Ticks pose a growing threat to Virginians, so the pressure is on at Old Dominion University. A dozen students and faculty at the school have committed to visiting 18 sites a month, from Hampton Roads to areas west of Richmond to document the places ticks are found and what diseases they carry. Sandy Hausman spoke with their fearless leader and filed this report.

Virginia residents will vote in a statewide primary on Tuesday to choose nominees for U.S. Senate and U.S. House. Some of the House contests are in competitive swing districts that could decide control of the narrowly divided chamber in November. It's the commonwealth's third statewide election in nine months. A rematch may be in the works in the 2nd Congressional District, where Republican congresswoman Jen Kiggans seeks a third term. Former congresswoman Elaine Luria is running for the Democratic nomination for the seat she lost to Kiggans in 2022.

Back in the green room, Tim Barry, whose Richmond bonafides stretch back decades, explains why he decided to play the free show for the town he loves.

In its latest required report to the State Corporation Commission, Appalachian Power told regulators that companies looking to build new data centers are still very interested in locating in Virginia. This comes at a time when some Virginia localities are losing their enthusiasm for new data centers.Cardinal News reporters Matt Busse and Julianna Stephenson have recently written about the data center issue and they spoke with Fred Echols.

Alexandria asked the previous attorney general if the city government had authority to take action under its noise ordinance. When city officials got a favorable opinion, they took action. And then Arlington followed suit, giving businesses 30 months to ditch their gas-powered leaf blowers.

Radio IQ spoke with an expert at Virginia Tech to learn how drought may affect some of the chemicals in drinking water.

The news comes as Dominion also announced a delay in completion for CVOW, though it's already generating power.

Virginia is one of a handful of states that takes the right to vote from those convicted of a felony, and then requires gubernatorial approval to restore those rights.

The majority of Americans use some form of social media, according to the Pew Research Center. A team of researchers at Virginia Tech spent the past eight years trying to better understand how human behavior influences the version of reality we see online.

Next week will see primary elections for this fall’s mid-terms. Michael Pope and Radio IQ Politics Analyst Jeff Schapiro talk about what to expect and the week that was in state government and politics.