Ashland neighbors—make a night of it in downtown Portsmouth!

We’re celebrating opening night at Studio 317 Comedy Club, located inside The Vault Family & Event Gaming Center, on Saturday, October 3.

The lineup features headliner Raymond Jackson, comedian Nick Taylor, and host Jeff Allen.

• Seating: 7:30 PM | Show: 8:00 PM
• Location: 317 Chillicothe Street, Portsmouth, OH
• Tickets: $27 per person—all fees included

Food and non-alcoholic drinks are optional and available for purchase separately.

Bring your friends or make it a date night. We’d love to welcome our neighbors from Ashland and the surrounding area!

Tickets and show details

Happy to answer questions about the show or the venue!

Looking for a good drive in theatre to go to this Friday. Oddly enough Google keeps popping up indoor theaters.

Thank you all in advance

Hey y'all! I'm doing some early research on what people in the Ashland/Tri-State area actually want from their community spaces.

I've been thinking about the possibility of a locally owned, age-inclusive space where people could study, work, read, socialize, play games, participate in clubs/hobbies, attend events, or just hang out somewhere other than home. The general space would ideally be free to enter, with optional paid things like private rooms, memberships, workshops, events, and food/drink options helping support it.

This is very early research, I'm not announcing a business opening! I'm trying to figure out whether there's actually a need for something like this and, more importantly, what people would want it to look like.

I made a short anonymous survey (about 5 minutes) and would really appreciate input from anyone who lives in or regularly spends time around Ashland:

SURVEY LINK

If you have thoughts beyond the survey, I'd love to hear those too. What do you wish Ashland had? What would actually get you out of the house? What would make a space like this not appealing to you?

I've been wondering how many people around the Ashland area still play Super Smash Bros. Ultimate competitively or even just for fun.

We recently started a free weekly Smash Ultimate tournament every Saturday just across the river in Portsmouth, and we're hoping to build a scene that includes players from Ashland, Ironton, Portsmouth, and Huntington.

Saturday details:

• 🎮 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
• 📅 Every Saturday
• ⏰ Check-in: 2:30 PM
• 🏆 Tournament: 3:00 PM
• 💵 Free entry
• 👀 Spectators welcome

I'm honestly more curious than anything:

Does the Ashland area already have a regular Smash community, or do most players end up driving to Huntington, Lexington, Cincinnati, or somewhere else to play?

I know there are quite a few gamers around Ashland, so I wanted to see if anyone here is still playing Fortnite Zero Build.

We're hosting a free Fortnite Zero Build tournament this Friday, July 31, at The Vault Family & Event Gaming Center in Portsmouth, Ohio. It's about an hour from Ashland, and we've started getting players from several nearby communities.

The goal is simply to give local gamers a place to compete and meet other players—not just play online.

Friday's Tournament

• 🎮 Fortnite Zero Build
• 🎟️ Free entry
• 🕟 Check-in: 4:30 PM
• 🕔 Starts: 5:00 PM
• 🏆 1st Place wins a $15 Fortnite Digital Gift Card
• 🌟 Beginners welcome
• 👀 Spectators welcome

I'm also curious—are there any gaming groups, esports clubs, or regular Fortnite meetups in the Ashland area? We'd love to connect with other local gaming communities in the Tri-State region.

I've been wondering how many people around Ashland actually skip gaming events because they're usually in Columbus, Cincinnati, or Lexington.

We're working on building a small weekly Fortnite Zero Build community just across the river in Portsmouth. The goal isn't a giant esports tournament—it's simply a consistent place where people can meet other gamers, play a few matches, and have a good evening without making a full-day trip.

For those of you in the Ashland area:

• Would you ever make the drive for a weekly gaming night?
• What would make it worth your time?
• Are there games besides Fortnite you'd be more interested in?

I'm honestly interested in hearing what the local gaming community wants.

I was curious how many people around Ashland and the Tri-State are still playing Fortnite Zero Build.

There don't seem to be many recurring in-person Fortnite events in our region, so we've started hosting a free community Zero Build tournament every Friday at The Vault Family & Event Gaming Center in Portsmouth, Ohio.

We've already seen players from across southern Ohio, and we'd love to connect with more gamers from northeastern Kentucky as well.

Friday Schedule

• 🎮 Fortnite Zero Build
• 🕟 Check-in: 4:30 PM
• 🕔 Tournament begins: 5:00 PM
• 💲 Free entry
• 👀 Spectators are always welcome

The goal is to build a friendly regional gaming community where players can meet in person, compete, and have fun—whether they're experienced competitors or just enjoy playing Zero Build.

If you'd like more information or want to reserve a free spot, here's the registration page:
https://www.thevaultohio.com/fortnite-friday-registration

I'd also love to hear from Ashland-area gamers:

• Is there already a local Fortnite community that gets together?
• What other games would you travel for—Rocket League, Valorant, Call of Duty, Marvel Rivals, Smash, or something else?

Wynonna Judd will return to her hometown of Ashland this fall as part of her limited “Kentucky Queen Tour.” The Country Music Hall of Famer, born in Ashland in 1964, will perform at the Paramount Theater in Ashland on Friday, Oct. 2, at 7:30 p.m. The concert will be the final stop of a three-city tour tied to the release of her new album, “The Hard Truth,” which is also scheduled for Oct. 2.

Judd, a five-time Grammy Award winner, has spent more than four decades in country music as a solo artist and as part of The Judds with her late mother, Naomi. According to a VenuWorks press release, “The Hard Truth” is a personal album shaped by themes of family, loss, resilience, and redemption, with inspiration drawn from Judd’s life and Appalachian upbringing.

• Tickets go on sale to the public Friday, June 19, at 10 a.m. through paramountashland.com, Ticketmaster, or the Paramount box office.
• Tickets are $75 plus fees.

First United Methodist Church in downtown Ashland is restoring its century-old stained glass windows as part of an effort to preserve the historic church building. The project began May 4, when Zeigler Stained Glass of Lexington removed panels from the center of the south-side window for refurbishment. Once those panels are restored and reinstalled, the remaining panels in that window group will undergo the same process. The Rev. Jeff Bramel, senior pastor, said the windows are estimated to be about 105 years old, though the church has no record of who made them or when they were purchased.

The first windows selected for restoration are the oldest and most damaged, partly because their weight and exposure to sunlight and heat have contributed to deterioration. The initial phase, funded by nearly $49,000 raised by the congregation, is expected to continue through October, with additional window restoration planned for the spring. Church members Tim Albert and Ann Strosnider said the work reflects the congregation’s commitment to preserving the building’s beauty and history while continuing its ministry in downtown Ashland.

Ashland is getting a dispensary! Speakeasy is coming to Ashland soon and we’re hosting low-cost community patient drives to help patients be prepared for when the dispensary opens.

3508 Winchester Ave, Ashland

Friday & Saturday 10a - 6p

You can see a registered practitioner and complete the notary and state upload all in one visit.

Walk-ins are welcome; pre-registration is recommended to guarantee a spot and make your appointment quicker.

Additional resources and registration link can be found at https://speakeasydispensaries.com/ky-patient-resources

The KYTC Highway District Nine is soliciting input on a series of improvements proposed for Winchester and Greenup Avenue. The projects are designed to alleviate two high-crash-prone roadways, 40%-50% of which result in injuries.

• Improvements include shortening the pedestrian crossings along Greenup Avenue by bumping out the curbs.
• Adding a center turn lane or a non-mountable median along Greenup Avenue.
• Reducing Winchester Avenue east of downtown to Greenup Avenue to two lanes because of low traffic counts.
• Parking generally remains the same, although some spaces near intersections may be affected.
• Additionally, a raised island in the center of the roadway allows for shorter crossing distances and a protected area for pedestrians and is under consideration for 18th, 22nd, 23rd, and 25th Streets on Greenup Ave.

Hello! Our Speakeasy Dispensary coming to Ashland will feature an art gallery themed lobby, and we’re looking for local artists willing to display original works with credit (and listed for sale if you choose). Artists please send an email to wbrown@goldleafmanagement.com and share with anyone who might be interested!

Ashland is getting a dispensary! Speakeasy is coming to Ashland soon and we’re hosting a low-cost community patient drive to help patients be prepared for when the dispensary opens.

River Cities Med Spa

1452 Diederich Blvd

Russell, KY

Friday 4/3 | 1pm - 7pm

You can see a registered practitioner and complete the notary and state upload all in one visit.

Walk-ins are welcome; pre-registration is recommended to guarantee a spot and make your appointment quicker.

Additional resources and registration link can be found at https://speakeasydispensaries.com/ky-patient-resources

Step into a storybook at Ferry Tales

Join us in Downtown Russell, KY on Saturday, April 25th & Sunday, April 26th for a FREE magical medieval weekend!

Enjoy riverfront jousts, princesses, tea parties, horse & carriage rides, live blacksmithing, plus food trucks and vendors.

Costumes are encouraged (but not required ). Gather your friends, foes and fairies, and get ready for a weekend of adventure in Russell!

• Event info and vendor registration

The city of Russell’s tourism commission has released a 2026 master plan aimed at guiding tourism development and encouraging public involvement. The plan, developed over the past year with assistance from Louisville-based engineering and planning firm Qk4, outlines strategies to strengthen tourism as a source of economic growth and community activity. Presented through an online “story map” at wanderrussell.org, the plan invites residents and visitors across the Tri-State region to review proposed ideas and provide feedback through surveys and voting. Tourism director Faith Wolfe said the effort is intended to ensure transparency and community participation as the plan evolves.

The proposal groups potential initiatives into four categories: destination enhancers such as murals and public art; foundational and high-impact infrastructure projects; recreational diversifiers like parks and family gathering spaces; and long-term catalyst projects. Commission members described the plan as an early-stage “dream board” rather than a finished roadmap, emphasizing that public input will help shape priorities. Since the site launched Feb. 19, about 900 people have viewed the plan. The commission plans to review feedback by March 19 while continuing to expand events, including a classic car show in March and an expanded Ferry Tales festival in April.

• Wander Russell rolls out master plan (The Daily Independent)

This is slightly out of the bounds for the Ashland group, but a site has not yet been selected.

Plans for a $33 billion natural gas power facility have been unveiled for a 9.2 GW gas-fired generating station near Portsmouth, Ohio. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the project would be financed by Japan and operated by SB Energy, a subsidiary of SoftBank Group, and forms part of a broader $550 billion trade agreement with Japan. The exact site has not been identified. The U.S. Department of Energy continues to own land near Piketon at the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant north of Portsmouth, though local officials, including Pike County Economic Development Director Gary Arnett and Scioto County Commissioner Scottie Powell, said they had not received details about the plant’s location.

The City of Ashland broke ground on a nearly $105 million Water Resource Recovery Facility, the largest project in its history and one more than 25 years in planning. The EPA-mandated project will replace and modernize the existing wastewater treatment plant, originally built in the 1960s. Judy Construction was awarded the $99.7 million contract in 2025, with completion scheduled for 2029.

The upgrades will expand capacity from 11 million to 40 million gallons per day, improve treatment processes, and raise combined sewer overflow capture to 93 percent. Funded through local surcharges, state loans and grants, federal ARPA funds, and bonds, the project is intended to strengthen regulatory compliance, improve water quality, and support future economic growth.

• ’25 years in the making’: Ashland breaks ground on Water Resource Recovery Facility (The Daily Independent)

Hand Crafted Weekend at Greenbo Lake State Resort Park

Featuring a quilt show hosted by the Greenup County Quilt Guild on the ground floor with vendors and demonstrations. Demo artists will fill the lodge with pottery, fiber art, heritage folk art, luthiers, metalworking, stained glass, jewelry & music to see, hear, and purchase!

• When: Saturday, April 11, from 10 AM-6 PM, and Saturday, April 12, from noon-3 PM

Just now found this community on Reddit. I am born and raised in Ashland. I care deeply about my hometown. I’m looking forward to contributing to this forum as well as seeing other posts here.

Addiction Recovery Care (ARC), Kentucky’s largest provider of addiction treatment services, faced escalating legal and financial pressure after a federal judge ordered the company and its owners, Tim Robinson and Lelia Robinson, to appear in U.S. District Court in New York to show cause why they should not be held in contempt. The order followed allegations that ARC violated court directives to freeze and preserve assets tied to a civil lawsuit filed by Angelica Capital Trust, which claimed ARC failed to repay an $8 million advance. U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels also ordered depositions of the Robinsons and ARC’s in-house counsel, amid claims that ARC transferred funds despite injunctions and placed less money into a segregated account than ordered.

The dispute unfolded as ARC remained under an ongoing Federal Bureau of Investigation investigation into possible health care fraud and as Angelica alleged the company was nearing insolvency while attempting to raise nearly $28 million for a potential civil settlement with the United States Department of Justice. ARC denied wrongdoing in its court response and argued that freezing assets would disrupt patient care, but did not address the fraud allegations. Founded in eastern Kentucky, ARC expanded rapidly with Medicaid-funded treatment and became a significant political donor, before recent reimbursement cuts and fraud claims led to facility closures and layoffs. The case was scheduled for a Thursday morning hearing in federal court in New York.

• ARC owners ordered to appear at contempt hearing (The Daily Independent)

Emirates Global Aluminum and Century Aluminum reached an agreement to develop a new primary aluminum production plant in Inola, Oklahoma, ending earlier speculation that the project might be located in northeast Kentucky. According to Aluminum International Today, the joint venture assigned a 60% ownership stake to Emirates Global Aluminum and 40% to Century Aluminum. The facility was projected to produce 750,000 tons of aluminum annually, create roughly 1,000 permanent jobs, and support an additional 4,000 construction jobs. Once completed, it was expected to become the largest primary aluminum plant in the United States, with construction anticipated to begin by the end of 2026.

The decision marked a shift from earlier plans discussed in March 2024, when Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear announced that Century Aluminum was considering northeast Kentucky as a potential site, calling the proposal a potential economic “game changer” for Appalachia. Founded in 1995 and based in Chicago, Century Aluminum historically operated smelters in Hawesville and Sebree, Kentucky; Mount Holly, South Carolina; and Grundartangi, Iceland. By 2024, the Sebree plant had closed, while the Hawesville facility, idled in 2022, was reported in August 2025 to be moving toward a restart.

• NEKY not chosen for aluminum project (The Daily Independent)

Addiction Recovery Care, once the largest for-profit addiction treatment company in Kentucky, agreed to a nearly $28 million settlement with the Department of Justice over alleged Medicaid fraud, according to a draft settlement referenced in a federal lawsuit filed Jan. 12 in the Southern District of New York. The lawsuit, brought by Angelica Capital Trust, alleged that ARC improperly retained millions of dollars in tax credits to avoid bankruptcy while facing repayment obligations tied to the DOJ settlement. The draft settlement alleged ARC knowingly or recklessly submitted false Medicaid claims between 2018 and 2021, including billing for uncredentialed staff and services not eligible for reimbursement, with roughly $16 million designated as restitution.

The dispute followed a failed sale of most of ARC’s assets in late December after a proposed acquisition by Ethema Health Corporation collapsed. Angelica alleged ARC refused to return $8 million in tax credits provided to keep the company operating during the anticipated sale, while ARC founder Tim Robinson said the funds were necessary to maintain operations and care for patients until another transaction closed. At the time of the filings, ARC reported limited cash reserves, continued to bill Medicaid and Medicare with DOJ approval, and had shuttered most of its treatment centers following an FBI fraud investigation and Medicaid rate cuts.

• Kentucky’s Addiction Recovery Care owes DOJ $28M settlement, lawsuit claims (Lexington Herald-Leader)

Ashland Community and Technical College has opened its new Transportation Education Center, bringing a fully operational, modern facility online to support high-demand transportation programs. The $13 million center is located on the college’s Technology Drive Campus in EastPark and houses Automotive Technology, Diesel Technology, and CDL instructional programs.

Construction on the project began in October 2024 and represents a joint investment by the state and the college. The facility includes dedicated storage for CDL, automotive, and diesel programs, a machine room and engine room, and an exterior EV battery storage shed. All instructional spaces are fully equipped and in use as students return to campus for the spring semester.

• ACTC to open new Transportation Education Center Jan. 12 (Ashland Community & Technical College)