October 17th, 2025 by WCBC Radio

West Virginia's donor agreement with the National Park Service to keep its national parks open during the government shutdown was to end today.  However, with Bridge Day set for Saturday—the state’s largest annual single-day festival—Governor Patrick Morrisey says they are extending the agreement, and Bridge Day—the celebration of New River Gorge and Harper’s Ferry parks—will take place…

“The political gridlock in Washington, it’s hurting a lot of people, but we took swift action in one area where we felt we could mitigate the effects of the shutdown, and that’s protecting our beautiful national parks.  We know that tourism huge for West Virginia—bringing in billions and billions of dollars every year.”