WEIRTON — While visiting the Northern Panhandle this week to check in on emergency response to the flooding in Ohio County and celebrate the establishment of a new civics-based program at West Virginia University, Gov. Patrick Morrisey took time to promote economic development efforts in the state.

Morrisey, in his first year as governor of West Virginia, said state officials are looking at a variety of opportunities for the Mountain State, promoting the successes of existing businesses as well as looking to court new industries.

“There is an opportunity to leverage what we have in West Virginia,” he said, noting a particular focus on data centers. “We’ve been working on building the fundamentals.”

While Morrisey’s lone public event in the area Thursday was a visit to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6450 in Chester for a ceremonial bill signing establishing the Washington Center for Civics, Culture and Statesmanship at West Virginia University, the governor noted he had scheduled meetings with various businesses and area officials to discuss potential economic projects.

One of those visits was to Fiesta Tableware Co. in Newell though Morrisey didn’t discuss specifics of any discussions or potential projects in the county.

He said, though, he plans to have a big focus on the region in the coming years.

“I’m a believer in the Northern Panhandle,” he said.

Morrisey said he feels ongoing efforts to streamline state government, and cutting through the red tape of certain segments — such as the establishment of a one-stop location for permitting needs and setting up licensing reciprocity agreements — will be chief among the aids in attracting new businesses to West Virginia.

The HOPE Scholarship program, West Virginia’s educational savings account program that provides vouchers to certain eligible students for private and homeschool educational expenses, was another asset cited by Morrisey which he feels will attract people to bring their business and residency to the state.

“We’re being very aggressive and talking to a lot of companies,” he said. “There’s a lot of organic stuff that comes together with the right regulatory environment.”