News & Media | Gulf County Economic Development Coalition
News & Media

What’s happening in Gulf County.

Press releases and coverage of the port, new industry, our workforce and our community, newest first.

A look at the possible placement of the floating dry dock Latest storyPort & MaritimeJune 30, 2026Gulf gets $23M for dry dockAfter more than eight years of planning, the Triumph Gulf Coast Board unanimously approved Gulf County’s largest grant to date: $23.5 million for a floating dry dock expected to create about 400 full-time, competitive to high-paying jobs.Read the full story

2026

A look at the possible placement of the floating dry dockPort & MaritimeJune 30, 2026Gulf gets $23M for dry dockAfter more than eight years of planning, the Triumph Gulf Coast Board unanimously approved Gulf County’s largest grant to date: $23.5 million for a floating dry dock expected to create about 400 full-time, competitive to high-paying jobs.Read the story A rendering of the new Gulf/Franklin campus buildingWorkforce & EducationJune 2, 2026Gulf/Franklin breaks ground on new campus facilityGulf Coast State College celebrated the May 28 groundbreaking for a new multi-purpose classroom building and shelter at its Gulf/Franklin Campus in Port St. Joe.Read the story Funding & GrowthMarch 9, 2026State job growth money brings Gulf millionsMore than $8 million in state money for Gulf County infrastructure boosts hopes for good-paying jobs and affordable housing, two of the region’s most pressing needs.Read the story

2025

Gulf County logoPort & MaritimeMay 12, 2025Gulf County revives floating dry dock proposalFive years after its first proposal, the county renews its push for Triumph Gulf Coast funding for a floating dry dock and ship repair facility, now with the Port St. Joe Port Authority as co-applicant.Read the story Map outlining the proposed airport layoutAviation & DronesMarch 31, 2025Gulf County moves forward on airport plansFederal and state funding could cover 90 percent or more of a new Gulf County airport, with first flights possible by 2029.Read the story UAV Corp CEO Michael Lawson and Jim McKnight review a model at the Wewahitchka plantAviation & DronesMarch 3, 2025UAV CEO pledges ‘the future is bright’At an online shareholder conference, the head of Gulf County-based UAV Corp. outlined the financial steps the company has taken to build investor confidence.Read the story

2024

The AIG T-Wing vertical take-off and landing reconnaissance unitAviation & DronesDecember 2, 2024Drone maker partners with Wewa airship builderSkyborne Technology and Atlantic Industrial Group announce a joint venture to expand manufacturing at Skyborne’s Wewahitchka facility.Read the story Workers leaving the Eastern shipyard on their lunch breakWorkforce & EducationSeptember 23, 2024St. Joe shipyard steps up recruitingA CareerSource Gulf Coast job fair drew dozens of applicants for more than 50 long-term skilled craft positions at Eastern Shipbuilding Group’s Port St. Joe shipyard.Read the story The War Horse support vesselPort & MaritimeJanuary 11, 2024Eastern lands major shipbuilding dealEastern wins the contract to finish two large, state-of-the-art support vessels for the oil and gas industry.Read the story

2023

Ribbon cutting for the new Port St. Joe dialysis facilityCommunity & HealthMarch 23, 2023Ribbon cutting celebrates dialysis services return to Port St. JoeAfter two years of patients driving to Tallahassee or Panama City for treatment, a new Fresenius dialysis center opens in town.Read the story The new Fresenius facility on the Ascension Sacred Heart complexCommunity & HealthJanuary 28, 2023Dialysis facility to open in Gulf County next monthAlmost two years after the county’s only dialysis provider closed, a new facility is set to open.Read the story

2022

Inside the new dry dock facility at the Point South MarinaCommunity & HealthNovember 30, 2022Port St. Joe marina reopens four years after Hurricane MichaelThe long wait is over: the Port St. Joe Marina is back, with a new dry dock facility at Point South.Read the story Chart of Gulf County unemployment over 30 yearsWorkforce & EducationJuly 5, 2022Gulf County unemployment reaches record lowsAt 1.9 percent in April, the county posted its lowest unemployment rate in 30 years of tracking.Read the story Ribbon cutting for the new Wewahitchka Burger KingCommunity & HealthJuly 5, 2022Wewa’s Burger King hosts holding company’s ‘largest opening to date’The new Wewahitchka restaurant outdid every other opening in the region, including Santa Rosa County.Read the story Workforce & EducationMay 31, 2022Gulf County jobless rate dips below 2%Fewer than 1 in 50 workers are without jobs as the county’s labor force grows to 5,358.Read the story Drone photo of the DATT airshipAviation & DronesMay 16, 2022Skyborne airship technology nears final flight testAfter a successful inflation test, the seven-story DATT airship is about a month from its final flight test.Read the story Gulf Correctional Institution signWorkforce & EducationApril 7, 2022County hopes prison salary increases aid efforts to reopen work campGulf County prison facilities have 107 open jobs, including 65 at the temporarily closed Gulf Forestry Camp.Read the story Aviation & DronesJanuary 6, 2022Wewa-based aerospace company creates Space Tourism DivisionUAV Corp. opens a new division that aims to use its airship technology to make space travel more accessible.Read the story Community & HealthJanuary 6, 2022Gulf backs dialysis center subsidy, seeks Franklin helpA five-year county subsidy for start-up costs could bring a full-service dialysis center back to Gulf County.Read the story

2021

Port & MaritimeSeptember 23, 2021Port Authority closer to securing dredging dollarsThe Port Authority moves a step closer to $15 million from Triumph to deepen the shipping channel into the bay.Read the story Staten Island FerryPort & MaritimeAugust 17, 2021Farewell, Staten Island FerryShipyard workers gather at the water’s edge as the SSG Michael H. Ollis is towed out on its 12-day journey to New York.Read the story Port & MaritimeJuly 15, 2021County ‘commemorates beautifully’ Eastern shipyard openingBeside a pair of freshly finished Staten Island ferries, Gulf County celebrated the opening of Eastern’s Port St. Joe shipyard.Read the story Port & MaritimeMay 17, 2021Twin Rivers opens Port after 20-year hiatusThe arrival of the M/V UBC Saiki in St. Joseph Bay reopens the port to international shipping for the first time in more than 20 years.Read the story Port & MaritimeApril 5, 2021Commissioners tour Eastern ShipbuildingCommissioners see the results of a $6 million infrastructure investment on the old mill site, from roadways to mooring bollards.Read the story Port & MaritimeMarch 4, 2021Staten Island Ferry a welcome arrivalNew Yorkers won’t be thinking about Port St. Joe as they cross the harbor, but their ferry was finished here.Read the story Aviation & DronesFebruary 11, 2021State grant provides help for airport infrastructureClose to half a million dollars in rural infrastructure funding will complete improvements at Costin Airport.Read the story

2020

Workforce & EducationDecember 1, 2020Breaking fresh groundWork begins on the first expansion of the Gulf/Franklin campus in 22 years.Read the story Aviation & DronesNovember 23, 2020Skyborne’s newest airship passes testThe DATT SA-70 semi-rigid airship passes an essential stress test on its way to FAA approval.Read the story Funding & GrowthOctober 26, 2020A disaster in the unmakingThe U.S. Economic Development Administration announces disaster grant funds for the Gulf County Board of County Commissioners.Read the story Port & MaritimeOctober 19, 2020Chip shipping sets sailFour barges of woodchips arrive from Pensacola as shipments to Honduras take a big step forward.Read the story Port & MaritimeOctober 5, 2020Port to ship wood chips to HondurasWood chip exports from Port St. Joe are set to begin by month’s end.Read the story Funding & GrowthOctober 5, 2020Duke to build solar farm next yearFlorida’s solar build-out reaches Gulf County next year.Read the story Aviation & DronesSeptember 28, 2020Building an airship in WewahitchkaInside the Wewahitchka Industrial Park, an airship is taking shape.Read the story Aviation & DronesAugust 12, 2020New name, same mission for SkyborneThe parent company’s name is changing, but Skyborne remains on track to take off this fall.Read the story Workforce & EducationJune 29, 2020Triumph approves GCSC drone programsTriumph finalizes a grant for a drone boot camp for exiting military personnel and spouses across eight Northwest Florida counties.Read the story [PHOTO]Workforce & EducationMay 7, 2020Triumph forwards two Gulf/Franklin projectsTwo Gulf Coast State College projects in Gulf County move ahead in the Triumph pipeline.Read the story [PHOTO]Community & HealthMay 7, 2020PSJ Marina rebuild to begin this monthThe St. Joe Company announces plans for a dry storage facility at the Port St. Joe Marina.Read the story Aviation & DronesMarch 19, 2020Skyborne acquired by technology companyThe acquisition is good news for Skyborne’s plans for its Gulf County operations.Read the story Workforce & EducationMarch 17, 2020Triumph board provides “conceptual” approval to GCSC drone programThe first step toward expanding drone programs at Gulf Coast State College.Read the story Funding & GrowthJanuary 16, 2020Growing a lasting food source: Deseret in the Florida PanhandleDeseret Cattle & Timber manages more than 300,000 acres west of the Apalachicola River for the long haul.Read the story

2019

Workforce & EducationDecember 29, 2019Triumph grant will double Gulf/Franklin nursing programA new grant doubles nursing graduates at Gulf Coast State College’s Gulf/Franklin campus.Read the story Port & MaritimeDecember 29, 2019Eastern Shipbuilding launches first of Staten Island ferriesEastern Shipbuilding’s long-sought expansion into Gulf County could happen before year’s end.Read the story Community & HealthOctober 14, 2019City approves marina developmentPort St. Joe commissioners approve the St. Joe Company’s plans for the Port St. Joe Marina.Read the story Workforce & EducationJuly 15, 2019Drone Institute to establish county training centerThe Unmanned Safety Institute will open its Center of Excellence at the Gulf/Franklin campus.Read the story Aviation & DronesApril 8, 2019County, Skyborne celebrate airport purchaseSkyborne Technology and county officials celebrate the company’s purchase of the airport and its expansion into south Gulf County.Read the story Aviation & DronesApril 1, 2019Skyborne, county celebrate airport purchase todaySkyborne and partner Unmanned Systems, Inc. hold demonstrations at Costin Airport in Port St. Joe.Read the story Funding & GrowthApril 1, 2019County lends support to $450M biofuel projectCounty commissioners back a proposed $450 million biofuel plant in Gulf County.Read the story Aviation & DronesMarch 20, 2019Skyborne Technology acquires Costin AirportThe aviation systems maker expands its Gulf County footprint.Read the story

2018

Port & MaritimeJune 4, 2018Eastern Shipbuilding breaks ground on the old paper mill siteEastern Shipbuilding brings jobs to a Port St. Joe site that sat vacant for nearly 20 years.Read the story

2017

Port & MaritimeOctober 6, 2017Port Authority inks LOIA day the Port St. Joe Port Authority had awaited for years.Read the story Funding & GrowthOctober 4, 2017A blank canvasA port, a railroad and plenty of infrastructure give Gulf County a boost in its drive to grow the economy.Read the story Port & MaritimeMarch 20, 2017The promise of a portFrom St. Joseph Bay, the Intracoastal Waterway reaches as far as El Paso or Chicago.Read the story Funding & GrowthMarch 20, 2017County RESTORE plan approvedThe U.S. Treasury approves Gulf County’s multi-year plan for RESTORE Act dollars.Read the story Port & MaritimeMarch 20, 2017Port officials have ‘positive’ meeting with CorpsPort Authority officials leave a meeting with the Army Corps of Engineers optimistic about dredging costs.Read the story

2016

Port & MaritimeSeptember 20, 2016Eastern lands $10.5 billion contractEastern will add hundreds of jobs after securing the largest contract in U.S. Coast Guard history.Read the story Gulf County logoFunding & GrowthJuly 27, 2016County must decide soon on spending $12 million in RESTORE fundsA second pot of RESTORE Act money becomes a planning priority for county officials.Read the story Port & MaritimeJuly 27, 2016Port Authority, St. Joe nearing LOIsA tipping point for the development of the Port of Port St. Joe appears near.Read the story Funding & GrowthJuly 14, 2016Chris Holley: Port St. Joe is rigged & ready for businessThe Gulf County EDC’s executive director on what makes the county attractive for economic development.Read the story Funding & GrowthJuly 12, 2016Deepwater Horizon, five years later: an interview with Chris HolleyHow Triumph legislation and the RESTORE Act continue to aid Florida’s Gulf counties after the oil spill.Read the story
Media inquiries

Working on a story about Gulf County?

We can connect you with the people, projects, data and photos behind the headlines, from the port to the classroom.

Media contact
NameKatie Shealy
Office1000 Cecil G. Costin Sr. Blvd., Room 136
Port St. Joe, FL 32456