Law Enforcement is a Calling for Milbank Graduate Wes Bowsher
Law Enforcement is a Calling for
Milbank Graduate Wes Bowsher
Wes Bowsher, a 2017 graduate of Milbank High School, is the Milbank Police Department’s newest full-time police officer. He previously worked as a police officer in Hand County. “It kind of sounds cliche, but it was a calling for me,” said Bowsher. “There wasn’t one specific thing about the job that drew me in.”
Bowsher decided to come back to the Milbank area because the Milbank Police Department has helped him throughout his law enforcement and college careers. “They are one of the main reasons I am in law enforcement today,” added Bowsher.
After high school, Bowsher attended Lake Area Technical Institute in Watertown, where he earned an associate’s degree in law enforcement in 2019. “Lake Area is the only school in South Dakota where you can get certified and not have to go through the police academy as well,” added Bowsher. “I did two years of school there, did hands-on training, and got my degree and was certified to be hired as a police officer.”
Bowsher didn’t encounter any challenges or difficulties from the training itself, other than a few strict rules. “They are very strict on being presentable, clean shaven, neat haircut, and things like that,” explained Bowsher. “That was the only thing that was a challenge at all.”
Upon his graduation from Lake Area, Bowsher was hired as a police officer in Hand County (Miller). “I worked there for almost a year, 11 months, before coming home to Milbank,” said Bowsher.
Bowsher has been working part-time for the Milbank Police Department since June. The Milbank city council approved Bowsher’s hiring as a full-time officer on Monday, October 12.
Bowsher is engaged to Madison Schulte, also a graduate of Milbank High School. They will be wed in August of 2021. Bowsher also enjoys spending his free time hunting and fishing.
–Logan Karels
