Good Morning, Sunland
It's Monday! Everything is back in full swing. Both students and teachers have been wishing everybody good luck on a wonderful school year, and also wishing everybody not directly connected to our school system to be careful on the roads and watch out for traffic. If you're wondering why there's so much more traffic outside of buses being back on the road, it's actually because St. Lucie County Schools is the biggest employer in the county. Nearly 5,500 people work there, so a lot more people are back up traveling and commuting to work.
👁️ Caught my eye: Stuart is ranked 16th worst in the country for McDonald's ice cream machine breakdowns. If you still get ice cream for you or your kids, check out McBroken, a pretty unique website that maps all the broken ice cream machines in real time. Absolute game changer.
💜 People Pass Shoutout: Thank you to everyone supporting the newsletter! If you want to help keep this going, support here.
In today's newsletter:
📊 St. Lucie County is getting younger with median age dropping from 45.9 in 2020 to 44.9 in 2024
🎓 Indian River County School budget up, tax rate down despite rising property values
💰 St. Lucie County has $146,358 in unclaimed checks from 2024
🍦 Stuart ranked worst for McDonald's ice cream machine breakdowns on the Treasure Coast
🎭 Sunrise Theatre management transition finalized with VenuWorks agreement
Alright, let's jump right in!
⛅ Weather Update: Partly sunny and humid, a brief shower possible this afternoon.
☀️ Day: High of 92°F | Partly sunny and humid, a brief shower or two this afternoon.
🌙 Night: Low of 74°F | Clear and humid. Winds SSE at 4 mph. 7% chance of rain.
🌅 Sunrise: 6:49 AM | 🌇 Sunset: 8:04 PM
🌙 Moonrise: 4:14 AM | 🌚 Moonset: 6:43 PM
🎶 Sounds like: "If I Was Your Girlfriend" — Prince
Ja'Min Devon
Founder, Sunland News
🟠 Main Squeeze: St. Lucie County is getting younger
I keep using this exit photo, because for some reason, I really enjoy LOL..
Down a rabbit hole of data searches yesterday, I found myself genuinely curious about something I had not seen anyone write about locally. Are the demographics of St. Lucie County actually changing as the population keeps growing? So I started digging 📊.
The first thing I wanted to know was simple. Which of our two cities skews younger?
The answer: Fort Pierce, with a median age of 37.2.
By comparison:
🏙️ Port St. Lucie: 43.9
🏘️ St. Lucie Village: 49.8
The county over time:
📅 2020: 45.9 median age
📅 2024: 44.9 median age
That is a full year younger in four years while the county added more than 70,000 people in that same window. The reputation has always been retirement destination, snowbirds, 55 and better communities. And that is still part of the story. But the data suggests a meaningful portion of the people arriving are younger working age families, not retirees.
Where it goes from here: State projections put the county's population at 438,000 by 2030 and nearly 500,000 by 2040. There is no publicly available median age projection by county that far out, but if the pattern holds the county is likely to keep trending younger through the end of the decade.
💬 Do you feel like St. Lucie County is skewing younger? What signs give you that? Tell us right here.
📰 Press Round: Schools, Unclaimed Funds & Frozen Treats
🎓 Indian River County School Budget Up, Tax Rate Down
Indian River County Schools' proposed $436.2 million budget is up nearly $16 million, but the tax rate is going down because property values rose 4.71% while the budget increased only 3.7%. The district allocated $52.24 million for capital improvements including roof replacements and security enhancements. Another $1.1 million funds raises for 350 teachers with 10 years or more experience.
👉 Read more (Vero News)
💰 St. Lucie County Has $146,358 in Unclaimed Checks
St. Lucie County residents and businesses can claim $146,358 in unclaimed checks from 2024. The Clerk's Office lists 277 individuals and businesses with outstanding funds ranging from $1 to more than $10,000. Money comes from cash bonds, property auction payments, court registry and recording fee overpayments. Claims must be postmarked by August 31.
👉 Read more (WQCS)
🍦 Stuart Ranked Worst for McDonald's Ice Cream Machine Breakdowns
Stuart ranked 16th worst in the country for McDonald's ice cream machine reliability, with machines down 33.8% of the time compared to the national average of 10.4%. Fort Pierce ranked 70th worst at 24% downtime. Vero Beach and Port St. Lucie are also above the national average at 16.6% and 16.4% respectively.
👉 Read more (TCPalm subscription may be required)
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Call For A Quote🎉 Weekdayer: Weekdayer: August 10–14
Monday, August 10
🌌 Companion Cosmos For You & Your Friend!, 722 Orange Ave, Fort Pierce. 5PM. Details
Tuesday, August 11
🤝 Fort Pierce Networking Breakfast, Gator Trace Golf & Country Club, Fort Pierce. 8:15AM, $17, RSVP required. Details
Thursday, August 13
🎷 Dynamic Duo featuring Brenna Bavis & Cary DeNigris, Sweet Desires Dessert Lounge, Vero Beach. 6PM.
😂 L.A. Hardy & Friends Comedy Show, My Brothers BBQ, Port St. Lucie. 7PM. Details
Friday, August 14
🎭 GET READY! Old School Motown, The Lyric Theatre, Stuart. 7PM. Details
🏆 Florida Sports Hall of Fame Reception Honoring 2026 Inductees, MIDFLORIDA Event Center, Port St. Lucie. 6:30PM. Details
🤘 STAMP Summer Slam: Metal and Punk Festival, The Stamp, 2015 13th Ave, Vero Beach. Doors 7PM. Details
🎸 Folk Night featuring The Wyldewoods and Ray Cerbone, Priscilla's Oasis on Orange, Fort Pierce.
Send Me More Events Here
💧 Civic Week Ahead: Development, Schools, & Recreation
🎭 Sunrise Theatre management transition finalized – City Commission approves First Amendment to VenuWorks agreement. Utilities remain in City name with monthly VenuWorks reimbursement. Interim Executive Director continues as City employee liaison. $50k concession equipment investment process clarified. Amendment fiscal-neutral. Details
🏗️ Causeway Cove LIVE LOCAL development advances – 913-unit mixed-use project on track for administrative approval. 365-400 affordable units exceeding 40% state requirement. 407 hotel rooms, 218 marina slips, 72,622 sq ft retail. Water taxi to Downtown, transit stop, beach shuttle planned. Traffic mitigation at US-1 and Seaway Drive. Update
📊 FY2027 FPRA Operating Budget and Capital Improvement Plan presented – Redevelopment agency sets annual priorities and capital spending for downtown infrastructure and placemaking projects. Marina Square Design Advancement approved with $97k funding. Agenda
📚 St. Lucie County schools approve FY2027 budgets and tech investments – School board approves Education Foundation year-end report, Tax Anticipation Notes for cash flow, $142k Microsoft support renewal with AI services, $21.6k monthly GPS fleet tracking, and $213.6k Edgenuity credit recovery platform. Charter schools report strong fund balances. Board Meeting
🚴 Green River Parkway Trail Construction Project awarded – Port St. Lucie awards contract for trail construction partially funded by Florida Department of Transportation Local Agency Program grant. Recreation and infrastructure expansion. Agenda
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