Rose West and Ken Grudens Look what just got saved! A 1.6-acre stretch along the St. Sebastian River's South Prong, the last privately zoned link standing between a future trailhead off County Route 512 and conservation land the City of Sebastian already protects, is preserved for good instead of paved over. We got lucky here. That's thanks to the Indian River Land Trust, which just made one of its most strategic buys ever to make it happen. The parcel was zoned for houses ri

Vero just landed at #2 on Travel + Leisure's list of the best beach towns in America to buy a home in before prices climb! Right between Santa Cruz, CA at #1 and Myrtle Beach, SC at #3. Two towns with a lot more name recognition and a lot more people, and Vero's holding the line right between them. Michael Merrill of The Exclusive Group at Douglas Elliman told T+L that buyers priced out of Palm Beach are catching on: private beach clubs, championship golf, oceanfront living,

Topics like this usually live over at our sister publication, Let's Talk Vero, but this one felt too important not to share here, especially if you care about growth, development, and quality of life in Vero Beach and Indian River County. Here's a number that should stop you in your tracks: Indian River County is home to more than 170,000 people. Of those, 118,221 were registered to vote in the 2024 primary. Only 40,498 actually did, a turnout of just 34.26%. The dates are ge

Terri Graham, Ginny Hunt and Jane McNulty Snead | Photo credit: Chris Cronin Media Austin and Ginny Hunt bet the house, literally, on a food pantry back in 2002 that would grow into United Against Poverty. Eleven years into Burgers & Brews, that bet has grown into the biggest stage the event has ever had. East Harbor Band kept the crowd moving between booths, and 11 local kitchens vied for the top prize. The verdict: Judge's Choice 1st Place: Touhy's Downtown 2nd Place: Green

Master's Academy has been leveling up its STEM game lately, and two recent experiences show just how much more hands-on, and less classroom-bound, that education has become. Ken Williams spent 52 years as an analytical chemist in the polymer, textile, and paper industries. Retirement, for him, apparently meant re-stocking a school science department. He donated close to $100,000 in professional-grade lab equipment, including several research-quality Olympus microscopes valued

Photo credit: John Biondo After being closed for six years, the old train station you've probably driven past and wondered about has officially reopened. The Indian River County Historical Society reopened these doors to the Vero Beach Railroad Station & Exhibit Center on July 9. Flagler's railroad blew right past this stretch of coast in 1893, stopping in Sebastian and Fort Pierce and skipping the groves in between. It took about a decade of citrus piling up before Flagler's

For more details on all upcoming events and to register for these, see "The Week Ahead" section here. July 14, 5 p.m. -- Let's Talk Vero Beach Airport at Riverside Theatre July 15, 5:30 p.m. -- Olaf's Summer Bash at Riverside Theatre July 18, 10 a.m. -- A Century of Wonder at McKee -- Community Days July 18, 1 p.m. -- 6th Annual Rock and Rose Beach Party at Kimpton Vero Beach Hotel & Spa July 19, 10 a.m. -- A Century of Wonder at McKee -- Community Days July 22, 5:30 p.m. --

L to R: Becky Straley (Veterans Council of Indian River County), Megan McFall (Indian River County Healthy Start), Anne Posey (Tykes and Teens), Elizabeth Thomason (Boys and Girls Clubs of Indian River), Shannon Bowman (Childcare Resources), Ellen Wayne (Catholic Charities), April Colvin (Veterans Council of Indian River), Rachel Moshman (Tykes and Teens) Some of the best news in Indian River County this year arrives in the form of a spreadsheet. United Way of Indian River Co

Ten years ago, this was a warehouse the city wanted to tear down. This Saturday, July 18, Walking Tree Brewery is throwing its biggest party yet. Mike and Brooke Malone took over 3209 Dodger Road in 2014, a 1945 Naval aviation supply warehouse wedged between Historic Dodgertown and the Piper plant, and spent two years gutting it themselves, volunteers and all, sparing it the fate of demolition. The first pint went out on June 23, 2016. The 10th Anniversary Block Party starts

Somewhere on our beach right now, a loggerhead nest is about to hatch. 72 hours later, Coastal Connections researchers will be on their knees in the sand, excavating it egg by egg, and you get to take part in this ritual. Turtle Digs have kicked off for the season. It's a morning scene unlike anything else in Vero: the team opens the nest by hand, pulls each egg, and sorts them one by one as hatched, unhatched, or damaged, calling out numbers while a team member logs the data

The Humane Society shelter on 77th is nearly full. This is where the Bissell Pet Foundation's Empty the Shelters campaign comes in. Kittens under 6 months were originally $70, with a second kitten at $35. That second fee has since been waived, so, no, it's not clickbait, it is indeed buy one get one free on kittens. Little Bit Cream Puddles The rest of the pricing: puppies 6 months to a year, $70; dogs 1 to 8 years, $50; cats 7 months to 8 years, $35. Lana T Money Petey The p

Then and now | Photo credit: Chris Cronin (left) America turned 250, and Vero Beach marked the occasion the way it marks every Fourth: out in the water before the rest of the nation was even awake. Thousands waded off Sexton Plaza at sunrise in red, white and blue, a quarter mile out to the SS Breconshire, part of a tradition that started twenty years ago with a handful of Sunrunners and has since become the county's largest unofficial holiday. Read last year's story on the s

America turns 250 on Saturday, and Vero Beach is celebrating in style with three days of parades, patriotic tributes, ocean swims, fireworks over the lagoon, and plenty of live music. These are just a few of the great things happening, and there's so much more. July 2 & 3 – Stars & Service at Riverside Theatre This Thursday and Friday, Riverside Theatre turns its campus into a living thank‑you to those who’ve worn the uniform to make our freedom possible. Grab an All-American

McKee Botanical Garden's Titan Arum, which Vero christened Princess Pungent, never unfurled her spathe, and never released the legendary rotting-garbage reek that makes this plant one of nature's most theatrical performers. She produced pollen instead, marking the end of her lifecycle on her own terms. But in the weeks leading up to that anticlimax, Princess Pungent became arguably the most watched, most photographed, most rooted-for plant in McKee's recent memory. Thousands

The showdown is on as the best burger in Indian River County gets decided this Saturday, June 27. Eleven competitors. Live music by East Harbor. A Classic Car Show, food trucks, a Kid Zone, and craft brewery tastings. Gates open at 11 a.m. at 7955 58th Avenue. Every day, roughly 750 people walk through United Against Poverty's doors in Vero Beach for affordable groceries, job training, crisis support, or just someone to sit with them and help them figure out their next move.

Most good things in this town take time. Hogan Yards took nearly a decade, and it was worth the wait.

Photo Credit: Emilia Muniz, Momento & Co Vero Beach has never had a shortage of things to do. What it has lacked, especially for young families, is a reliable way in. For years, the social fabric here has functioned on familiarity. If you grew up here or arrived with connections, you’re set. If you didn’t, it can take far longer than expected to find your footing. It often shapes who stays, who leaves, and who ever fully participates in the life of the community. Mom Walk

Saturday morning, New Vision Eye Center employee Ronnie officially became a homeowner-in-progress...hammer in hand, wall going up, her daughters looking on, thanks to Habitat for Humanity and its volunteers.

Photo Credit: Jim Wilson Every Flag Day, a flag goes up on the shipwreck 150 yards off Sexton Plaza. Every Fourth of July, nearly 1,000 people swim out to meet it. Yesterday, the flag went up, meaning the countdown has begun. Photo Credit: Jim Wilson Photo Credit: Jim Wilson The SS Breconshire has been resting on our reef since 1894. She's just 150 yards from shore, so close enough to swim, yet far enough to feel like an adventure. On the Fourth, before the heat sets in and t

This Saturday, the 21st Annual Waterlily Celebration returns to McKee! More than 100 varieties in peak bloom, plein-air artists, aquatic plant vendors, re-potting demonstrations, and the photo contest winners on display in the Hall of Giants. Arrive early. The window when night-blooming and day-blooming lilies open together is brief, and it's not something you want to miss. One more thing: tomorrow, June 9th, is the last day to submit entries for the Waterlily Photo Contest.