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After a planned 30 years in law enforcement, Lori Halsne of Luverne hung up her maroon and tan uniform of the Minnesota State Patrol Feb. 12, her 50th birthday.
Halsne entered law enforcement when few women chose policing as a career. She credits positive role models for her choice.
As a teenager growing up in Ruthton, she rode along with a classmate’s father, a deputy sheriff with Pipestone County and a career in law enforcement intrigued her.
“It’s a career with no sitting behind a desk,” Halsne said.
She developed a strong philosophy during her years working in public safety from those role models.
“Traffic enforcement is important but I always tried to make it a positive and educational experience,” she said. “It wasn’t always about writing a ticket.”
Halsne attended Willmar Community College, where she earned a two-year degree.
An internship with the
MSP had her riding with Laurie (Mortenson) Bullerman, one of a few women troopers in the early 1990s.
“I looked up to her as a female officer,” Halsne said. “My dream was to work with the State Patrol.”
Halsne entered her first law enforcement job at age 20 in 1991 with the Marshall Police Department. She was the only woman on the force at that time.
“There had been a woman working there in the 1980s, but she left by the time I got on the force,” Halsne said.
She applied to the MSP in 1997 along with 1,500 other applicants. A desire to patrol the open roadways versus city streets. She was hired to work in the Morris district.
As a rookie with the MSP, Halsne completed a four-month academy, an experience similar to basic training for the military.
“We started with 21 and finished with only 11,” she said. “I was the only female.”
Halsne moved to the Marshall district in 1998 and was assigned to the jurisdiction of Rock and Nobles counties. She chose to live in Luverne, where she plans to continue to live after retirement.
She spent 22 years patrolling the state roads in her jurisdiction, covering over 900,000 miles, many of them on I-90.
“There are a lot of people that get stranded or broke down on the interstate,” she said. “Through the years I got a lot of thank-yous.”
Halsne was never forced to use her gun in line of duty, but she experienced several close calls when vehicles would come too close to her as she assisted others on the interstate.
Her hardest job in law enforcement came just months before her retirement.
She was surprised when the riot training she completed as an MSP rookie more than 20 years ago was put into play in May 2020 during the riots in the Twin Cities.
She scoffed at the riot stick and other gear she was handed, thinking this will never be used during her stint as a trooper.
Then George Floyd died during his arrest near a convenience store in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. The public response was to riot, and the MSP and the National Guard were called in to restore order.
“It was like walking into a war zone,” Halsne said. “Thank God for good training.”
She recommends anyone interested in law enforcement today to delay entrance into the field.
“Don’t start in the career too young … get some life experience and a four-year degree,” Halsne said.
Like military service, she feels anyone in law enforcement should set similar limits. Her retirement comes as the public view of peace officers is shifting.
“Today there’s a lack of respect towards law enforcement,” she said.
In retirement Halsne said she will pursue another job, but first she looks forward to spending more time with family, which includes her 15-year-old son, Michael.