This is southwest Florida InFocus coming up, getting the most out of your tax return.

We talk with an expert to understand the latest deductibles that will give you a chance at a better refund.

Living life after a stroke.

The medical scare that left one woman thankful to have more time to spend with her family.

And it's the return to our roots with rides and funnel cake.

We learned what you can expect from this year's Southwest Florida AG Expo.

Hello, I'm Jennifer Crawford.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Tax season is upon us.

The Internal Revenue Service says it processed over 165 million individual tax returns last year and refunded more than $311 billion to taxpayers this year.

New changes are in the works that can directly impact the amount of money you owe Uncle Sam.

Understanding those changes and preparing your tax return correctly is key, and a free program in Southwest Florida helps make that happen.

For more on the 2026 tax season, we are joined by Mary Metter.

Mary works for the United Way of Lee Hendry and Glades County and you manage an incredible program from the IRS.

And that program is called Vita, and that helps people file their taxes for free.

Can you tell me more about this program?

Sure.

Vita stands for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance.

We recruit and train volunteers, get them IRS certified to do basic tax returns out in the community.

We cover Lee, Hendry, Glades, Charlotte County and the city of Immokalee.

And you are over all of those locations.

You mentioned to me you had 9000 people that you helped last year.

We did 9009 returns during, from January through September last year.

$9.3 million of refunds were issued back to the community, and they didn't have to pay to do their taxes.

Yeah.

Who qualifies for this program with Fina?

Our income limit is $70,000.

We also have another program called TCE Tax Counseling for the elderly, which the focus is more on seniors.

But we can see any age there and they don't have an income limit.

And and it's free and that's absolutely free.

We do basic returns nothing complicated.

And we had talked a little bit.

There are some new changes this year.

The one big beautiful bill act, created some changes.

Taxpayers really need to be aware of.

Can you touch on on a few of them?

Sure.

These are actually some really good benefits, for a lot of the taxpayers.

So the standard deduction went from 14,600 last year to 15,007 50 for a single person.

It's double if you are married.

If you are over 65, you even get an additional 1600 to 2000, depending if you're married or not.

And the new wonderful thing that happened was the enhanced senior deduction.

So if you have a Social Security number and you're over 65, you get an extra $6,000 deduction on top of that.

And if you're married and you're both over 65 that's 12,000.

And what the standard deduction is, is that's how much you can make without having to pay income tax on it.

So $46,700 you don't have to pay tax on if you were married filing jointly and both over 65.

And you also mentioned there's a new vehicle.

And over time there's some some new changes for those types of, scenarios.

So there's this new, reduced tax on overtime, reduced tax on tip earnings.

And then also there's a reduction or a deduction, excuse me, on vehicle interest that was paid.

So for the reduced tax on tips, up to $25,000 in tip income will not be taxed.

And if it's overtime after $12,500 in overtime that's earned from working more than 40 hours in a week could be income tax free.

And for vehicles, it has to be a brand new vehicle assembled in the United States.

Has to be purchased with a loan.

The interest on that for the year is also not going to be taxed.

So that's a deduction you can take.

Those are wonderful benefits.

They're amazing especially for servers and so many people that make tips and rely on tips.

We had a wonderful young lady come in and she made over $40,000 in tip income.

And she didn't have to pay tax on $25,000 of it.

So that was a huge blessing for her.

I was going to say, bless that woman.

That's fantastic.

Can you talk about what some of the common mistakes are that people make when they're filing taxes, if they don't use a service like yours?

Absolutely.

So, one of the most common one is choosing the wrong filing status or claiming or not claiming dependents that they should.

We see that a lot a lot of data entry errors, putting things in the wrong places.

We also have quite a few people not reporting their marketplace health insurance.

Simple data entry.

Those is most of it.

Iris loves to send those people to help fix their returns.

And you had mentioned to me that there are four options that people can choose from through your program, how they can file the taxes.

Can you explain what those options are?

So we have the traditional in person program where you can come in and sit with somebody, and we'll do your taxes for you.

We have out in Lehigh Valley drop off program where you come in, we talk to you, get your information, you come back a week later and your tax returns are done.

We have get your refund, which is 100% in virtual so you can sit at home, upload your documents, and somebody will be working on your return virtually.

And then we also have my free taxes where you can do your own taxes online yourself.

Anything else you want us to know about the program or your services?

And to make an appointment they can call two one, one or our landline number, which is (239)433-3900.

Because places like city of Immokalee and Hendry County, the two and one doesn't connect generally to us all the time.

We can also or they can also book at UnitedWayLee.org /free tax prep.

That's great news.

Thank you so much for joining us and sharing this very important information.

You're most welcome.

Thank you for having me out.

Thank you, Miss Metro.

Thank you so much.

If you want to learn more about these free tax services, you can head to United Way League org slash free tax prep coming up, forging a path to better health.

How maintaining your kidneys can have a direct impact on the rest of your body.

Every 40s someone in the United States has a stroke.

The centers for Disease Control says nearly 800,000 people suffer a stroke annually.

And 1 in 6 deaths from cardiovascular disease is due to a stroke.

Carrie Barber talked with one Bradenton woman who was on a lifelong path of recovery following her own health scare stroke Thanksgiving morning, 2018.

It stays with me because it was Thanksgiving morning.

Stephanie Whitfield, now 55, is the president of Bank of America Sarasota-manatee.

She's also the mother of three sons and a daughter and active in her church and community.

So we were just doing some final touches that morning on what we needed to to finish.

And, my husband went into his home office.

My mother and I were at the table and, I just I was sitting there and then all of a sudden it just felt like a knife went into my head.

It was just a stabbing feeling.

And I've never had a migraine, so I didn't even know.

I had no experience of head hurting at that level.

But I literally felt like someone drove a knife into my brain and I stood up and I know my mother was talking to me, but I couldn't really hear her anymore.

And I was walking toward the steps and I started and this is these are things now that my husband has filled in for me.

But I started up the steps, apparently, and my mother called him, screamed his name.

He came out of his office right across from the steps, grabbed me as I was falling, and so he and my mother took me to the E.R.

they went through the stroke protocol, admitted me, and but the positive, the best thing that happened is he got me there so quickly that I was able to get the drug called TPA, TPA, or tissue plasminogen activator, is a lifesaving drug that instantly breaks up a blood clot.

What typically would require a four day hospital stay took Winfield just to.

Before she was released.

Her husband, Mark, who'd had a stroke some years earlier, advocated for her to get the care she needed, and he was a great support.

Later, at home, he carried me into the house, you know, and he helped to bathe me and carried me down the steps and propped me up on the sofa.

And he did that for months.

I started physical therapy soon as I was released.

She'd been traveling for work a few days before her stroke and fell off, but she kept telling herself she would rest after the holiday.

I just did what I what I had always done.

I'd just push through, started cooking some things.

Wednesday night, right, like we did.

And, woke up Thursday early, right here, getting things together for us to take to the church.

And, I think my body was like, I'm not waiting till Friday, you know?

And it just I just couldn't it just couldn't handle it.

I just couldn't handle it.

Like many of us, Whitfield did not know how common strokes are in women.

Here's Jessica Rodriguez, executive director of the American Heart Association for Southwest Florida.

Yeah, stroke is actually more common than I think most people believe.

And women, stroke is the number five killer of women in the United States to ensure recovery, a stroke needs to be treated within 4.5 hours of symptoms appearing.

But many people ignore or don't recognize those symptoms.

Doctor John Broman is a senior neurologist at Lee health.

Warnings are include any kind of difficulty with speech, any difficulty with extremity movements, balance, occasional headache, facial weakness, like drooping on the face.

On one side, an acronym to know is fast, F for face, A for arm, S for speech and T for time.

Watch for drooping in the face, weakness in the arm or leg, difficulty with speech and time because the sooner the person gets treated, the more likely they are to recover.

Also call 911 rather than driving yourself to the hospital because treatment, including the clot busting drug, can be started in the ambulance.

As for Stephanie Whitfield, she is back to doing everything she could before her stroke and then some.

But she says she will never be the same.

For one thing, she now knows she has the strength to survive a stroke and she knows to prioritize her own health.

Please take care of yourself first.

It's not selfish because when we take care of ourselves first, we have so much more to give all those people we love.

We're not giving them the leftovers.

We're not giving them the crumbs.

We are taking care of ourselves.

We're eating right.

We're exercising.

We're sleeping.

If our bodies, if we feel something, we're getting it checked out because then we don't have to see the heartache on their faces if we're not there.

Jessica Rodriguez of the American Heart Association, again, we know that one of the most common indicators of an incoming stroke in a woman is high blood pressure.

So it's really critical that every woman knows what their blood pressure is, knows what range it falls in, and is seeking care to, get their blood pressure on track, which healthy blood pressure is 120 over 80?

Doctor Broman recommends people get a blood pressure cuff and check it regularly at home.

Between that and seeing your doctor for blood work.

Women can help ensure that they're around for many more holidays to come.

For WDSU news, I'm Carrie Barber.

It is estimated that 37 million Americans have kidney disease.

Complicating matters, 90% of people are unaware they even have it.

If left untreated, kidney disease can lead to irreversible damage and even impact other organs, including the heart.

To learn more, we are now joined by Doctor Samir Parikh, a noted kidney researcher and president of the American Society of Nephrology.

Doctor Parikh, thank you for joining us from Dallas, Texas.

Jennifer, thank you for having me on.

This is such an important topic.

I'm so happy that we'll have a chance to talk about kidney health today.

Well, Yale Medicine has called kidney disease the silent killer.

And given its difficulty in detecting it, what are the kinds of kidney disease that people should really be aware of?

And and who's at risk?

Yeah.

I mean, this is we've got two major problems to deal with.

One is that this is an epidemic.

1 in 7 adults in this country is affected by kidney disease.

And the second problem you already noted at the top, kidney diseases are largely clinically silent.

Nine out of ten people don't even know that they've got kidney diseases.

And so why is that happening?

You know, the the way to think about the kidneys are that they're filtering the blood all the time.

And each kidney is actually made up of a million microscopic filters.

And these are basically fragile blood vessels that have to last a lifetime.

They don't regenerate.

And so diseases that affect blood vessels wind up clogging and impairing these filters.

So that's diabetes.

That's high blood pressure.

That's obesity.

That's cardiovascular disease.

It's also a family history of kidney disease.

And so, we know how common those conditions are.

And they are all converging on these fragile blood vessels that make up the kidney filters.

Are there warning signs that people can notice if they are starting to lose their kidney function?

Yeah.

You know, as these filters are collapsing or clogging, you don't really get symptoms.

You don't get pain, for example.

And the symptoms you do get from kidney disease tend to occur towards the end when kidney disease is very advanced.

And to make it even worse, they tend to be nonspecific.

It can be stuff like loss of appetite or loss of energy or, you know, some memory and cognition problems.

And so I think the key thing is if you've got risk factors high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, family history, get checked out, have a conversation with your primary care doctor about very simple and accurate tests that can measure kidney function through the blood and measure kidney damage, in a urine test.

So very easy to get done.

What is the link between kidney health and heart health?

And why is the connection between those two organs so important?

Right.

I mean, we're in the middle of American Heart Month right now, and March is National Kidney Month.

It's no coincidence that these two months are right next to each other.

Because I'll tell you the way I learned it in medical school.

The heart is the pump for the blood, and the kidneys are the filter.

And if the filter starts clogging or starts shutting down, that puts enormous strain on the heart, on the pump.

It strains that pumping function.

It can affect the electricity in the heart.

So it can affect the rhythm of the heart and lead to abnormal heartbeat.

Poor kidney function can even lead to hardening of the arteries that supply the heart.

And so you have multiple heart problems that develop as kidney function worsens.

Now, the flip side of that is also really important to emphasize, which is that if you can love your kidneys, if you can take care of your kidneys and learn about your kidney health and protect your kidneys, you can really save your heart.

How can we love our kidneys?

What can we do?

You know, I think the first thing is just awareness.

It's conversations like these.

You know, if you're listening and you have one of these conditions, you have one of these risk factors diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity or a family history of kidney disease.

Have that conversation as soon as you can with your primary care doctor about getting tested for your kidney health.

Very simple tests, a simple blood test, and a simple urine test.

So just know your numbers, right?

That's sort of the first step.

And if it turns out that your kidney numbers are in good shape, we'll then focus on lifestyle and diet.

The the diet and lifestyle that are good for the kidney.

Those are also the ones that are good for the heart.

So a diet that's, like the Mediterranean diet or the Dash diet.

Great for the heart, great for the kidney.

Active lifestyle, great for the heart.

Great for the kidney.

Can you just give us simple steps that we can take to keep our kidneys healthy?

Yes.

Of course.

I think number one is just understand your risk.

Know your numbers.

Know your blood pressure number.

Know your diabetes number.

Know your cholesterol number.

And if any of those is abnormal.

Know your kidney number.

Right.

So just knowledge I think is power here.

And then the second step is like we've talked about diet exercise a heart healthy lifestyle.

These are the things people can do that can markedly, affect the risk of developing kidney disease in the future.

Just like, a terrible diet can lead to diabetes, a great diet can prevent diabetes and can prevent that downstream damage to those kidney filters that results in kidney disease.

Doctor, can you, touch on resources that are available out there for anyone who's trying to find out more about how to keep their kidneys healthy?

Absolutely.

There's a website you can go to.

It's assn dash online.org, and you'll see a banner right across the top that says love your kidneys.

Lots of good information in there about all of the things that we've talked about here today.

Doctor Parikh, thank you so much for joining us today and for your expertise.

Jennifer, thank you for the opportunity to talk about kidney health and awareness.

Really appreciate it.

In celebration of Black History Month, we bring you a moment in Southwest Florida.

History is bright.

My looks at the groundbreaking work of Veronica Shoemaker.

Veronica Shoemaker Boulevard is named after a Fort Myers trailblazer for social, political, and educational change.

Shoemaker was born in 1929, and Dunbar the daughter of a preacher.

She was one of 11 children living in a home her father built.

Shoemaker first ran for public office in 1968.

After many attempts and through resilient persistence.

In 1982 she finally won the Ward two city council seat for Fort Myers.

She was the first African-American to serve on the Fort Myers City Council, and the first black ever elected to office in Fort Myers.

Her legacy also includes the Veronica Shoemaker florist on Doctor Martin Luther King Boulevard.

Tune in to See You Every day in February.

At this time for more moments in Southwest Florida.

Black history.

Coming up after the break.

Get ready for funnel cakes, fried pickles, and fair fun.

We will learn more about all the excitement you can expect at this year's Southwest Florida AG Expo.

We are counting down to the return of the annual Southwest Florida AG Expo beginning this Thursday, February 26th.

This year's event will feature carnival rides, livestock shows, exhibits, and much, much more.

To learn about the return of this huge event, we are joined by Miriam Dotson with the AG Expo.

Miriam, welcome.

Thank you so much for having me.

Miriam, can you first explain what is the theme of this year's AG Expo and tell us all about it?

Yeah, so we're very excited about this year.

The theme is Roots and rides a tradition, of course, that we want to keep going because we want to make sure that we're focusing on the AG portion of this event.

It's in the name, but there's so much more to go for when you're going to the AG Expo.

Of course, many people want to go for the rides and the food, but we really want to make sure people are remembering the traditions and the importance of the AG Park in North Fort Myers and our surrounding areas, where that's a big part of our community and the kids.

And for H and FFA and everybody who's been involved with putting this event on, you know, it's quite a big deal.

It's been a lot of work for them over the past year or so.

We want to make sure that we are honoring that and letting people know that there's a lot to do surrounding all of that, you know, including a market auction.

And the kids get to show off their animals and all their hard work.

So we don't want that to get forgotten about.

And I think we've done a good job letting people know, but, there's so much more to do and lots of fun to be had.

Can you touch on how important it is?

We have children showing their livestock.

How important is it to show the agriculture community what we have here in Southwest Florida to support this?

Yeah, I love talking about this because many people really think of us as the beach.

Even our residents.

Right?

We love our beach.

We love our coastline.

But when you go inland just a little bit in communities like North Fort Myers, I mean, within an hour you're in a completely different atmosphere.

And the farming community is incredibly important to all of us and the children and the families who are working on these farms and work with animals year round teaches more than just raising livestock.

You know, they're learning all kinds of life skills.

When you go there and talk to just little kids, the piece of Southwest Florida, they learn so many more things and love it, and they have a passion for it.

And this creates a better community all the way around.

You know, we're building confidence.

These kids are being able to go and show their animal, learn how to take care of an animal.

As a parent, we know, you know, that can be fun to watch, too, because it's all about learning.

And and they are the future of where we're going.

You know, we're we're going to see all of this.

So it really goes much deeper than just going and looking at a a goat agility contest or beautiful horses.

I mean, they're beautiful.

But the kids and these.

This is our family, right?

These these are our neighbors.

These are our kids in our community who we want to see thrive.

And this is one way they get to do it.

And as a resident or someone who's coming to visit, we want you to be part of that and be able to experience it.

And this is just one way that you can do that.

And, there's a lot of events surrounding it throughout the entire, 11 day event.

But our big showcase is on that Saturday during the market auction, so you don't have to, you know, go up for auction.

You can just go and be a spectator to see, what this all means and learn a lot about the agricultural community.

I just want to know if we have funnel cakes available.

That's my big concern.

Well, we have those works, and fry funnel.

Bring all those yummy and delicious goodies.

I know I've tried not to go too hard on the food, because I know that's my favorite part too.

Maybe I'm handling too much and those big lemonades.

I love those giant lemonades.

You know, you just.

It's like that fresh squeezed sugary lemonade with the funnel cake hand in hand.

Let this be your cheat day.

Have some fun and enjoy all.

Nothing like it, right?

Nothing.

Thank you so much for joining us today and sharing with us all this information.

Where can we go for more if, someone who's listening wants to check out the latest information as far as ticket prices, etc.. Yeah.

Three question, lots of different offers as I mentioned.

So it's S.W., FL ag expo.com.

So Southwest Florida AG expo.com and we're updating that website constantly to keep up to any changes that may happen.

And also on our social media pages as well.

But our website a great place to go.

That's awesome.

And hopefully we have great weather that will take us through the entire length of the fair.

Yes, I hope to see you all out there and again, enjoy our community all together.

All right, have a great day and thank you for joining us.

Thank you.

You too.

Coming up tomorrow, a closer look at what could happen if property taxes are eliminated.

It may be good news for homeowners, but could it mean a tax hike for everyone else?

We speak to Lee County property appraiser Matt Caldwell to find out more.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Make sure you head to WGCU.org where you will find all of our stories, plus the extended interviews.

We look forward to seeing you again back here tomorrow at 630 for the next episode of Southwest Florida InFocus.