New troopers hit the road
Local ISP district adds three
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Three new troopers are on the roads in and around Webster County, carrying on the Iowa State Patrol's tradition of professionalism and service.
Trooper Matt Winter and Trooper Payton Harris joined the patrol's Webster County based District 7 in December.
Trooper Dylan Hill arrived in May.
After completing the academy and 70 days of riding with an experienced trooper, Harris and Winter are now on patrol by themselves. Hill is nearing the conclusion of his field training.
Harris is a native of Adair who graduated from Indianola High School. She earned a Bachelor's degree from Simpson College in Indianola and a Master's degree in forensic science from Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas.
While completing her Master's degree, she did an internship with the local sheriff's department in Kansas. She said while doing that internship she "kind of just fell in love with law enforcement work."
"I like the State Patrol and their values," she said.
Hill is a native of Bewrick who graduated from Ankeny High School and earned an associate degree from Des Moines Area Community College. He then earned a Bachelor's degree in sociology and criminology from Iowa State University in Ames.
He said he has always wanted to be in law enforcement and added that he has an uncle who was a state trooper.
Winter is from Hubbard and graduated from Hubbard-Radcliffe High School. He has a Bachelor's degree from Texas A & M International University. He also has family members who worked in law enforcement. He said he was attracted to the State Patrol because it is "the highest level of law enforcement" in Iowa.
When new troopers are about to graduate from the academy, they are asked to submit a list of their top three choices of districts they would like to be assigned to. District 7 was on the lists of both Harris and Winter.
Upon arriving at District 7, all three were assigned to ride with a senior trooper for what is called field training.
"The academy prepares you and field training extends that training for like miles," Harris said.
All three said they have already encountered a lot of drivers who were not wearing their seatbelts.
Harris said whenever she tells someone to buckle up she also tells them that she doesn't want to have to tell their families that they were killed or seriously injured because they didn't wear their seatbelt.
Winter said he likes getting drunk drivers off the road.
"I would hate to see what would happen if they continued to drive," he said.