WMRA Daily

Now that Virginia's “bell-to-bell” ban on cellphones in public schools is in effect, we check in with educators and students…Virginia's Wildlife Action Plan is updated…We take a look at the latest trend in direct mail political persuasion during this year's campaigns….

Shenandoah National Park remains a major engine for the local economy…A whitetail deer is found with Chronic Wasting Disease in Page County…The Republican decision to cut federal energy assistance could mean life or death for many Virginians….

19 people are injured after rushing the field at Scott Stadium following Friday's UVa win over Florida State...A state commission looks into the historic role that public universities, including Longwood, have played in the uprooting of Black communities...We preview this year's Virginia Film Festival in Charlottesville....

Sixth District Representative Ben Cline holds a rare town hall meeting in Lexington...Our candidate conversations continue with Andrew Payton, the Democrat challenging Del. Tony Wilt...Jeff Schapiro surveys the week in Virginia politics....

A judge orders the manager of Natural Bridge Zoo to turn over two missing baby giraffes or face jail time...State Senator Bryce Reeves says he will run against U.S. Senator Mark Warner...We launch our candidate conversations series with Harrisonburg-area delegate and Republican incumbent Tony Wilt....

Housing affordability, especially high rent, is one of the top issues in this year's Virginia elections...Republican districts lead the way in early voting...The Love Forward Foundation provides a creative haven in Staunton to help families of the incarcerated heal and grow....

Protesters confront Rockingham County Republicans at an event for the Earle-Sears gubernatorial campaign...We speak with a local prosecutor and a retired state police officer about whether due process was followed in the arrests of two bridge protesters...The Wildlife Center in Waynesboro is working to save bald eagles that have ingested lead from carcasses....

A case of measles identified in eastern Virginia triggers a massive and expensive effort to track down those exposed...What precincts are more likely than others to have early voters?...The Silk Moth stage in Dayton offers its latest play, “The Wanting Forest”....

Hundreds gather in Winchester to memorialize Charlie Kirk...Early voting in Virginia starts today, and we have analysis from Jeff Schapiro...We meet the writers of a new play that explores the legacy of American eugenics at Staunton's Western State Hospital....

The murder conviction of Anthony Eugene Robinson is upheld, and sentencing is set for December...Albemarle County debates how to manage the growth of data centers...In addition to squashing them, we might also fight spotted lanternflies with dogs that sniff out their eggs....

Virginia's superintendent of public instruction joins the right-wing effort to silence people who comment on the murder of Charlie Kirk...Democrat Abigail Spanberger has more than twice as much cash as her opponent in the governor's race...Senator Tim Kaine leads an effort to end some of President Trump's tariffs....

Many of the Mennonites arrested for protesting the war in Gaza on Capitol Hill last week are from Harrisonburg...The candidates for governor spar over the effects of massive federal spending cuts on health care for Virginians...Early voting begins Friday....

Virginia legislators face a dilemma in paying for SNAP food benefits…Virginia spends significantly more than average for Medicaid than other states, driven largely by drug prices…A former Harrisonburg registrar will serve as interim director of elections for Albemarle County, where the former registrar is under investigation….

Some Virginians say despite new state guidance, it's still hard to get a COVID vaccine...Virginia legislators discuss signs of trouble from federal budget cuts...Jeff Schapiro talks about statewide reaction to the murder of far right activist Charlie Kirk, and the week in Virginia politics....

A judge agrees with students in Shenandoah County who say their civil rights were violated when the school board renamed the high school after Stonewall Jackson…Dozens of Mennonite activists from the Harrisonburg area and beyond are arrested during a protest for Gaza outside Senator Mark Warner's office…Drug overdose-related deaths finally decrease across Virginia….

Mary Baldwin University faculty vote no confidence in the board of trustees over the resignation of Jeff Stein as president…Two anti-Trump protesters arrested for a bridge demonstration in Shenandoah County share their story…Three musicians create a digital map of the history of clawhammer banjo players in Southwest Virginia….

Much of our area is experiencing abnormally dry conditions, one step below moderate drought…Augusta Medical Group closes three facilities, partly in anticipation of looming federal health funding cuts…Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares tries to remove news media from a public campaign stop near Charlottesville….

Tuesday is Hunger Action Day, and research shows a growing number of Virginians must choose between feeding their families or paying bills…Some students around Virginia stage a walkout to protest gun violence…Our September Books & Brews guests discovered unexpected adventures and surprising moments of beauty when they bought an old farm….

While some for-profit health clinics consolidate in the face of federal spending cuts, one Valley nonprofit is expanding its mental health services…Democrats and Republicans – candidates and voters – face off in Buena Vista in a storied Labor Day tradition…Jeff Schapiro discusses the role that national issues are playing in this year's Virginia elections….

Sentencing is delayed for the so-called Shopping Cart Killer in Harrisonburg…Democratic leaders criticize some Virginia hospitals for not speaking out about the effects of federal health spending cuts…As students return to public schools across Virginia, some teachers are struggling to make ends meet….

State regulators begin evaluating Dominion's request for a big rate hike…The increased hunger for power, especially from data centers, fuels the push for nuclear energy…We profile Harrisonburg's new Rocktown House of Music….

Virginia may be one of the states hardest hit by canceled federal contracts and the slow housing market… Albemarle County's former registrar faces an investigation… A Valley brain injury nonprofit is getting the word out about the signs of a stroke….

Sen. Warner meets with Kilmar Abrego Garcia and other immigrants being held at the Farmville Detention Center… It's Labor Day, the traditional kick-off of the fall campaign season, and political ads on your TV… Protecting horses from skin cancer….

Much of our area is still waiting for a medical marijuana provider… State senate Democrats vote down another round of the governor's college board appointments… A new poll shows Virginians souring on the economy….

The president of Mary Baldwin University suddenly resigns after two years in the position… More than 350-thousand Virginians could lose their health insurance by 2034 due to federal cuts… We explore the effect of the loss of federal funding for a popular program that helps those in need cook healthy meals and use SNAP benefits, which are also being slashed, more efficiently….

The Trump administration may have pressured Todd Gilbert to resign his interim post as U.S. attorney… A judge in Charlottesville rules that a lawsuit over the city's new zoning code will proceed to trial… The invasive red-and-white spotted lanternfly has settled into much of the Piedmont and Shenandoah Valley….

Governor Youngkin calls up dozens of Virginia National Guard troops to support ICE… Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan warns about the effects of coming cuts to federal food assistance programs… Staunton's planners recommend allowing beekeeping in the city….

Nelson County supervisors take direct control of the Department of Social Services… More than 4,000 people in Virginia have been arrested by ICE agents this year… One Virginia Democrat wants to force more transparency for immigration officials….

Virginia's Head Start program faces headwinds in the wake of federal cuts… Local hospitals brace for big cuts in their funding… We explore the prospects for moving statewide elections to even years, like most other states….

Just over a month after being sworn in, former Valley Delegate Todd Gilbert resigns as U.S. attorney… We examine how local hospitals are adjusting to massive cuts in health care spending… Will 2025 be a wave election for Democrats?

A new report predicts job losses and a weaker economy in Virginia... A state science committee studies possible health effects of heavy use of chatbots... We search for dragonflies in Nelson County....

State police investigate a fatal shooting by a Shenandoah County sheriff's deputy… Virginia's attorney general sues Trump's Department of Veterans Affairs over failure to pay benefits... Virginia's Board of Health votes to go further in limiting transgender athletes' participation in women's sports….

VMI announces a new superintendent to replace the first Black leader, ousted by the board in February… Dozens of Virginia National Guardsmen begin training to provide support for federal ICE enforcement… An emergency House of Delegates committee meets to hear more about federal changes to government assistance programs….

The Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton celebrated contributions to American independence from the people of Virginia's Frontier ahead of the nation's 250th anniversary... Candidates for Virginia's lieutenant governor are making their pitches to local leaders... Democrats disagree with Governor Glenn Youngkin's positive outlook on the state's economy ... Meanwhile, the Virginia Department of Corrections struggles to fill open jobs... And Radio IQ Politics Analyst Jeff Schapiro and Michael Pope recap the week in politics and state government

The Harrisonburg City Council has postponed a rezoning request for a controversial property downtown... Public school enrollment is expected to decline in the next decade... The E-P-A is cancelling a program that would expand solar energy... The Wildlife Center of Virginia released two bald eagles that were in its care... And near Richmond, federal immigration agents detained the 19-year-old son of an Afghan refugee

The University of Virginia's student council declared “no confidence” in the school's board of visitors... A jury trial for executives of the company Nexus has been delayed again... Governor Glenn Youngkin has ordered stronger oversight of Virginia nursing homes... The Republican candidate for governor is accused of violating disclosure laws... And the ACLU is suing the state of Virginia over disenfranchisement of felons

The Virginia National Guard will begin training with ICE this month... The Wildlife Center of Virginia will release two bald eagles... Poll workers are being recruited ahead of election season... A former associate of the embattled company Nexus has opened a 3D printing business... Higher education is hot topic among candidates running for the Virginia House of Delegates... And community leaders got a chance to meet the new executive director for the Staunton-Augusta-Waynesboro Habitat for Humanity

The University of Virginia ends a decades-long program for low-income students... People may be leaving the state of Virginia as its considered a high tax state... A controversial data center proposed for Northern Virginia is on hold... The Virginia Department of Social Services shared SNAP applicants data with the federal government... And Williamsburg launched an outreach program to serve people without housing...

The cost of health care through the health insurance marketplace is likely to increase... Virginia Republicans are embracing early voting... Virginia Commonwealth University removes references to race in scholarships... Researchers at Old Dominion University discover 5,000 year old sand dunes... Students learn how to care for animals at the Wildlife Center of Virginia... And politics analyst Jeff Schapiro and Michael Pope recap the week in politics and state government...

Many women are on the ballot in Virginia this fall... The town of New Market is developing a commissary kitchen... A team at UVA is working on a better weather forecasting system... And the Rappahannock Indian Tribe celebrates after obtaining a thousand of acres of ancestral land...

UVA has selected an interim president... Virginia Tech releases a study looking at helmet safety... Reactions to Virginia Commonwealth University's decision to end gender-affirming care for minors... And president Donald Trump could endorse a candidate in Virginia's race for governor...

George Mason University's president will hang on to his job for now... A Henrico-based contractor has been chosen to operate a federal immigration detention center... Meanwhile, ICE agents raided a neighborhood in Southside Richmond... And affordable housing is on the ballot in Virginia...

VCU Health ceases gender-affirming care for children… Jeff Schapiro reviews the big court win for state senate Democrats and more in Virginia politics… The Trump administration's budget cuts trickle down to communities in rural Virginia….

Over opposition from some residents, Cumberland County's board approves a large new landfill… Virginia's farmers get access to millions in relief funding for damage from Tropical Storm Helene… A group of Mennonites from Harrisonburg talk about their visit to Palestine to learn about life under Israeli occupation and the war in Gaza….

Senate Democrats score a court victory over the governor's controversial appointments to university governing boards… We ride along with Augusta Health's new traveling clinic… Housing construction in Virginia is leaning more towards apartments, and away from single-family homes….

Residents' opposition in Louisa County halts construction of a massive data center, although others are going forward… The loss of federal funding is already having an effect on public radio in Virginia… A court will rule soon in a legal dispute between members of the Virginia State Senate and the heads of governing boards of three public universities, including UVa and VMI….

A man allegedly attacked several people at a Charlottesville church... Senate Democrats in Virginia are taking their fight against controversial higher-ed appointments to court... Meanwhile, lawmakers vowed to take steps to address what they see as growing political overreach in higher education... the effort to eliminate Virginia's car tax is gaining more supporters in Richmond... and three brothers are celebrating the tenth anniversary of their central Virginia brewery and their psychedelic rock band that preceded it.

A Rockingham County school board member has been fined thousands of dollars... Virginia Democratic lawmakers defend state colleges... Winsome Earle-Sears has a new campaign manager.... the Labubu fad has made its way to Virginia... and Radio IQ politics analyst Jeff Schapiro and Michael Pope look back at this week in politics and state government

Harrisonburg police arrested a man suspected of a knife attack... Republic candidates are facing off against familiar Democratic opponents in the Virginia House of Delegates... Meanwhile, labor issues are on the ballot in Virginia's statewide elections.... and the Virginia Department of Health is warning of increased drowning deaths of children...

After one of the giraffes at Natural Bridge Zoo died being moved to Georgia in May, officials are examining medicine the zoo gave her… Democrat Abigail Spanberger announces her plans for Virginia's economy should she be elected governor… Will state legislators change Virginia's odd election schedule?

A major health care provider in the Valley says Congress' cuts to Medicaid will result in hundreds of thousands in our area losing health care… Luray and Timberville vote to stop adding fluoride to their water supplies… Former Nexus executive Richard Moore's sentencing for tax evasion is again delayed….