Good morning, Blacksburg.

The Local opened at 414 North Main Street in downtown, turning the former Cook’s Cleaners into a retail incubator with Moon Hollow Coffee + five 10 by 10 stalls and wall spaces for microbusinesses; stalls start at $300 monthly and licenses begin at 60 days, open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The EDA on Oct. 27 awarded $24,791,450 to boost regional additive manufacturing, including $16.97 million for Virginia Tech College of Engineering design work, $4.41 million to the Institute for Advanced Learning & Research to train 2,000 apprentices, and $3.41 million to the New River Valley Regional Commission.

New River Community College will host Discovery Day on Saturday, Nov.

7 (1 p.m. to 5 p.m.) at the Dublin campus, with a majors fair, lab demos, guided tours, FAFSA and transfer sessions, and staff from admissions, financial aid, career, and veterans services; pre-register to receive a $10 Starbucks card.

The U.S. Department of Energy awarded Virginia Tech a $1 million PROSPECT grant on Oct.

27 to lead training programs that will grow the workforce for producing, processing, recovering, and recycling critical minerals in the U.S.; Virginia Tech is one of 16 schools receiving funding.

Modern luxury apartment complexes have proliferated around Virginia Tech over the past decade, offering high-end amenities and one-bedroom rents starting near $1,520 and topping out above $1,900 at newer properties.

Cardinal Group’s Heyday Blacksburg is under construction on South Main and will open for fall 2027 leasing.

Montgomery County approved plans for a new wrestling facility on Oct.

26; the project will move into permitting and site-preparation next.