MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | Minnesota State Patrol Marks 50 Years Since Women First Earned Trooper Badges

Anne Beers, Sue Hackett and Ruth Wittner entered the State Patrol together in 1976, opening a path Beers would follow all the way to the agency’s highest command. 

FALCON HEIGHTS, MN (August 30, 2026)  Fifty years after three women crossed a barrier that had stood since the Minnesota State Patrol was established, the agency is honoring the troopers whose service changed who could wear its badge and eventually who could lead it.

Anne Beers, Sue Hackett and Ruth Wittner became the State Patrol’s first three women troopers in 1976. Together, they represented one-quarter of their graduating academy class.

Beers returned to the Minnesota State Fair this weekend as the State Patrol commemorated the anniversary and reflected on the changes that followed their entry into an institution previously staffed entirely by male troopers.

Speaking with the Minnesota News Network at the fairgrounds, Beers remembered the mixture of pride and apprehension she felt when she earned her badge.

She also reflected on what it means to see women serving throughout the patrol today.

“It makes my heart happy,” Beers said.

Three Women Entered Together

The milestone began with Beers, Hackett and Wittner entering an occupation in which women had little precedent and no established place within the Minnesota State Patrol.

They were expected to meet the same academy, physical, legal and professional standards as the men in their class while also confronting the additional scrutiny that often follows the first members of an underrepresented group.

Their arrival came during a period of considerable change within the agency.

The Minnesota Highway Patrol had been renamed the Minnesota State Patrol only three years earlier, in 1973. Officers began using the title “trooper,” and the agency adopted the campaign hat that became one of its most recognizable uniform features.

In 1976, the same year the first women troopers arrived, the patrol also established its Commercial Vehicle Division to oversee safety and regulatory compliance involving commercial transportation.

Beers, Hackett and Wittner therefore entered an agency that was modernizing its identity and expanding its responsibilities across Minnesota.

Their presence represented another significant transformation.

Beers Rose From Trooper to Chief

Beers remained with the State Patrol and advanced through its leadership ranks during the following two decades.

In 1997, she was promoted to colonel and appointed chief of the Minnesota State Patrol. She became the first woman to lead the agency.

Her advancement carried national significance at a time when very few women commanded state-level law-enforcement organizations.

Beers served as chief until 2005, completing a progression from one of Minnesota’s first three women troopers to the patrol’s highest-ranking officer.

Her career demonstrated that the 1976 appointments were not merely symbolic. Women could patrol Minnesota highways, investigate crashes, enforce traffic laws, supervise other troopers and assume responsibility for the direction of the entire organization.

Hackett also advanced during her State Patrol career, moving from road-patrol duties into agency leadership. The careers of all three women helped establish a foundation for those who followed.

A Half-Century of Change

Women have since served in an expanding range of State Patrol assignments, including highway enforcement, crash investigation, commercial-vehicle enforcement, canine operations, aviation, training, public information and command positions.

In 1999, Gloria Yarusso became the State Patrol’s first woman canine handler, another milestone in the agency’s history.

The patrol is currently led by Colonel Christina Bogojevic, who became chief in 2024.

The presence of women at multiple levels of the organization marks a substantial change from 1976, when Beers, Hackett and Wittner entered as the only women in a role that had existed for nearly half a century without them.

The anniversary also illustrates that institutional change occurs through individual careers rather than a single ceremonial moment. Opening the academy door was only the beginning. Retention, promotion, specialized assignments, workplace conditions and opportunities for command determined whether women would become a lasting part of the agency.

Anniversary Recognized at State Fair

The Minnesota State Fair provides a highly visible setting for the anniversary because the State Patrol has a longstanding public-safety and educational presence at the fairgrounds.

Troopers assist with traffic enforcement and public safety while meeting residents through demonstrations, recruitment efforts and educational programming.

The 50th-anniversary recognition allows visitors to learn about the three women who entered the patrol in 1976 and the careers that grew from that first academy class.

For Beers, the women now wearing State Patrol uniforms are visible evidence that the uncertainty surrounding that first year led to lasting change.

What began with three troopers has become an established part of the patrol’s identity and leadership.

The anniversary honors Beers, Hackett and Wittner not simply because they were first, but because they performed the work that made it possible for being first to become less remarkable for every woman who followed.

❤️ SUPPORT MINNEAPOLIMEDIA

STAY CONNECTED TO MINNEAPOLIMEDIA

Local stories matter. Subscribe free to MinneapoliMedia and receive independent news, community reporting and important updates from Minneapolis, the North Metro and communities across Minnesota.

SUBSCRIBE FREE: https://minneapolimedia.town.news/subscribe

MinneapoliMedia | Community. Culture. Civic Life.