Matt Stradtman joins KPD full-time

In 2010 Matt Stradtman moved to Kasson with his wife after she got a teaching job out of college at Triton Elementary School.
Now about nine years later Stradtman joined the Kasson Police Department as a full- time officer, the department where he began his career.
After his wife and him moved to Kasson, freshly out of St. Cloud State University, Stradtman began job searching. After accidentally stumbling upon the old Kasson Police Station, he spoke to the then  Police Chief Ken Schuck along with then Assistant Chief Kent Berghuis who gave him an application for the police reserves.
In 2011 Stradtman joined the department as a part-time officer where he worked for a year before landing a full-time job with the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office as a deputy.
Although Stradtman really enjoyed being with the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office, he decided to make the switch to Kasson full-time because he felt it was a better fit for his family.
“It’s nice being able to work in the same community that my family lives in,” Stradtman, the father of two toddlers explained.
For Stradtman, one of the main reasons why he wanted to become a police officer is because he looked up to the only ful -l time officer in his town growing up, who served as the  police chief of his hometown Atwater.
I grew up in small town like kasson and  looked up to the town cop,” Stradtman explained, “ He was a role model to me and I always wanted to be a role model to someone else,” he added.
During his time as a part-time officer with Kasson and as a deputy with Dodge County Stradtman came to love working in a small community because he is able to build quality relationships with people in the community.
“You get to build relationships with people and get to be on first name basis with people,” Stradtman said, “ for some people that is really comforting,” he explained.
Kasson Police Chief Kent Berghuis said that he is very excited to have Stradtman on the department full-time.
“Matt comes to us with full-time experience, we look forward to him working with us, he is a very personable person and will be good at interacting with the public we serve,” Berghuis said, “Kasson Police Department strives to  hire people that are a good fit for the department and the community, we like our officers to be personable and make smart decisions,” he added.
Stradtman is excited to continue his career with Kasson.