PAW PAW – Sgt. Lena Wresinski, assigned to the Paw Paw Post, was recognized as the 2025 Trooper of the Year. The Gerstacker Trooper of the Year Award recognizes the MSP trooper or sergeant who symbolizes outstanding professional ethics, dedication to duty and a concern for giving back to their community. The late Dr. Carl A. Gerstacker, former chairman of Dow Chemical Company, created the award in 1961.
Sergeant Wresinski demonstrates true leadership every shift and isn’t satisfied with status quo. She hones her skills quietly and is highly respected as the kind of person every trooper hopes to work under – steady, sharp and always ready to step in. Her peers indicate she handles tough situations with both professionalism and heart, according to a MSP press release.
When managing a 10-car pileup during a winter storm, she identified a child in need of transport to the hospital but there was no way for an ambulance to get close enough. Without hesitation, she loaded the child and their parent into her cruiser and took them to the hospital…