JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Colonel Sandra K. Karsten, the first woman to ever serve as superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol in its 85-year history, has announced that she will be retiring.
In a news release issued Friday morning, it was announced that Karsten will end her 33-year career with the Patrol effective Sept. 1.
“It has been an honor to serve the people of Missouri as a member of the Missouri State Highway Patrol,” Karsten said. “For the past 33 years I have strived to live by the Patrol’s core values, to treat others as I wish to be treated, and to connect with each person who has crossed my path either professionally or personally.”
The news comes as Karsten was set to become the acting director for the Department of Public Safety, following the departure of Drew Juden, who is set to depart the agency effective Aug. 31. The reason for Juden’s departure wasn’t clear, but a spokeswoman for Gov. Mike Parson indicated he was asked to leave, saying Parson was seeking “a different approach.”
Juden departing Department of Public Safety, Karsten to serve as acting director
Karsten was appointed to the Patrol on September 1, 1985, as a member of the 57th Recruit Class. During her career with the Patrol, Karsten has worked as a road trooper in Callaway and Audrain counties. She obtained the rank of corporal and sergeant and was assigned assistant zone commander and designated zone commander, respectively, in Troop F.
In 1996, Karsten transferred to the General Headquarters in Jefferson City, where she was assigned to the Field Operations Bureau and promoted to the rank of lieutenant and later captain. In 2001, Karsten transferred to the Human Resources Division as the director of that division. In 2011, she was promoted to the rank of major and designated commander of the Administrative Services Bureau; then later transferred as the commander of the Technical Services Bureau.
As a major, she began serving as a member of the Patrol’s command staff. In 2012, she was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and was designated assistant superintendent, where she acted in the superintendent’s absence and had direct oversight responsibility for the Professional Standards Division and Public Information and Education Division.
Karsten was appointed the 23rd superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol on February 1, 2017.
Karsten graduated from Putnam County High School in Unionville, Missouri. She earned Bachelor of Science in criminal justice from Truman State University and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Missouri. Karsten is also a graduate of the Northwestern University Traffic Institute’s School of Police Staff and Command. Colonel Karsten and her husband, Tim, have two sons, John and Paul.
Benjamin Peters was a reporter for The Missouri Times and Missouri Times Magazine and also produced the #MoLeg Podcast. He joined The Missouri Times in 2016 after working as a sports editor and TV news producer in mid-Missouri. Benjamin is a graduate of Missouri State University in Springfield.
