WVTF Music and RADIO IQ

06/19/2026

Early voting began in some Virginia localities Thursday, but some felons are unsure if they’re able to vote in the wake of a judge's order issued earlier this year.

Those close to the registration process said they're likely too busy with early voting to undertake the effort before next week.

06/18/2026

Hundreds of people flooded into Lord Botetourt High School Wednesday to learn more about Google's proposed data center – and to voice their opposition to it.

For the first time, Google hosted a public open house about its proposed data center in Botetourt County.

06/17/2026

Governor Abigail Spanberger, along with members of Virginia’s House and Senate, announced a retail ma*****na market compromise Tuesday. Advocates for legalization are mostly pleased with the results.

"Overall, we are extremely pleased to see how the administration has met our values," Chelsea Higgs Wise with Ma*****na Jusice said.

06/16/2026

Hellbender salamanders are in trouble. Their numbers have been declining for decades, and some of their few remaining habitats in Appalachia were damaged during Hurricane Helene in 2024.

But researchers have now made a breakthrough.

The number of hellbender salamanders has been declining for decades, but researchers in Virginia have now made a breakthrough that may help them survive.

06/16/2026

Joseph McGill has now spent the night in roughly 150 slave dwellings in 25 states and the District of Columbia over the past 16 years – to advocate for their preservation.

Joseph McGill has spent 16 years sleeping in slave dwellings for the purpose of saving these structures, and the proper teaching of the history of slavery.

06/14/2026

The biggest tournament in soccer, if not all of sports, is being held in the U.S. this summer: The World Cup. And folks across Virginia are already celebrating the opening matches.

“It’s the energy man, the sport itself. It’s the most exciting thing to watch," Sunny told Radio IQ at a watch party in Richmond.

06/14/2026

"Pinball teaches you so much about everything in STEM. There’s a lot of physics, there’s a lot of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering. And so, I can teach people about what that world was like before computers."

Decades Arcade in Charlottesville relies on a team of pinball and video game enthusiasts – some of them volunteers who love the old machines and know how to keep them going.

06/13/2026

Virginia’s coastline could see some of the country’s most dramatic impacts of sea level rise due to climate change. Warming temperatures also threaten many marine animals, and the birds that eat them.

Roxy Todd joined scientists on the Eastern Shore who are keeping tabs on how changes in the environment may affect some migratory shore birds.

These are red knots, making a stop on Virginia's Eastern Shore as part of the 19,000-mile annual migration from the southern tip of South America to the Canadian Arctic.

You can hear Roxy's story on our website.
(📸Casey Manera)

06/13/2026

“I don’t want to advocate that people don’t go outdoors, and I love going outdoors myself,” researcher Gillian Eastwood said. “So if you do go outdoors, just check yourself really well when you do come inside.”

Ticks appear to be spreading into more areas. With them comes an increase in concerns like Lyme disease, alpha gal, and other tick-related viruses.

06/12/2026

Included in the document is a section called the Data Center Accountability Act which includes a new Commission to study the impacts from the controversial facilities.

House Speaker Don Scott said the document released Friday was still open to negotiations, though a July 1 deadline is approaching.