Bigfoot Country Legends | radioNOVO News WV News Roundup for June 03, 2026

Good morning. We begin with a noticeable bump in monthly expenses hitting households all across the Mountain State. A brand-new, Public Service Commission-approved rate hike from Appalachian Power has officially gone into effect. The increase adds an extra four dollars and eighty-four cents per one thousand kilowatts used to standard residential electric bills. While utility officials state the adjustment is necessary to offset rising operational costs, consumer advocacy groups like Energy Efficient West Virginia argue the increase is entirely unjustified. A Beckley attorney has already filed a formal challenge with the state Supreme Court on behalf of customers, as advocates actively call for a new "rate-payer's bill of rights" to protect families and small businesses.Meanwhile, an active federal criminal case out of the region has concluded with a heavy prison sentence. United States District Judge Thomas Johnston has sentenced fifty-year-old Catra Nelson of Zanesville, Ohio, to twelve years in federal prison. Nelson was arrested following a major joint investigation by the F-B-I and the Parkersburg Drug and Violent Crime Task Force. Federal court records prove Nelson ran a large-scale trafficking operation responsible for flooding the streets of Parkersburg and the surrounding mid-Ohio valley with more than forty pounds of pure methamphetamine.Turning to labor news, the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office is conducting a full investigation into a violent confrontation on a local picket line. Teamsters Local 175 alleges that a member of a private security team threw a striking employee to the ground during a protest outside The Beverage Market in Charleston. The union reports the employee's mother was also pushed down during the physical altercation, which required emergency medical treatment. Roughly fifty union members have been on strike since May twelfth following a complete breakdown in contract talks over proposed cuts to health care and retirement benefits. The Beverage Market serves as a primary distributor across thirty West Virginia counties.And intense preparations continue in the state capital for one of the largest highway undertakings in regional history. The West Virginia Division of Highways is finalizing engineering logistics for next year's total deck replacement on the Eugene A. Carter Memorial Bridge along Interstate Sixty-Four. As one of the heaviest-trafficked corridors in the entire country, the massive project will restrict traffic to just two lanes in both directions through downtown Charleston. State transportation officials will officially open construction bids on June ninth, warning motorists to prepare for significant delays and shifting traffic patterns when preliminary setup work begins later this summer.Finally, in college sports, it is a historic morning for Mountain State baseball fans. The West Virginia University Mountaineers are headed to the Super Regionals for the third consecutive year. Armani Guzman delivered a dramatic, walk-off R-B-I single in the bottom of the tenth inning to secure a thrilling six-to-five victory over Kentucky, setting up a highly anticipated postseason series right home in Morgantown this weekend.For more news, download the radioNOVO app. I’m Codi Gaboff, radioNOVO News, a service of Seven Mountains Media.