Friday marks the final day that Col. Ron Replogle will head the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The Marshfield native announced his retirement in February.
Replogle is a 31-year veteran of the patrol, spending the last five as superintendent. That included helping oversee the cleanup from the Joplin tornado in 2011. Replogle's career began in 1984, when he was appointed to the Patrol’s Law Enforcement Academy. Replogle served as a road trooper in Troop D, with assignments in Greene, Newton and Webster counties.
Replogle’s resignation earlier this year came just before the Missouri legislature began its probe into the governor's handling of the unrest in Ferguson. Gov. Jay Nixon had directed the patrol to take the lead on security in the St. Louis suburb following the shooting death of Michael Brown.
Nixon has appointed 28-year Patrol veteran Maj. Bret Johnson as the next superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol.