By Payton Tholstrup

Cloud County Community College will celebrate the grand opening of its new Technical Education and Innovation Center on Friday, August 2nd. The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at the Tech Center which is located at 120 East College Drive in Concordia. The public is invited to attend. Tours will be offered from 1:30-3 p.m.

The new center broke ground on March 29th, 2023, with construction beginning in April. The building will be home to Nursing, Renewable Energy, Agriculture, and Industrial Technology. Industrial Technology will include the welding and CDL program. Classes in the new center will begin in the Fall 2024 semester.

The project was funded entirely through grants, as well as private and industry donations. Major contributors to funding include Salina Regional Health Center, North Central Kansas Medical Center, Cloud County Community College Foundation, Sunderland Foundation, Patterson Family Foundation, Earl Bane Foundation, Carl “Bill” Forshee, Dane G. Hansen Foundation, and Cloud Ceramics.

“The college has strong relationships with our industry partners, which has been instrumental to the success of this project and growing a talent pipeline in Kansas,” Cloud President Amber Knoettgen said.

After the ribbon cutting, there will be an Orphan Train statute unveiling scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

“The Center will house critical need, high demand areas of study it will provide the educational setting for our students to explore innovative ideas to advance these industries, which ultimately strengthens the Kansas workforce,” Knoettgen said.