West Virginia definitely has some strong Super Bowl stories

Some former WVU and Marshall players have shined on football's biggest stage down through the years

Know Your Role

Listen to “Know Your Role” on Spreaker. My writing often reflects my influences — Jefferson, Adams, Madison, and the occasional turn from the Federalist Papers among others. History, and those who lived it, can be a roadmap for moving forward. It offers progress without relearning the hard lessons others have already paid for — a

Morrisey Dives into Senate Race, Reveals Faction Preference

Listen to “Morrisey Dives into Senate Race, Reveals Faction Preference” on Spreaker. West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey wasted no time wading into a Northern Panhandle state Senate contest — even before the filing period officially closed. Around 9:30 p.m. Friday, Morrisey posted on X: “The race between conservative State Senator Laura Chapman and radical lefty

Bibles and Partisan Mandates

Listen to “Bibles and Partisan Mandates” on Spreaker. Some issues make news because they stir emotion or seem far outside the mainstream. Commentators – I’m a talk show host, not a reporter – sometimes get criticized for even talking about them. The argument goes like this: you know it’s not going anywhere, so why give

Social Media on Trial

Listen to “Social Media on Trial” on Spreaker. Is social media the new Big Tobacco? That’s the argument now being tested in a Los Angeles courtroom, where the first of several lawsuits against major social media companies got underway this week. At the heart of the cases is a familiar accusation: did companies intentionally design

Story of Hancock County Schools doesn’t add up

Something does not add up in Hancock County with regards the school system’s bleak financial picture. There are still questions swirling about how the county school district ended up in such a perilous financial situation that there was legitimate concern the county may not make the January payroll. Those questions lead to even more questions

Storm Also a Reminder of Opportunity

Listen to “Storm Also a Reminder of Opportunity” on Spreaker. Ice and snow frustrate us. Storms cause problems. They send people scrambling to grocery stores, make travel dangerous, and force changes to plans. In short, winter weather messes with our lives. No denying that fact. But sometimes, it comes with an unexpected upside. West Virginia

Special Education Need Exceeds Funding

Listen to “Special Education Need Exceeds Funding” on Spreaker. West Virginia has a school-finance problem, and it appears deeper than many first understood. A State Department of Education analysis indicates the cost of serving special education students exceeded the revenue available to fund those services by $224 million in fiscal year 2025. Total expenditures related

The Great Blizzard of ’78

It was a snow like no other especially in the Charleston area

School Bailout Bill Lacks Ultimate Consequence

Listen to “School Bailout Bill Lacks Ultimate Consequence” on Spreaker. House Bill 4574 sailed through committee and passed the House in a single day. The measure creates a financial safety net for county school systems that fall into fiscal peril. Brad McElhinny: House votes for $8 million emergency fund for distressed county school boards The

White House, Governors Call Out PJM on Data Center Costs

Editor’s Note: The following analysis is intended as a high-level overview. The issue is complex and highly nuanced. Additional pieces will follow as the debate unfolds, including conversations with expert guests on Talkline. Listen to “White House Calls Out PJM on Data Center Costs” on Spreaker. The prospect of data centers locating in the Mountain

This and That from Legislative Week One

Listen to “This and That from Legislative Week One” on Spreaker. The West Virginia Senate and House both gaveled in Wednesday, officially kicking off the 60-day legislative session, followed later that evening by Governor Morrisey’s State of the State address. Here are a few rapid-fire, off-the-cuff observations. One: Senator Laura Wakim Chapman published a letter

Can West Virginia Dems Deliver?

Listen to “Can WV Dems Deliver?” on Spreaker. Most political buzz around the Capitol is squarely focused on the Republican supermajorities in both chambers, and on the governor’s State of the State address Wednesday night. Democrats are small in number — just nine members in the House and two in the Senate — so their

Consensus or chaos in the Senate?

  The 60-day legislative session officially commences at noon on Wednesday, and it is anyone’s guess what the next nine weeks will bring. Leadership in the House of Delegates has laid out an agenda that focuses on economic development, but on the opposite end of the Capitol, it is unclear whether the Senate will have

GOP Keeps Independents Locked Out

Listen to “Commentary – TJ Meadows” on Spreaker. West Virginia Republicans have gone and done it — again — as the saying goes. This weekend’s GOP Winter Meeting presented an opportunity to re-examine the decision to close the Republican primary to Independent voters. That opportunity never saw the light of day. Instead, the issue was

Some School Systems Near Financial Disaster

Editor’s Note: An early version of this commentary identified Wood County Schools as having not submitted financials to the State Department of Education. The Department this morning re-issued a report noting that Wood had indeed submitted financials in October of 2025. Data that crossed my desk this week stopped me cold… the kind of information

Closed Republican Primary Debate Heats Up, Again

Listen to “Commentary – TJ Meadows” on Spreaker.   Two years ago this month, West Virginia Republicans made a significant move: they voted to close their primary elections. Why? Certain factions within the party — reportedly including then-gubernatorial hopeful Patrick Morrisey and U.S. Senate hopeful Alex Mooney — believed the change would benefit more right-leaning

Remembering a West Virginian who played a key role in U.S. history

  Today is the birth anniversary of one of the most intriguing figures in West Virginia history, who played a key role in American history.   You may not know his name, but someone I’m sure you do know, considered him his best friend.   Ward Hill Lamon was born in Summit Point in the Eastern Panhandle, on

Venezuela is “Wait and See”

Listen to “Venezuela is Wait and See” on Spreaker.   U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in the early hours of Saturday morning, acting on orders from President Donald Trump. Later that day, speaking from Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump said the United States would “run Venezuela.” By Sunday, Secretary of State Marco

What a Difference a Year Makes

Listen to “What a Difference a Year Makes” on Spreaker. Next week marks one year since Dave Wilson and I inherited MetroNews Talkline. It still feels a little unreal. Flash back to the year 2000. I cracked a mic a time or two at West Virginia Radio Charleston on what was then 98.7 The Beat