Wednesday, September 24, 2025

Good Morning! On this day in 1755, John Marshall was born in what is now Fauquier County. Marshall studied law at William & Mary before being appointed Chief Justice in 1801. He shaped the Supreme Court and remained in office until his death in 1835.

Eli Lilly said last week that it will build a $5 billion high-tech drug plant in Goochland County. Years ago, educators at Virginia Commonwealth University launched the nation’s only doctoral program for pharmaceutical engineering.

Do you know of other areas where Virginia is leading for future tech and industry? Hit reply and help us keep our readers ahead of the curve.

Did you know that the team that makes The Virginia Flyover also produces a national publication called The Flyover? Click here to subscribe and stay up to date with the latest national headlines—without the bias of legacy media outlets.

From flipping fries at White Castle to winning backing from NVIDIA and Amazon, today’s sponsor, Miso Robotics, is proving that kitchen automation isn’t just the future—it’s a trillion-dollar opportunity you can invest in today.

Take The Flyover with you. Busy day? Listen to our daily 15-minute podcast while commuting, cooking, or walking the dog—your Flyover fix, anywhere.

Turning Point Coming to Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech will host a Turning Point USA event today. It’s the second on-campus gathering the organization has held since its founder, conservative Christian activist Charlie Kirk, was assassinated in Utah on Sept. 10.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin is set to speak at the event, which was scheduled before Kirk’s murder, along with political commentator Megyn Kelly.

Security will be tight, and those hoping to attend must have a ticket with their name on it and positive ID. Simply having a ticket does not guarantee access.

Virginia Tech said the auditorium can hold about 3,000 people and warned that campus traffic will be heavy and parking will be limited all day.

Federal Help for Helene Damage

Virginia launched the Farm Recovery Block Grant Program this week, becoming the first state in the nation to offer the aid.

Under the program, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will distribute more than $60 million to help those harmed by Hurricane Helene last year. The aid will be concentrated in 27 counties and six cities across Southwest and Southside Virginia.

The program, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, aims to fill gaps left by previous disaster relief.

“The opening of this program reflects the power of state and federal collaboration,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a statement. Those eligible have until Nov. 6 to apply.

Virginia Colleges in U.S. News Top 100

Three Virginia colleges were ranked among the top 100 in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report.

The University of Virginia was the highest rated in the Commonwealth, coming in at No. 26 among national universities. Virginia Tech and William & Mary tied at No. 51.

The rankings measured more than 1,700 colleges and universities in more than a dozen categories of academic quality.

State schools George Mason (No. 117), Virginia Commonwealth (No. 139), and James Madison (No. 151) all dropped slightly from their rankings last year.

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From a Caltech Garage to a $1 Trillion Market

In 2016, some innovative Caltech robotics students set out to transform fast food. That first garage-built prototype became the foundation of Miso Robotics.

Since then, Miso’s robots have worked 200K+ hours in live kitchens for brands like White Castle, frying 4M+ baskets of fries, chicken, and more. That traction convinced NVIDIA, Uber AI, and Amazon to help refine Miso’s AI and robots. As restaurants grapple with 144% employee turnover rates and $20/hour minimum wages, that’s a major edge.

No wonder Miso’s first fully commercial robot, Flippy Fry Station, sold out of initial units in one week.

Now, Miso is leveraging its new manufacturing partnership to scale U.S.-based production nationwide across a $4b annual revenue opportunity.

And you can get up to 8% bonus stock and share in Miso’s growth as an early-stage investor.

➤ Virginia Beach: Lifeguards will remain on duty at the Oceanfront through this weekend’s annual Neptune Festival, later in the season than usual. (Details)

➤ Williamsburg: The pilot was not harmed when a single-engine plane crashed and landed upside down on Monday. State police are investigating. (More)

➤ Charlottesville: The Presidential Search Special Committee established by the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors said it expects to begin interviewing candidates by the end of November. The panel recently met for the second time. (More)

➤ Richmond: Panelists at a summit discussed ways to train and hire more health care workers across the Commonwealth. A study from George Mason University indicates Virginia will eventually need more than 17,000 registered nurses and 10,000 medical and human services managers. (Details)

➤ Portsmouth: The Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore accepted a donation of more than 80,000 pounds of chicken from Perdue Farms as part of the company’s “Fill the Food Gap” initiative. (Details)

➤ Southwest Virginia: The Virginia Rural Health Association received a $4 million federal grant to build a network of maternal services in 12 regional counties. The money will be invested over four years. (More)

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➤ Three UVA players—Chandler Morris, Trell Harris, and McKale Boley—were listed among the ACC Football Players of the Week after their performances against Stanford. (Details)

➤ Wofford hired Virginia Tech assistant Kevin Giltner as its new head basketball coach. (More)

➤ UVA picked up its first commitment of the 2027 recruiting class, two-sport superstar Sean Currie, who plays both football and lacrosse. (More)

➤ Virginia Tech hired former NFL coach Bruce Arians as a consultant for its head coaching search. Arians played quarterback for the Hokies before starting his coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater. (Details)

Yesterday’s Results: MLB | WNBA | Soccer | NHL

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➤ The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project is reportedly still on track to begin delivering enough electricity to power up to 660,000 homes by the end of next year. Dominion Energy warned, however, that federal tariffs are substantially increasing the cost of the project. (Details)

➤ The CEO of government contractor SP Global pled guilty to three felonies and agreed to pay more than $1 million in restitution. The charges all relate to wage theft. (More)

➤ Business is down this fall in Damascus, which is trying to rebuild one year after Hurricane Helene’s flood waters swept through. (Details)

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“One of the Largest Industries Ever”

That’s what NVIDIA’s CEO said about robotics. And the numbers back it up. In Q4 2024, the sector raised nearly as much capital as in all of 2023.

So it’s a big deal that NVIDIA, Uber AI and Amazon helped Miso Robotics perfect Flippy, its new fully commercial kitchen robot. No wonder initial units sold out in one week.

Miso already has 200K+ hours for brands like White Castle under its belt. With the $1T fast-food industry facing 144% employee turnover rates, Flippy provides 24/7 labor and can boost profits by up to 3X.

Now, Miso’s leveraging its new manufacturing partnership to scale US-based production nationwide across a $4b annual revenue opportunity.

Share in Miso’s growth as an early-stage shareholder today and get up to 8% bonus stock while supplies last.

This is a paid advertisement for Miso Robotics’ Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.misorobotics.com

➤ Living in a former mill wouldn’t be a grind for the right person. Moffatts Creek Mill in Middlebrook was transformed into a three-bedroom private residence in 1929 and is now on the market for $668,000. (See Photos)

➤ Richmond’s Carytown neighborhood hasn’t been able to keep its welcome sign functioning. Over the weekend, the first two letters were dark, leaving drivers to enter “RYTOWN.” The manufacturer is working on a fix. (More)

➤ The nonprofit Dream in NOVA is working to bring STEM education and coding camps to teens across Northern Virginia. (Details)

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