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Katelyn Ferral - Politics Reporter
Katelyn Ferral

Politics Reporter

I examine the effect that changes at the federal government level are having on the Tampa Bay region and the state. I come to Florida by way of Wisconsin, a state that instilled in me an abiding love of the Green Bay Packers, the value of a great Supper Club, and a discerning cheese palate. I come from a military family and am especially interested in issues affecting veterans and service members. I previously worked as an investigative reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and The Capital Times in Madison, covering an array of policy issues including sexual misconduct in the Wisconsin National Guard, environmental issues and veterans affairs. I have also covered the energy industry for the Pittsburgh Tribune Review and local government for the News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C. Before coming to the Tampa Bay Times, I worked as a fourth-grade teacher, teaching reading at a Title I Hillsborough County public school. I now cover the impact of federal policy on the community and am a Report for America corps member. I believe the best reporting challenges assumptions and asks uncomfortable questions. I am always happy to have a chat and am still on the lookout for a good Packers bar.

  1. How Customs and Border Protection is upping its role in immigration arrests
    • Florida Politics
    U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are taking a leading role in immigration arrests nationwide, including in Florida, which is slated to see an increase in agents in the southern part of the state.
  2. Florida agencies want millions more for immigration enforcement next year
    • Florida Politics
    A general view of the Florida Capitol on Monday, March 3, 2025, in Tallahassee, Fla.
  3. With turkey tourism booming, Florida seeks funds to court hunters
    • Environment
    This U.S. National Park Service photo shows two wild turkeys walking through a marsh at Everglades National Park. The agency has attempted to relocate more turkeys to South Florida after environmental pressures and hunting greatly reduced the numbers of the Florida wild turkey in the decades leading up to 2000. Florida wild turkey hunting is now so popular, however, that the state is requesting additional funds to build out a growing tourism industry around it.
  5. A snapshot of the shutdown’s impact in Tampa and Florida
    • Florida Politics
    Tampa community members shop at a food pantry operated by Metropolitan Ministries in 2024. The organization saw a 50% increase in families visiting its food pantries throughout the shutdown and a spike in need.
  6. No major flight delays in Tampa as federal cuts increase
    • Transportation
    Travelers in line at the TSA security checkpoint for gates in airside E at Tampa International Airport on Friday in Tampa. The FAA has decided to cut 10% of flights at busy airports including Tampa.
  7. Flight cancellations, delays ramp up in Tampa, nationwide amid shutdown
    • Transportation
    The air traffic control tower at Tampa International Airport is shown on Friday in Tampa.
  8. Flight cancellations hit Tampa airport amid shutdown
    • Transportation
    Travelers make their way toward the shuttle to take them to gates in airside E at Tampa International Airport on Friday in Tampa. The FAA has decided to cut 10% of flights at busy airports including Tampa.
  9. Flights at Tampa International Airport could be affected by shutdown cuts
    • Transportation
    Passengers make their way through main terminal at Tampa International Airport as a board displays flight times on Thursday in Tampa.
  10. Ukrainian refugees face uncertainty in immigration system upheaval
    • The Buzz on Florida Politics
    From left to right: Iryna Karavan, Yulica Tkachenko, and Solomia Kenzor work together to make varenyky for a fundraiser benefiting Ukrainian refugees on Saturday, Sept. 27, in St. Petersburg.
  11. Tampa’s CentCom helps keep a fragile Israel, Gaza ceasefire
    • The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Steve Witkoff, U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, speaks alongside U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of the United States Central Command during a news conference following a military briefing at the Civilian Military Coordination Center in southern Israel on Tuesday, Oct. 21.
  12. ‘No Kings’ protests return to Tampa Bay this weekend. Here’s where they are
    • The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Heather Anderson of St. Petersburg, left, and Courtney Titcomb of St. Petersburg attend a "No Kings" protest in June. More protests are planned Saturday in Tampa Bay and nationwide.
  13. ‘We are going to catch you’: Bondi warns against mailed threats
    • The Buzz on Florida Politics
    U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks about an arrest involving death threats to conservative podcast host Benny Johnson during a news conference Friday in Tampa. “We are going to catch you if you think you can do this,” she said.
  14. With shutdown ongoing, Tampa federal workers face missed pay
    • The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Glenn Piniella, 62, of Tampa shops for fresh produce at the Feeding Tampa Bay market in May in Tampa. Feeding Tampa Bay is creating a "one-stop" shop for federal workers in Tampa affected by the government shutdown.
  15. Tampa nonprofits rush to support federal workers amid shutdown
    • The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Feeding Tampa Bay helps TSA employees with a box of food and personal hygiene items during the federal government shutdown in 2019. The group and others are planning to support federal airport employees again as another federal shutdown takes effect Wednesday.
  16. Here’s the latest on what the government shutdown means for Florida
    • The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Another federal shutdown could come Wednesday if Democrats and Republicans in Congress don't agree on a short-term funding bill.
  17. With cuts looming, what to know about Veterans Affairs hospital staffing
    • The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Job reductions at the VA are set to take effect Sept. 30 amid nationwide staffing shortages. The James Haley VA in Tampa has the most "severe staffing shortages" of any Florida VA, according to an agency report.
  18. Florida’s vaccine overhaul is a big deal. Here’s what you need to know.
    • The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Mya Roman, 14, receives her second shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at C.B. Smith Park in Pembroke Pines, Florida on Tuesday, August 24, 2021. On Monday the FDA gave Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine full approval.
  19. Backlogged cases in Florida reflect crippled federal immigration court system
    • The Buzz on Florida Politics
    An officer listens to a question as he directs people to a courtroom, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, in an immigration court in Miami. Immigration courts are buckling under an unprecedented 3 million pending cases.
  20. Decades in the making, Team House Tampa works to connect veterans
    • The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Patrons at the bar of the Underground Tavern inside of the U.S. Army Special Forces Association Chapter LX building on Thursday, July 17, 2025 in Tampa.
  21. 6 months later, how are Trump’s Floridians faring?
    • The Buzz on Florida Politics
    President Donald Trump, right, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio attend a meeting at the White House in Washington on March 24. Trump has elevated several Floridians to key positions across the federal government in his second administration.
  22. Clearwater man convicted of misdemeanor battery against Rep. Luna staffer
    • The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Rep. Anna Paulina Luna speaks during the Republican National Convention in July 2024.
  23. Trump has Bondi’s back over Jeffrey Epstein files. Florida MAGA? Nope.
    • News
    Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks before President Donald Trump at the Justice Department in Washington in March. Trump is backing Bondi after she has come under fire by those in the MAGA movement for failing to release more records in the Jeffrey Epstein case, as she previously said she would.
  24. With Alligator Alcatraz, Florida cements top spot in federal deportation mission
    • The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Gov. Ron DeSantis listens during a roundtable at Alligator Alcatraz, a new migrant detention facility at Dade-Collier Training and Transition facility, on Tuesday in Ochopee.