No. 11 Iowa State faces West Virginia Saturday (6:30 p.m. FOX) in its third Big 12 game of the season. Here are our staff’s picks.
Chris Williams (4-1) Iowa State hasn’t seen the schedule that West Virginia has. I question how much heart this Oklahoma State squad the Mountaineers bullied last week was playing with. Feels like a coin-toss game. Give me the good guys.Iowa State 27, West Virginia 24
Rob Gray (4-1) The Mountaineers’ running back duo of Jahiem White and C.J. Donaldson — along with dual-threat quarterback Garett Greene — will sap the Cyclones’ strength on the defensive side of the football, but I’m convinced that the Cyclones will continue to deploy a balanced attack offensively. Toss in Ben Brahmer, Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel’s big play capabilities in the passing game — and in Noel’s case, the return game — and ISU looks to keep its dream season alive. The Cyclones do all the right things in the margins and escape Morgantown with a crucial win. Iowa State 27, West Virginia 24
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Jeff Woody (5-0) The game has the inverse feel of the Will Grier WVU game with Iowa State being the favored team. But the difference is Iowa State has the past experience of being the one doing the upsetting. WVU is going to come out flying. But there’s too consistent of a game plan for the Cyclones to keep them down for long. Iowa State comes back in the 3rd and holds on in the 4th. Iowa State 30, West Virginia 24
Connor Ferguson (5-0) Woody took my uniform inverse deal I was going to write 500 words about so I’ll keep it somewhat brief. West Virginia hasn’t beaten a great team yet, and that version of Oklahoma State was nowhere close to one. Iowa State’s defense is able to again limit a dual threat quarterback and the Cyclones pull away late. Iowa State 29, West Virginia 20
Grant Mahoney (5-0) I don’t know what to make of this game – I think it’s a prove it game for both teams. ISU is 5-0 but hasn’t really played a good offense, so are they for real? WVU is 3-2 and their two losses are to two undefeated teams but their 3 wins are from a 2-3 FCS team, they snuck past an abysmal 1-5 Kansas team at home, and beat a 3-3 Oklahoma State team (after a bye week), whose defense is among the worst in the country (130 out of 133) – but currently have the 4th best odds to win the conference, so are they for real? If ISU can get up early and force WVU to pass the ball, I like ISU’s chances. If WVU gets up early and they get that raucous “Coal Out” crowd behind him, ISU could suffer their first loss of the season. Iowa State 38, West Virginia 27
Jackson Pence (5-0) This is by far Iowa State’s biggest test of the year to this point in the season. The Cyclones are the better team, but when you factor in the Mountaineers’ home-field advantage and black-out night game, this game is 50-50. I worry about the health of the Cyclones defense, especially true freshman linebacker Cael Brezina. But one thing I don’t worry about is the Iowa State offense. It still feels like they have another gear to reach. Higgins and Noel each have a long touchdown catch and the Cyclone offense stays hot. The defense will give up some points, especially on the ground, but Heacock and Co. rally late to force a turnover or two and Iowa State stays undefeated at 6-0. The last time that happened… it was 1938. Iowa State 38, West Virginia 31
Signs that say, “Don’t Fairfax Me” and “Vote No” are appearing in rural parts of Virginia in opposition to gerrymandered maps being voted on in a special election.
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‘Don’t Fairfax Me’: Northern Virginians fight redistricting plan
As the special election that will determine the fate of a plan to redraw Virginia’s congressional districts approaches, the state’s largest jurisdiction has started being referenced as a verb in messaging opposing the initiative.
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Signs that say, “Don’t Fairfax Me” and “Vote No” started appearing in rural parts of Virginia, Cardinal News reported. And on social media, Del. Wren Williams, whose district includes several counties in the southwestern portion of the state, defined “Fairfaxphobia.”
Early voting has been underway for weeks, but on April 21, voters will decide whether to OK a plan that would redraw Virginia’s congressional map. Currently, the state has elected six Democrats and five Republicans across its 11 districts. The proposed map could give Democrats a 10-1 advantage, experts say.
Virginia Democrats argue the step comes in response to President Donald Trump’s push for redistricting in Republican-led states. Republicans have been critical of the effort.
Williams is describing “Fairfaxphobia” as a fear that political power concentrated in Fairfax County will make decisions for the whole state and create policies impacting some communities that they can’t afford.
“We don’t want to be Fairfax County,” Williams told WTOP. “We don’t want skyscrapers. I don’t want to have to go somewhere outside and walk around to find some patches of grass to touch. I am interested in rural life, a little bit easier, a little bit simpler, a little bit more laid back, not as fast paced.”
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“Fairfaxphobia” graphic circulated to represent the fear that political power concentrated in Fairfax County will make decisions for the whole state. (Courtesy of Wren Williams)
As part of the proposed map, Williams said, “at least five districts run up and split up Fairfax County, which will eventually lead to five sitting congressional members from the county of Fairfax, and that’s just not representative of the entirety of the commonwealth.”
Jeannette, a longtime Northern Virginia resident, said people who live in the northern part of the state “are seen as an anomaly, maybe to the rest of Virginia, given our, I think, collective more liberal leaning. And I understand why they’re saying that, but I think we should separate that from the goal of the referendum.”
Dave Lincoln, meanwhile, said Friday he hadn’t heard about the signs in rural parts of the state but, “I guess it’s — we are what we are.”
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell called the campaign disappointing, because “Fairfax County does a lot for the entire state. If it wasn’t for Fairfax, our state would have the economy of Mississippi.”
The “Don’t Fairfax Me” signs say they’re paid for and authorized by a political action committee called “New Vision VA.” Dominion Energy made a $25,000 donation to the PAC, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
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Yves Fischer, who lives in Alexandria, said the messaging and advertising on the redistricting referendum are confusing.
For Tiffany, “I guess they’re saying ‘Don’t Fairfax’ Virginia, because obviously we are a much more educated, classy, professional, employed area, and we, of course, are going to vote ‘yes’ on this.”
In Springfield on Friday afternoon, Ann said she hadn’t seen or heard about the signs, but, “It should be a big ‘no.’ It’s not right. It’s not fair to most Virginians.”
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ABINGDON, Va. (WCYB) — The made in Southwest Virginia artisan and craft market returns April 11, 2026.
The Southwest Virginia Cultural Center in Abingdon will host more than 20 local artists.
Those artisans will offer demonstrations of their work and they’ll also be selling some of their crafts.
“We want to give this opportunity for community members to come out, as the weather is warming up and as spring is rolling around, to meet these makers and take home a little bit of Southwest Virginia,” Ryan Vaughan with the Friends of Southwest Virginia said.
A new West Virginia law aims to boost the state’s coal and natural gas sectors while more than tripling its electricity generation capacity to 50 gigawatts by 2050.
The measure, signed Thursday by Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey, is designed to turn West Virginia into an energy hub for the data center industry. By sending more electricity to the regional grid and leveraging his state’s relatively lax regulations, Morrisey and his allies are looking to lure data centers to the state, as well as power those beyond its borders.
“We know there’s virtually unlimited need for energy in our country,” Morrisey said at a bill signing of H.B. 5381. “PJM and our grid operators, they’re starving for states to step up and take the lead. And that’s what West Virginia is doing.”
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The new law calls for the state’s Office of Energy to produce rolling five-year plans to keep the state’s existing coal-fired power plants operating through 2050, while also developing new “baseload” energy powered by gas, nuclear, geothermal and hydrogen.
