The acting leader of the Missouri State Highway Patrol is about to take over the job permanently.
The Jefferson City News-Tribune reports that Gov. Mike Parson announced Tuesday that he was naming Col. Eric Olson as the patrol's next superintendent, subject to the Missouri Senate's confirmation. He's been acting superintendent since Sept. 1, when the previous patrol head — Sandra Karsten — was named director of the state's Public Safety Department.
Olson grew up in Chillicothe and began serving with the patrol in 1990 after earning a bachelor's degree in psychology from William Jewell College in Liberty. He has served as director of the Division of Drug & Crime Control and as commander of the Criminal Investigation Bureau at the patrol's general headquarters in Jefferson City.
