MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — The Minnesota State Patrol is looking to add more troopers to its ranks, and they turned to social media Monday to help them reach a larger pool of applicants.
For the first time ever, representatives from the State Patrol took questions from potential applicants via Facebook. Lt. Steve Fischer, along with application coordinator Kathy Walker, spent the hour answers questions.
Many focused on the academy.
“Our academy is very physically demanding. They do physical training two times a day,” Fischer said.
It is a 15 weeks of Para-military training with barrack-style living conditions. Before you get to that point, however, there is an online application, written examination, physical fitness test, background investigation, medical exam and psychological testing.
Last year, there were 1,300 applicants, and with the help of social media, they hope to double that number this year.
Their invitation cannot be more to the point: If you want to make the highway your office, being a state trooper is the job for you.
They even developed a YouTube video to spark an interest in becoming a state trooper.
“There are way more qualified people than there are police jobs we’re anticipating anywhere from 20 to 40 new troopers being hired in our next process,” Fischer said.
With so many men and women coming back from overseas military assignments, the State Patrol says they have the qualities needed to become a trooper.
If interested, you can fill out an online application from Feb. 29 until March 9. Then, the applications are sorted through and a class of new recruits begins in February 2013.
Women and minorities are strongly encouraged to apply.
