Governor Mike Kehoe appointed Michael A. Turner to become the 25th superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol on December 26, 2024. The Missouri Senate confirmed his appointment on January 30, 2025.
Turner was appointed to the Patrol on January 1, 1996, as a member of 71st Recruit Class. Upon graduating from the Patrol's Law Enforcement Academy, he was assigned to Troop F, Zone 5, Camden County. He was promoted to corporal and designated assistant supervisor of Zone 8, Callaway County, on April 1, 2001. He transferred to Zone 5, Camden/Miller counties on February 28, 2004. On April 29, 2007, he was promoted to sergeant and designated zone supervisor of Zone 6, Moniteau/Morgan counties. Turner served as Troop F SWAT team leader from 2004 to 2011, and founded the Central Missouri Tactical Officers Association. He was promoted to lieutenant on November 1, 2011, and assigned to Troop F Headquarters. On March 1, 2015, Turner was promoted to captain and designated commanding officer of Troop F, Jefferson City. On April 1, 2019, Turner was promoted to major and named commander of the Support Services Bureau. On March 1, 2022, Turner was named commander of the Field Operations Bureau and had direct oversight responsibility for all nine troops, the Aircraft Division, and the Water Patrol Division.
Colonel Turner was born in Texas, and grew up in Kansas City, MO. He graduated from North Kansas City High School in 1992. He earned an Associate of Arts from Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City, MO, in 1994, and a Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice from Columbia College, Lake of the Ozarks, MO, in 2000. He is a graduate of the St. Louis University Law Enforcement Leadership and Organizational Change program and the Missouri Police Chief’s Association Command College. He completed Police Leadership: The West Point Model Executive Level Course and the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Leadership Missouri program. Turner is also a recipient of the David Steward Academic and Leadership Award and the Patrol’s Valor Award. In 2017, he earned his Master of Arts in sociology and criminal justice from Lincoln University in Jefferson City, MO. Colonel Turner and his wife, Stacy (Hodges), have two children, Evan and Elizabeth, and a grandson, Rowan.