Excitement across southern Boone County ahead of Ranken’s Ashland opening

Ranken’s new multi-million dollar Ashland campus is located next to Salter Lawn Service (January 2024 photo courtesy of Southern Boone R-1 spokesman Matt Sharp)

About 150 residents and business leaders across mid-Missouri have learned new details about next Friday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony at Ranken Technical College’s Ashland campus.

939 the Eagle’s Stephanie Bell emceed Thursday morning’s Southern Boone Community leader breakfast at the Ashland Optimist building. Ranken Technical College is planning a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its Ashland campus for next Friday (April 26^th) at 10 am. The crowd learned that the Ashland campus will focus on construction, IT, nursing and manufacturing. Ranken president Don Pohl has said repeatedly that Ranken didn’t choose Ashland, and that it was Ashland that chose Ranken. Ranken has had multiple meetings with mid-Missouri health care providers about the nursing shortage. We’ll likely learn more at next Friday’s ribbon-cutting.

Breakfast attendees on Thursday also listened to a keynote address from Missouri Department of Economic Development director Michelle Hataway. And they heard a presentation from Southern Boone R-1 school superintendent Dr. Tim Roth about two voter-approved measures this month, an $11-million no tax increase bond issue and a 20-cent levy transfer.