Bob Leweke
News Director / Morning Edition HostBob Leweke is WMRA's News Director and Morning Edition host.
Before coming to public radio in 2003, Bob had worked for The Roanoke Times as a circulation manager and writer. He later became a member of the communication faculty at Pikeville College in Kentucky, and at Bridgewater College in Virginia, where he taught public speaking, mass media law, communication theory and other courses. Bob holds degrees in communication and political science from Virginia Tech, and a doctorate in mass communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 2015 and 2016, the readers of the Daily News-Record voted him “Best Radio Personality.”
In his hours away from WMRA, Bob enjoys music, cycling, reading and movie-watching, and spending time with his family doing all of the above.
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Governor Spanberger delivers the Democrats' response to President Trump’s State of the Union speech… Ahead of the address, Senator Tim Kaine, joined by a Harrisonburg dentist, warned of harm done by changes to Medicaid… Virginia’s attorney general joins 23 other states in a lawsuit against the EPA over grant funding for solar power…. -
Workers at UVa gather to press for collective bargaining legislation… Meanwhile, UVa names a new rector and vice rector… A new poll casts doubt on whether the plan by Virginia Democrats for mid-decade redistricting has enough public support to pass….
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Augusta County’s sheriff's office investigates the shooting death of a high school student… Despite the federal government’s increasingly anti-vaccine stance, the Virginia Department of Health encourages families to get their children vaccinated… The Democrats’ effort to establish Virginia’s first legal cannabis market also has some Republican support….
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A special WMRA investigation looks into recent turmoil at Mary Baldwin University, amid shifting leadership and academic and faculty cuts… A bill in the General Assembly to overhaul control of the Virginia Military Institute undergoes significant changes… Democrats advance legislation that would eliminate tax exempt status for Confederate groups….
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Hundreds of JMU students protest ICE… School support staff in Charlottesville could soon get a pay raise… Wintergreen Resort welcomes wounded warriors for a weekend of snow sports and camaraderie….
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A new director takes the helm of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County’s joint emergency communications center… In the General Assembly, bills advance that would ban assault-style weapons, outlaw the herbicide paraquat, and change Virginia’s participation in the Electoral College… We tour two businesses in the Valley that take very different approaches to processing reusables….
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A court rules that a newly elected member of Shenandoah County’s school board can keep his seat… Governor Spanberger signs her first bills, sending four constitutional amendments to voters… We talk with our February Books & Brews guest about his new novel, which explores a world newly shaped by chatbots, autonomous cars, and other nonhuman forces….
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A grand jury issues new animal cruelty and other charges against the former owners and workers at Natural Bridge Zoo… Charlottesville issues a symbolic statement against ICE… State Democrats release their proposed new congressional map, which could give them a 10-1 advantage in the state’s delegation….
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UVa cancer researchers discover a potential new treatment for the deadliest form of brain cancer… Governor Spanberger ends agreements between state law enforcement agencies and ICE… A new partnership between the Wildlife Center of Virginia and Bridgewater College gives turtles a place to stay for the winter, and students an opportunity to learn rehabilitation….
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State Democrats want to expand a pilot program to bring restorative justice to more of Virginia’s schools… Other bills would raise the minimum wage, restrict so-called “assault firearms,” and cut property tax exemptions for Confederate organizations… We talk with the head of a local theater company that has taken over operation of Harrisonburg’s Court Square Theater….
