and sexual assault of a woman after her body was found near the Vaca Cut Bridge.
- After years sitting vacant, the former Kmart building came to life again as SurfStyle, stocked with apparel and supplies for a day on the water. Before the store opened, renowned artist Wyland returned to touch up his preserved Whaling Wall #87, adding a mother and baby manatee to the sub-sea scenery.
November
- After a hotly-contested campaign, Debbie Struyf, Robyn Still and Lynn Landry emerged victorious in the Marathon City Council election on Nov. 4. Voter turnout for the off-year election with only one race on the ballot ended at just 21.18%.
- After swearing in the new trio on Nov. 18, the council chose Lynny Del Gaizo as its mayor and Struyf as vice mayor for 2025-26.
- Food pantries saw a surge in customers – and donations – as turmoil at the federal level led to the cancellation of SNAP benefits for low-income families.
- The Upper and Middle Keys got some new flippered residents as animals from the shuttered Miami Seaquarium, owned by the bankrupt Dolphin Company, were transferred to Keys facilities. On Grassy Key, Dolphin Research Center welcomed senior dolphins Samantha and JJ; harbor seals Ace, Cane and Baby; and California sea lions Raleigh and Clyde.
- ICE enforcement activity throughout the Keys led to several highly-publicized cases of detained individuals, including a Cuban woman arrested hours after giving birth in Key West, a teen picked up on the way to school in the Upper Keys, and a Marathon woman whose husband was arrested weeks before she welcomed their newborn son.
- While some local governments cut nonprofit funding, the Community Foundation of the Florida Keys showered service organizations with more than $900,000 in grants.
December
- Allegations of price-fixing among local fish houses spread when a class-action lawsuit accused several Keys buyers of conspiring with convicted wholesaler Dennis Dopico to suppress lobster and stone crab claw prices.
- Confusion over a new license plate law in Florida found some motorists defending their decorative frames to law enforcement – and even landed one Broward County man in jail when his frame blocked the “S” in “Sunshine State” on his plate. The unrest led to clarification from FLHSMV, which said the new law was trying to target those who cover their plates with tints or reflective coatings to escape tolls via automatic plate readers.
- The Marathon City Council received an update on its deep wastewater well project, now slated to cost $60 million. Construction begins in January, and the city must complete the project by 2028, according to the conditions of their federal settlement with Friends of the Lower Keys in a lawsuit over wastewater disposal.
- A groundbreaking ceremony in Key Colony Beach marked the official start of the $5.5 million City Hall renovation project, scheduled to complete in September 2026.
