The year is 1977. Gas is 65 cents a gallon. Jimmy Carter is president. The Bee Gees are ruling the airwaves. And an 18-year-old named Mike Asleson is stepping into the State Patrol Academy, about to become the youngest trooper Minnesota has ever hired. 

Now, nearly five decades later, Mike is signing off from the Department of Public Safety after a lifetime of service to Minnesotans. From his early days on patrol to his years leading innovation at our Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), Mike’s career has been defined by dedication, humility and a steady drive to make things better. 

The start of a story that would span nearly 50 years of public service 

Mike began his career in public safety when he was young — really young. At just 16 years old, he joined the New Ulm Police Department as a civilian dispatcher. Two years later, he became one of 21 cadets at the Minnesota State Patrol Academy in Arden Hills. By 19, he was the youngest trooper to hit the road. His first stop: the Minneapolis Station, where he would spend the next eight years working “dog watch” overnight shifts, responding to crashes and taking impaired drivers off the road. 

It was there that Mike faced what he calls “the fight of my life” — a roadside struggle with a violent offender that nearly cost him his life and his weapon. 

“I heard my gun come out of its holster. Clink, clink, clink on the pavement of I 35-W,” he recalls.  

With no portable radio, Mike’s only hope was to reach his squad car and call for help. The brawl continued, and the man got Mike’s gun and pressed it to his forehead. In those seconds that felt like hours, Mike got on the radio before grabbing the barrel, fighting to keep it from firing until help could reach him. 

Every instinct told him to keep going — and he did. Mike fought on, eventually regaining control of the gun just as backup arrived. He survived that night, bruised but alive. What came next changed his life in another way: the hospital employee who admitted him after the incident would later become his wife. Forty-four years later, Mike and Gayleen are still married with three children and two grandchildren. 

But Mike didn’t just serve — he led 

Over the next three decades, he rose through the ranks of the Minnesota State Patrol, serving as lieutenant, captain and finally as a major overseeing operations statewide. Along the way, he helped modernize technology, improve radio systems and helped lead hundreds of troopers across 11 patrol districts. 

He also spent time at the legislature advancing key DWI laws, including Minnesota’s .08 law and felony DWI statute. His fingerprints can still be found on the DWI laws we see today, laws that were literally drafted on a napkin at a south Minneapolis diner with colleagues from the DWI Task Force.

“I was always treated fairly,” Mike says of his 35 years with the State Patrol. “I had great partners, mentors and leaders. I couldn’t have asked for better.” 

Even after 35 years, Mike’s impact on public safety was just getting started 

When Mike retired from the State Patrol in 2012, he wasn’t quite ready to hang up his well-worn maroon hat. A temporary, two-year position at the BCA turned into a second career and a new way to serve. 

At the BCA, Mike joined the eCharging project team, helping law enforcement agencies transition from paper DWI forms to a fully digital system. What began as a pilot quickly became one of Minnesota’s most significant public safety innovations. 

When Mike joined the team, about 800 DWI cases a month were processed through eCharging. Today, that number tops 2,000 — and for over 110 straight months, 99.9 percent of DWI cases have been submitted electronically with virtually no paper statewide. 

Mike personally trained more than 12,000 law enforcement officers on the system, traveling across Minnesota to ensure troopers, deputies and officers were confident using the technology. His approachable, down-to-earth style made him a favorite among agencies, many of whom he now calls friends. 

“Mike likely trained every cop reading this message,” reflected Office of Traffic Safety Law Enforcement Liaison Scott McConkey in a recent newsletter. “He brought both professionalism and humor to his work — sending late-night notes that made us laugh on the hardest days. That was life with Mike: giving it all you’ve got, while never forgetting to laugh.” 

Looking back, Mike calls his time at DPS 'a gift' 

“I was so fortunate to have jobs I loved and got paid to do,” he says with a laugh. “I had amazing supervisors who gave me trust, freedom and support. And I got to work alongside the most dedicated people in public safety.” 

From his first dispatch call in New Ulm to his last eCharging class with the BCA, Mike’s career tells the story of service, innovation and leadership. But what matters most to him isn’t the technology or the titles — it’s the people and his family. 

“I could never thank my wife and kids enough,” he says. “They made sacrifices so I could serve. This career was possible because of them.” 

When you add it all up, the numbers tell a story of their own 

Forty-eight years. Seven governors. Fourteen DPS commissioners. Ten State Patrol colonels. Thousands of officers trained, and countless Minnesotans made safer — all because Mike Asleson showed up, led with compassion and left every place he served better than he found it.