A dozen new state troopers are sworn in and ready to hit to road.
Their graduation at the State Capitol Friday comes at a good time to help address severe staff shortages at the patrol.
"Many of them are going to be in the western part of the state where we have a lot of vacancies currently," Nebraska State Patrol Superintendent Col. John Bolduc said.
You could call the Patrol's 67th Basic Recruit Class the "diverse dozen."
There are three Hispanic females, one black and a few, such as Gabriella Ochoa, who come from other professions.
"I was originally in the public health field and I loved helping people, but I wanted to do a little more. And the state patrol was calling my name," Ochoa said.
That's exactly what the 86-year-old law enforcement agency needs.
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Even with the new officers, there are still 64 vacancies in a force of more than 400 troopers.
"This is going to be a marathon. We're not going to make up all those vacancies in one or two camps," Bolduc said.
State lawmakers just passed a historic 22% wage increase for troopers, increasing starting pay to $30 an hour.
"We are getting some top-notch candidates to come into our camps to serve as troopers. We just need more of them," Bolduc said.
Dylan Grassmyer is just out of U.S. Army.
He's from Pennsylvania but has Nebraska roots.
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