National Police Week 2023: As Iowa State Trooper, Solberg promotes public safety

National Police Week has been held each year around mid-May since 1962, when President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation designating May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day. The period serves not only as a time to honor those officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice, but to recognize all members of law enforcement who continue to serve and protect their communities.

By Audrey Posten, Times-Register

“I’ve always wanted to serve—to serve the community,” said Jason Solberg.

When the New Ulm, Minn., native graduated from high school in 1988, instead of following a career in the military as his father and brother had done, he opted to pursue law enforcement. Solberg earned a two-year degree from Normandale Community College, before graduating from Mankato State University in 1992 with a degree in law enforcement and psychology.

His first job was with the Iowa Department of Public Safety as a gaming enforcement officer, working on the river boats that had grown in popularity. Solberg hoped the position could eventually lead to his ultimate career goal: becoming a state trooper.

“I wanted to be a state trooper since I was young. I was always intrigued with that,” he said. “I was going to take any job I could at the time to get my foot in the door.”

After being promoted to a special agent with the Division of Criminal Investigation, where he continued to work on river boats, Solberg transferred to the Iowa State Patrol in 1995 and moved to McGregor, where he still resides.

The Iowa State Patrol specializes in a variety of areas, according to Solberg. For example, the organization has its own tactical teams and air wing, K-9 programs, technical accident investigators and honor guards. Some troopers provide security at the capitol and governor’s mansion. The most well known, though, are the troopers who patrol Iowa roads.

“Our main mission is to promote public safety on the roadways,” Solberg said. “People often think we’re just out there to write tickets, but we’re not. We are a huge support cast to all local enforcement—city or county—and we promote public safety through community policing as well. For me, that’s a big thing. I’ve always been a community person and make myself available while I’m working or even off duty.”

The Iowa Department of Public Safety prepares recruits through its own specialized academy, which Solberg described as paramilitary.

“It’s a boot camp-like setting and is like going to college again because we have so much classroom time as well. That’s where we learned everything to prepare us to come out here and work individually. That’s driving, shooting, accident investigations, medical stuff—a wide range of topics,” he explained. “It makes you stronger both mentally and physically.”

They are skills Solberg has implemented in his nearly 30 years as an Iowa State Trooper in District 10. Based in Oelwein, it’s one of over a dozen districts across the state and includes Winneshiek, Allamakee, Clayton, Fayette, Buchanan, Delaware and Dubuque counties. Over 20 troopers currently patrol this area, which is the largest the group has been in some time, said Solberg. 

Since District 10 doesn’t include an interstate, the post is the only one in Iowa without a night shift—although troopers can get called out if need be. Instead, troopers work a day shift from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., or a later shift that starts at 3 p.m. and goes until midnight.

A minimum two troopers work each shift, but as many as five or six could be on patrol depending on what’s going on, according to Solberg.

“We’re all spread out in the seven counties,” he said. “I live in McGregor, so I’m considered a north car. Dubuque area, Delaware and Buchanan counties is our south. You look at the schedule and see who’s out, then try to hit different areas and be in different communities. Spread yourself out and let people see you.”

Solberg said he averages around 175 miles per day. His road time is considerably less since July, though, when he began serving as the district’s public resource officer. That role includes visits to schools and business, giving presentations or trainings on topics like driver’s ed, active shooters, human trafficking and internet safety.

The public resource officer unit additionally handles traffic for RAGBRAI traffic and mans a booth at the state fair. Solberg communicates with the public through Twitter, records radio public service announcements and works with news outlets to share winter driving tips, for example. 

“It’s a good way for me to see something else and promote something else other than out on the roadways through traffic enforcement,” Solberg said.

Active shooter training has really taken off, he noted, with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ creation last year of the Governor’s School Safety Bureau and allocation of $100 million in school safety funding.

“We’re getting a lot of requests,” Solberg said. 

He stressed that training isn’t just important for schools. In fact, schools only account for 20 percent of shootings.

“Most shootings—52 percent—are happening at places of business,” Solberg said.

Driving safety is still a major priority, however. The Iowa State Patrol is asking the public to “SIDE” with them to reduce the number of fatalities on Iowa roads to under 300.

“S” stands for seatbelt use.

“We need everyone to wear a seatbelt. We we have 97 fatalities to date, and 56 percent of those people weren’t buckled up. That’s something that’s preventable and can help out,” Solberg said. 

“I” is for impaired driving. If you plan to imbibe, stay where you’re at or have a designated driver.

“D” is distracted driving, which Solberg said is currently the Iowa State Patrol’s biggest concern and main focus on highways. Although people under 18 are not allowed to use cellphones will driving in Iowa, distracted driving is a leading cause of death of teenagers. Those 18 and over can use phones for hands-free or ear-to-phone conversations as well as navigation.

Solberg said the Iowa State Patrol is advocating for a hands-free law.

“That would give us the right to pull people over,” he explained.

The final letter in “SIDE, the “E,” represents excessive feed. 

“We are seeing a big spike in excessive speed violations, and when I say excessive, I mean over 100 mph,” Solberg said. “And we’re having a lot more high-speed chases too.”

Recent legislation that ups eluding police from an aggravated misdemeanor to a felony will help, Solberg added.

“We’ve never seen anything like that before,” he shared.

The chases have been just one of the memorable—and difficult—parts of the job, Solberg said. He recalled wrestling with people who were uncooperative and dealing with people under the influence of drugs. Responding to accidents, especially those with fatalities, is often the worst.

“Over my years, I’ve seen a lot of things. I’ve had to give death notifications to families,” Solberg said. “Your mind has to be with it because you’re going to tell someone their loved one is no longer here. You script and practice these things in your head. But you can’t let it bother you. You have to learn how to deal with it individually.”

There are good moments too. 

“It could be as simple as changing a flat tire for people and they send a thank you note to our office. Or going down to the state fair and having kids come up to you and asking questions. Being able to talk with them and take pictures,” Solberg shared. “There have been rewarding things at accidents too.”

Solberg once had to tourniquet a woman’s leg so she wouldn’t bleed out. The accident occurred in a rural area, and medical assistance was farther out.

Three years later, Solberg was outside mowing his lawn when a car pulled up. It was the woman.

“She started crying and hugged me,” he recalled. “She said, ‘The doctors told me, if you wouldn’t have done that, I would have died.’ She remembered that and looked me up, so that was cool.”