Mike Mendenhall Associate Editor email
Jacksonville Today Associate Editor Mike Mendenhall focuses on Jacksonville City Hall and the Florida Legislature. A native Iowan, he previously led the Des Moines Business Record newsroom and served as associate editor of government affairs at the Jacksonville Daily Record, where he twice won Florida Press Association TaxWatch Awards for his in-depth coverage of Jacksonville’s city budget. Mike’s work at the Daily Record also included reporting on Downtown development, JEA and the city’s independent authorities, and he was a frequent contributor to WJCT News 89.9 and News4Jax. Mike began his journalism career at the Newton Daily News, where he was promoted to editor-in-chief and won the Iowa Newspaper Association’s Outstanding Young Iowa Journalist Award and the Harrison Skip Weber Investigative Reporting Award. A graduate of the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Mike is the rare combination-Star Wars/Star Trek fan. When he’s not writing, Mike is on the beach or camping with his wife Betsy and their two dogs Jovie and Nessie, enjoying live jazz or at the movies.
Featured image for “Jax mayor wants to hear what you think of city budget”
Mayor Donna Deegan hosted a community conversation at the Legends Center in the Sherwood neighborhood on Aug. 24, 2023. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
1 hour ago

Jax mayor wants to hear what you think of city budget

Mayor Donna Deegan has set a series of town hall meetings after City Council cut some of her proposals.…

Featured image for “JEA moves to pursue $1.57 billion natural gas plant”
A GE Vernova natural gas-powered turbine which could power a future JEA power plant. |
23 hours ago

JEA moves to pursue $1.57 billion natural gas plant

JEA plans to build a natural gas power plant and may need to reevaluate its rollout of more solar projects.…

Featured image for “Jax mayor and City Council president spar over budget cuts”
Jacksonville City Council President Kevin Carrico says police, fire and infrastructure were the financial priorities for City Council for the 2025-26 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, 2025. Carrico was joined by eight Republican members of the City Council, including Finance Committee Chair Raul Arias, left, and former Council President Ron Salem on the steps of Jacksonville City Hall on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
1 day ago

Jax mayor and City Council president spar over budget cuts

With budget hearings wrapped up, City Council will now debate whether to cut programs to reduce taxes.…

Featured image for “Health funding partly restored in city budget”
August 22, 2025

Health funding partly restored in city budget

The action came after the medical community lobbied local lawmakers not to scrap funding for teleheath and other programs.…

Featured image for “Daily’s and Bold City Brewery delayed in LaVilla”
An illustration of the LaVilla Daily's as seen from Bay and Broad streets. | Jacksonville Daily Record
August 14, 2025

Daily’s and Bold City Brewery delayed in LaVilla

Jacksonville lawmakers gave First Coast Energy three more years to complete the combined fuel station and brewery.…

Featured image for “City attorney questioned for hiring father-in-law’s firm”
Jacksonville General Counsel Michael Fackler is facing scrutiny from city lawmakers for hiring his father-in-law's legal firm to hand a State Attorney's Office subpoena. | Jacksonville Daily Record
August 13, 2025

City attorney questioned for hiring father-in-law’s firm

Jacksonville City Council wants a state ethics opinion about the action of General Counsel Michael Fackler.…

Featured image for “#AskJAXTDY | Who’s paying for The Pearl sculpture at RiversEdge?”
The city has issued a permit for a sculpture called The Pearl at the RiversEdge development on the Downtown Southbank. The Pearl is the centerpiece of the development's Central Park. | Jacksonville Daily Record
August 11, 2025

#AskJAXTDY | Who’s paying for The Pearl sculpture at RiversEdge?

The city is kicking in $1 million for the sculpture. The developer will pay the rest.…

Featured image for “City budget panel outlines cuts to pay for tax reduction”
Members of the Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee debate the 2026 city budget during a hearing Friday, Aug. 7, 2025, at City Hall. | Mike Mendenhall, Jacksonville Today
August 8, 2025

City budget panel outlines cuts to pay for tax reduction

Health care initiatives and some community projects are among expenditures on the chopping block.…

Featured image for “Florida CFO alleges record tampering before DOGE audits”
Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia holds a news conference Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, at Jacksonville City Hall. | Mike Mendenhall, Jacksonville Today
August 7, 2025

Florida CFO alleges record tampering before DOGE audits

CFO Blaise Ingoglia did not specify which cities scrubbed records, and he did not mention Jacksonville specifically.…

Featured image for “Duval property owners will pay more to challenge assessments”
Jacksonville City Council member Rahman Johnson served as the master of ceremonies of the cty of Jacksonville's celebration of Florida Emancipation Day on May 20, 2025. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
August 6, 2025

Duval property owners will pay more to challenge assessments

The cost to challenge a property assessment in Duval County will increase to $50 from $15.…

Featured image for “Deegan tries to head off conflict over state DOGE audit”
Mayor Donna Deegan speaks at a groundbreaking March 26, 2025, for the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine at Jacksonville University. | Jacksonville University
August 5, 2025

Deegan tries to head off conflict over state DOGE audit

Mayor Donna Deegan responded to criticism by the state CFO, who suggested the city is trying to stifle a DOGE…

Featured image for “Hard Rock on Northbank would not include casino, city says”
The Guitar Hotel at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood is illuminated on Jan. 19, 2021, in Hollywood, Florida. | Wilfredo Lee, AP
August 1, 2025

Hard Rock on Northbank would not include casino, city says

Several groups are looking at Downtown Jacksonville for development, including a possible Hard Rock hotel.…

Featured image for “Florida DOGE adds Jacksonville to growing list of audits”
Blaise Ingoglia, Florida's chief financial officer and a former state senator. | Colin Hackley, News Service of Florida
July 31, 2025

Florida DOGE adds Jacksonville to growing list of audits

The state DOGE entity has requested access to a wide range of documents on Aug. 7 and 8.…

Featured image for “Governor and first lady tout cancer initiative at Wolfson”
First lady Casey DeSantis and Gov. Ron DeSantis speak about state funding for cancer research Wednesday, July 23, 2025, at Wolfson Children's Hospital in Jacksonville. | Mike Mendenhall, Jacksonville Today
July 23, 2025

Governor and first lady tout cancer initiative at Wolfson

The Florida Legislature this year appropriated more than $265 million toward cancer research and treatment.…

Featured image for “City Council keeps property tax rate same while weighing future cut”
The Jacksonville City Council approves the preliminary property tax millage rate included my Mayor Donna Deegan's proposed $2 billion budget. | File photo
July 22, 2025

City Council keeps property tax rate same while weighing future cut

Some on City Council want to see the rate drop before the budget is finalized in September.…

Featured image for “Council OKs $2.5M tax incentive for ‘Project Moana’”
Jacksonville City Hall | File photo
July 22, 2025

Council OKs $2.5M tax incentive for ‘Project Moana’

An unidentified international wholesaler is proposing a $90 million warehouse and 100 new jobs.…

Featured image for “Jacksonville lawmakers consider ways to reduce taxes”
Jacksonville City Hall | File photo
July 16, 2025

Jacksonville lawmakers consider ways to reduce taxes

Some City Council members say they’ll support reducing the city’s millage rate if they can cut the mayor’s budget.…

Featured image for “Jacksonville mayor unveils $2B budget proposal”
Mayor Donna Deegan gives her annual budget address to City Council on Monday, July 14, 2025, as President Kevin Carrico looks on. | Mike Mendenhall, Jacksonville Today
July 14, 2025

Jacksonville mayor unveils $2B budget proposal

Mayor Donna Deegan’s 2025-26 city budget increases spending on police and fire and maintains the current tax rate.…

Featured image for “UNF, interstate corridor projects top new state funding for the Jacksonville area”
Students walk outside the Board of Governors meeting on Jan. 30, 2025, at the University of North Florida | Michelle Corum, Jacksonville Today
July 13, 2025

UNF, interstate corridor projects top new state funding for the Jacksonville area

Local lawmakers secured millions for local road and highway projects, museums, water treatment, resiliency efforts and more. …

Featured image for “Jax loses $147M federal grant to complete Emerald Trail”
This diagram shows the Jacksonville neighborhoods that are and will be connected by the 30-mile Emerald Trail. | Groundwork Jacksonville
July 8, 2025

Jax loses $147M federal grant to complete Emerald Trail

City and nonprofit leaders will try to find other ways of funding the Emerald Trail after the federal grant was…

Featured image for “DeSantis vetoes millions budgeted for First Coast programs”
Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks May 1, 2025, during a news conference about immigration enforcement at the South Florida office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Enforcement and Removal Operations in Miramar. | Rebecca Blackwell, AP
July 3, 2025

DeSantis vetoes millions budgeted for First Coast programs

The governor vetoed more than $19 million that lawmakers had approved for Northeast Florida.…

Featured image for “City Council OKs money for housing and zoo”
Jacksonville City Hall. | Jacksonville Daily Record
June 26, 2025

City Council OKs money for housing and zoo

More public money could available for residential development Downtown and affordable housing across Duval County.…

Featured image for “Deal for UF graduate campus sails through City Council”
The new University of Florida campus in Jacksonville will include the Florida Semiconductor Institute.
June 25, 2025

Deal for UF graduate campus sails through City Council

The incentives deal for the graduate campus in Downtown Jacksonville is headed to Mayor Donna Deegan for her signature.…

Featured image for “Mayor Deegan vetoes bill tracking spending on undocumented immigrants”
Mayor Donna Deegan speaks to reporters about her veto of a local immigration bill Tuesday at City Hall. | Mike Mendenhall, Jacksonville Today.
June 24, 2025

Mayor Deegan vetoes bill tracking spending on undocumented immigrants

A City Council effort to override the mayor’s veto fell short, allowing it to stand.…