$8.4M Headed to Southwest Virginia

Gov. Abigail Spanberger recommended $8.4 million in federal Appalachian Regional Commission grants for 22 projects across Southwest Virginia.

The biggest local awards include $1 million toward a new Amtrak station in Christiansburg and $700,000 to renovate the historic Rex Theater in Galax.

The Christiansburg grant helps offset the $3.7 million cost of rehabilitating the town’s 1948 rail depot. Passenger service is expected to return to the New River Valley in 2027 for the first time since the late 1970s.

Other projects include $687,940 to help build Lee County’s first chain hotel, in Pennington Gap, and $100,000 for a regional housing study. The recommendations still need final sign-off from the Appalachian Regional Commission’s federal co-chair.

Virginia Tech Approves Vet Hospital Expansion

Virginia Tech’s Board of Visitors approved final designs for a roughly 52,000-square-foot expansion and renovation of the university’s veterinary teaching hospital in Blacksburg.

The project adds room for emergency care, cardiology, and internal medicine, with a second floor dedicated to surgery and anesthesia.

The university says the work will meet rising demand for advanced care and growing enrollment at a hospital that has run largely unchanged since 1987. Hospital director Dr. Tanya LeRoith said the new layout will enable students to talk through their cases “where the animals are.”

Construction is set to begin in spring 2027 and finish in spring 2029. Virginia Tech plans to break ground with the same plow used for the vet school’s original groundbreaking.

Virginia Offers Free Beehive Equipment

Virginia is handing out free beehive equipment to residents who want to try beekeeping, with applications open through Sept. 9.

The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services runs the Beehive Distribution Program to boost the number of managed honey bee colonies statewide, and it even covers shipping.

State Apiarist Keith Tignor said the goal is more pollination after “some problems in the past few years” with honeybees and other pollinators.

Recipients are picked at random, and there’s one catch: the bees aren’t included. Winners still have to supply their own colonies and protective gear.

A Note from Cole, CEO of The Flyover

Dear Reader,

This week, The Flyover, including The Virginia Flyover, crossed six million total readers.

Before anything else, thank you. A milestone like this belongs to the people who open our email every morning—that’s you.

But the number isn’t the point. The point is what six million of you showed up for, and what you have walked away from.

You know what’s on the other channel. Anchors telling you what to think before they’ve told you what happened. So-called “straight news” pages that read like opinion pages. The legacy media had one job, reporting the news, and somewhere along the way they decided their real job was converting you to their ideology.

The slant isn’t an accident, and it isn’t decided in front of you. It happens in rooms you’ll never see. Every so often the door cracks open: last fall, a leaked memo revealed that a legacy media outlet had spliced a presidential speech into something it never was. Two top executives resigned. That’s one leak from one room. The decisions that never leak? Those just become the evening news.

We run on the opposite principle: the truth survives the light. The facts arrive the way we found them. We don’t bend them toward a conclusion, and we don’t decide what you’re allowed to make of them. That’s your job.

We report what happened, not what to think about it.
We keep the spin out and trust you with the facts.
And The Flyover stays free.

That was the deal at reader one. It’s the deal at six million. It’ll be the deal at sixty million.

Because here’s what I’ve learned this year, watching those newsrooms shrink and quietly walk away from their readers: a promise like ours doesn’t get broken all at once. It erodes, one compromise at a time, when an outlet stops answering to its readers.

We keep ours by staying answerable to you.

So on the week you made us six million strong, I’m asking you to put your name behind the promise. If news that plays it straight is something you want to see thrive, this is how you feed it.

Support the news you can trust. Free, every morning.

Make a generous donation to support The Virginia Flyover.

Give $10
Give $25
Give $50
Give $100

Our promise: we answer to you. Help us keep it.

– Cole
CEO, The Flyover

Flying together with our sponsor

➤ Virginia Beach: Two residents have tested positive for West Nile virus, part of nine confirmed cases across Virginia this year, prompting the Virginia Department of Health to urge people to guard against mosquito bites. (More)

➤ Henrico County: A stolen-vehicle pursuit that began Saturday afternoon ended with the driver crashing into several cars in Richmond and jumping into the James River. Richmond Fire helped Henrico officers pull the suspect from the water and take him into custody. Charges are pending. (More)

➤ Giles County: Volunteers lined the banks of the New River for the annual Fall Into the New cleanup, hauling out trash before a free lunch at Eggleston Community Park. (More)

➤ Williamsburg: A thief calmly gathered 16 pairs of designer sunglasses—valued at more than $4,500—from a Sunglass Hut at the Williamsburg outlets, filling a bag as a sales associate and another shopper looked on, then walked out. (See Video)

➤ Chesterfield County: The fifth annual Greater Richmond Coptic Festival returned this weekend with Egyptian food, live music, and a look at the Coptic Orthodox community’s faith and traditions. (More)

➤ South Chesterfield: The historic Swift Creek Mill Theatre is launching a fundraiser in a bid to resume operations after going dark. Managing director Steve Koehler said the community’s passion for the theater has “helped keep us going.” (More)

Like The Virginia Flyover? Share it with a friend! ✈️

➤ Veteran receiver Van Jefferson was among the many players that the Washington Commanders cut ties with yesterday as the team finalized its initial 53-man roster ahead of the NFL’s roster cutdown deadline. (More)

➤ Liberty University says it is close to resolving rule violations committed by the football coaching staff involving illegal communication with student-athletes. (More)

➤ The Washington Nationals earned their first walk-off victory of the season over the weekend—becoming the last team in MLB to do so—after Dylan Crews ripped a two-out RBI single to give the Nationals a 5-4 victory. (See Highlight)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: MLB | Soccer | WNBA | IndyCar | LLWS

Flying together with our sponsor

➤ Do you know what the 4 Warning Signs that your vision is Declining… Nearly 93 million Americans are considered at high risk for serious vision loss. (More)

➤ Stockholders of Healthy Choice Wellness Corp., the Florida-based parent of Richmond’s Ellwood Thompson’s grocery, approved a reverse merger with data center and AI firm Host Digital Infrastructure. The combined company plans to keep its 19 grocery stores open. (More)

➤ Nordstrom Rack will open its first Richmond-area store in fall 2027, taking about 30,000 square feet at the Westpark Shopping Center in western Henrico. (More)

➤ Salem VA Medical Center hosted a Summer VetFest enrollment fair Saturday, connecting veterans with health care, benefits, and other resources across the Roanoke Valley. (More)

Flying together with our sponsor

➤ The Blood Sugar Warning Sign Most People Ignore. Feeling tired after eating, battling sudden cravings, or crashing midday? Don’t ignore these signs. Researchers are investigating a surprisingly simple daily habit that may help support healthy blood sugar levels already within the normal range while promoting steadier energy throughout the day. See the simple blood sugar tip everyone is talking about >>

Flying together with our sponsor

It only takes one piece of your data to find you.

Your phone number can lead to your address, relatives, workplace, and more.

That information is often sold online by data brokers—making it easier for scammers, stalkers, or strangers to know far more about you than they should.

Incogni helps remove your personal information from these databases and keeps removing it automatically.

Get 55% off with code FLYOVER

➤ Virginia Tech opened a new outdoor Counter-UAS Testing and Research Center at its Kentland Farm in Blacksburg, where researchers will test systems that detect and defeat drones—including swarms—alongside the U.S. Army. (More)

➤ Canada is Virginia’s top export destination, buying 15.5% of the Commonwealth’s goods exports in 2025, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures. Canada led in 25 states, while Mexico led in 12. (See Map)

➤ Competitive-eating legend Joey Chestnut will headline the World Pancake Eating Championship during the Williamsburg Pancake Festival on Sept. 26. The competition, which takes place at 12:30 p.m. that day, is free to attend. (More)

Flying together with our sponsor

➤ Surgeon Warns About “Drunken Gut” Phenomenon. Former surgeon and gut expert Dr. Steven Gundry is shedding light on “Drunken Gut,” a phenomenon where poor gut conditions may cause the body to produce alcohol internally. If you struggle with bloating, fatigue, weight gain, or trouble concentrating, Gundry says these could be warning signs worth knowing. Check for the signs now ==>

The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes. 

➤ One simple change to your eating habits could lower your risk of depression and dementia. It has nothing to do with what’s on your plate. (Hear Why)

➤ Canada is hiring away dozens of American researchers with a $362 million fund. The move opens a new front in the trade war. (Hear Details)

➤ A survival expert was dropped alone in the Arctic Circle with 10 tools, a camera, and grizzly bears for neighbors. His training began with boiling sea snails as a boy. (Hear Adventure)

How many pancakes can you put away in one sitting?

1. No more than three
2. Four to six
3. Seven or more
4. Not a pancake fan

Yesterday’s Results:

Have you been to Dollywood? 

1. No: 54%
2. Yes: 29%
3. Not yet: 17%

What music genre does Galax bill itself as the world capital of?

Show me the answer