EXCLUSIVE: Morrisey talks religious exemptions, bridge infrastructure on Tonight Live

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WOWK) – Religious exemptions for vaccinations and infrastructure on the West Virginia roads and bridges, such as the Fort Hill Bridge, are hot-button topics in the Mountain State.

On Friday, West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey stopped by the WOWK-TV studios in Charleston for an exclusive ‘Tonight Live’ interview broadcast live to all of Nexstar Media Group, Inc.’s West Virginia stations.

You can watch a replay of the full interview between the governor and Tonight Live anchor Amanda Barren in the video player above.

Our interview comes just one day after a Raleigh County Court granted a preliminary injunction against the Raleigh County Board of Education, requiring that the plaintiffs’ children be allowed to attend school while the lawsuit goes through the court system.

That lawsuit was filed in June on behalf of parents who want a religious exemption for vaccinations for their children. Both the Raleigh County and West Virginia Boards of Education have stated they would follow the mandated vaccine laws currently in the West Virginia Code, despite an executive order from Morrisey requiring exemptions. Morrisey called the Boards’ decision “overreaching in a pretty significant manner.”

During the interview, Morrisey and Barren also spoke of the community’s concerns of the Fort Hill Bridge and what the state needs to do to fix the bridge, both in the short- and long-term, as well as issues with other bridges across the state.

Morrisey says it’s critical to make sure both the state’s roads and bridges are safe for both local drivers and interstate commerce drivers.