West Virginia
Former West Virginia Army National Guard leader to testify at congressional committee meeting regarding security of crucial Rare Earth minerals – WV MetroNews
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Retired Commander of the West Virginia National Guard, Major General Bill Crane will be joining in on discussions regarding the need to strengthen America’s starter battery supply chains.
Crane is going to be a panelist at a CQ/ Roll Call briefing in Washington D.C. on Tuesday morning that’s sponsored by the Responsible Battery Coalition (RBC), who promotes supply chain security for the batteries in American vehicles.
During the briefing, Crane and other officials will not only be discussing battery supply chain necessities, but the importance of bolstering critical mineral production and ensuring national security amid rising global instability.
Crane recently came on MetroNews Midday to talk about everything the panel would be holding discussions on Tuesday.
He said this need of securing supply chains was something that first came about during the height of the Covid-19 Pandemic in 2020 when China was implementing measures that significantly had an impact on global supply.
“We realized how our supply chains are really controlled by China, because we couldn’t get masks, gowns, and all of those medical supplies, and we really learned a lot during that time, and so, it’s the same thing you’re seeing today,” Crane said.
China currently dominates 48% of the global supply.
Now, with two-thirds of U.S. access to critical minerals like antimony, that is used for strengthening batteries in vehicles and devices being cut off, as well as tensions with China escalating, Crane said this conversation is more crucial than ever as it deals with protecting American jobs, industrial capacity, and national security.
Crane said 100% of those Rare Earth minerals are processed in China and are sent back to the U.S.
He said while the U.S. has some processing capabilities, it’s not to the degree that the country needs, and this coalition wants to make sure that we have those capabilities so that we have control over our own supply chains.
“It’s absolutely critical for our defense, every vehicle, every plane has a battery in it, all of our weapons systems have some kind of a rare Earth element piece to it, so again, it’s really critical for us to control those supply chains,” he said.
Key topics during the event will include:
.Protecting America’s starter batteries
.Reducing reliance on foreign-controlled minerals like antimony
.Advancing U.S. battery recycling and innovation to build a secure, circular domestic supply chain
Crane said that everything that we must have in order to create and advance the modern society we enjoy today comes down to these rare earth elements that are currently controlled by China.
“We want to build our own stuff here in America so we can trust it and know that it’s safe,” he said.
He added that all of our devices, such as what’s in our solar panels, our iPhones, and our critical infrastructure all contain these elements.
Crane said the next step is in making some kind of investment in ensuring we can process these minerals ourselves and control our own destiny.
He said a promising aspect in potentially solving this issue is found in coal ash, mostly from coal processed right here in Appalachia as it contains a lot of rare earth elements.
“So, you know, what was a by-product of burning coal to produce the power, now you can reprocess it and actually extract rare earth elements out of the coal ash,” he said.
Maj. Gen. Crane was selected to be on this panel for being a champion in helping to modernize America’s defense and industrial capabilities, and is a strong advocate for domestic battery manufacturing and resilient supply chains that support both military and civilian infrastructure,
Crane served as the Adjutant General of the West Virginia National Guard from 2021 to 2025 with the Critical Infrastructure Protection Battalion under his command.
He is a 36-year Army veteran and engineer. Once commanding the 111th Engineer Brigade, Crane was instrumental in improving the nation’s homeland defense, emergency response and critical mineral security.
He said Tuesday’s panel will be made up of himself and eight others with expertise all around. Crane further explained how the panel was going to go.
“There’s some folks from Israel, there will be other corporate partners there as well,” Crane said. “We’ve also set up a meeting after the event, we’re going to try and sit and talk with Senator Capito for a little bit and explain that to her as well.”
Other confirmed speakers include:
Adam Muellerweiss, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, Clarios; President, Responsible Battery Coalition
Craig Singleton, Senior Director, China Program, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Micah Thompson, Senior Manager, Energy and Utilities, Advance Auto Parts
Lisa Jacobson, President, Business Council for Sustainable Energy
Elected Officials and Policymakers – To Be Announced
The event gets underway from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Tuesday. You can stream the event on securingamericanbattertech.com.
West Virginia
West Virginia Lottery results: See winning numbers for Mega Millions, Daily 3 on March 6, 2026
The results are in for the West Virginia Lottery’s draw games on Friday, March 6, 2026.
Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on March 6.
Winning Mega Millions numbers from March 6 drawing
08-19-26-38-42, Mega Ball: 24
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Daily 3 numbers from March 6 drawing
9-9-6
Check Daily 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Daily 4 numbers from March 6 drawing
6-9-5-6
Check Daily 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 25 numbers from March 6 drawing
05-13-16-19-23-25
Check Cash 25 payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the West Virginia Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 11 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10:59 p.m. ET Tuesday and Friday.
- Lotto America: 10:15 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Daily 3, 4: 6:59 p.m. ET Monday through Saturday.
- Cash 25: 6:59 p.m. ET Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.
West Virginia
DNR Releases total deer whitetail numbers for 2025, down significantly from 2024 – WV MetroNews
DNR PRESS RELEASE
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) today announced that hunters harvested 92,553 white-tailed deer during the 2025-2026 seasons, which is a 17 percent decrease from the 2024 deer harvest of 111,646 and 14 percent below the 5-year average of 107,434.
This year’s decreased harvest was caused by an increase in hard mast production, which often results in decreased harvests due to the difficulty of tracking and targeting game species spread out over a landscape. Several counties also experienced an outbreak of hemorrhagic disease, which likely impacted hunter success, especially in the western part of the state.
According to preliminary numbers collected through the WVDNR’s electronic game checking system, hunters harvested 33,823 bucks during the traditional buck firearm season, 25,453 antlerless deer during all antlerless firearm hunting opportunities, 29,654 deer during the urban and regular archery/crossbow seasons, 3,102 deer during the muzzleloader season and 501 deer during the Mountaineer Heritage season.
Click here to download county-by-county 2025-2026 deer harvest numbers.
Antlerless Deer Season
Hunters harvested 25,453 deer during the 2025 antlerless deer season, which includes the youth, class Q and Class XS deer season. The harvest was a 23 percent decrease compared to the 2024 harvest of 33,057 and 13 percent below the 5-year average of 29,303. The top ten counties for antlerless deer harvests were Preston (1,442), Upshur (907), Greenbrier (877), Monroe (876), Mason (841), Lewis (836), Hardy (775), Randolph (774), Barbour (695) and Braxton (680).
Archery and Crossbow Deer Seasons
Hunters harvested 29,654 deer during the 2025 archery and crossbow season. The 2025 harvest was an 8 percent decrease over the 2024 harvest of 32,240 and 5 percent below the 5-year average of 31,139. The proportion of the archery harvest taken using a crossbow has stabilized and was greater than deer reportedly taken by a bow.
The archery and crossbow harvest does not include the 29 deer taken with recurve or longbows during the Mountaineer Heritage season. The top ten counties for archery and crossbow deer harvests were Preston (1,573), Raleigh (1,378), Wyoming (1,224), Kanawha (1,045), Fayette (1,032), Mercer (892), Nicholas (889), McDowell (876), Randolph (860) and Monongalia (842).
Muzzleloader Deer Season
Hunters harvested 3,102 deer during the 2025 muzzleloader season, which was 26 percent less than the 2024 harvest of 4,173 and 22 percent below the 5-year average of 3,979. The muzzleloader deer season harvest does not include the 472 deer taken with side lock and flintlock muzzleloaders during the Mountaineer Heritage season. The top ten counties for muzzleloader deer harvests were Nicholas (186), Preston (179), Randolph (158), Greenbrier (131), Upshur (115), Fayette (111), Raleigh (95), Mason (93), Barbour (90) and Kanawha (88).
— Story by David Walsh, Photo gallery by Will Wotring
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Divisions I and II are going as expected after Thursday night’s opening round in the 78th West Virginia High School State Wrestling Tournament at Mountain Health Network Arena. University, seeking a third straight large school title, and Parkersburg found themselves in the top two in the standings on a night dominated by pins as No. 1 seeds would beat up on No. 4 seeds.
University started the event minus two competitors. One did not make weight and the other, who won a state title a year ago, is not competing as he’s recovering from a football injury.
One competitor delivering big for the Hawks is Maximus Fortier, a junior who transferred in from Fairmont Senior. While there, he won the state title as a freshman at 144 with a final record of 41-1. He competes at 165 now and is 36-2 after winning with a first-round pin Thursday night.
“Come down, support the team and try to win,” Fortier said of his battle plan. “Wrestle the way we know how.”
Fortier and the Hawks won the Ron Mauck OVAC title, the WSAZ Invitational and West Virginia Duals during the season. He competed in two major tournaments as well. He went 2-2 in the Ironman and won his weight class in the Powerade Tournament which attracts the top teams in the nation.
“Wasn’t ready,” he said about the Ironman. “Did my thing at Powerade. It was big.”
Fortier said support at his new school grows every day.
“They treat me like family,” he said.
Strategy for the State Tournament is simple.
“Wrestle the way we know how to wrestle,” Fortier said.
University capitalized on a strong finish in the heavier weights and leads with 47 points. Parkersburg, which finished second here last year, trails with 39.5. Cabell Midland is third with 37.5 and Huntington fourth with 32.5.
Ripley is in year two in Division II. The Vikings placed sixth a year ago. They came to town as the Region 4 winner and qualified 11 with nine taking first and the other two second. Ripley leads after Thursday with 38 points thanks to wins by pin or major fall. Independence is second with 27 and Keyser third with 25.5. Cameron is the leader in Division III with 16 points.
The tournament continues Friday with sessions at 11:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, the girls have their state with action starting at 8 a.m. The boys begin at 10:30.
Championship finals are Saturday night at 6:30. Wrestlers are now seeded prior to the tournament and the pill breaks deadlocks.
During the season, Ripley won the West Virginia Duals, beat Herbert Hoover twice, Point Pleasant and also got wins over Parkersburg South and Huntington.
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