MN State Patrol honors trooper who rescued woman lost in Itasca County woods

MENDOTA HEIGHTS — The Minnesota State Patrol honored the efforts of troopers, residents and other public servants who performed heroic acts, excelled in a crisis or demonstrated the State Patrol’s core values over the past year.

Among the rural Northern Minnesota honorees is Trooper Chad Kucza of the Virginia District, who received the Exceptional Service Award.

A ceremony took place Thursday, Feb. 5, in Mendota Heights, and also included recognizing individuals for the Trooper of the Year, the Eagle Squadron Award for the most DWI arrests and the Leadership Award.

In January 2025, Kucza helped in the search for an older woman who was lost in subzero temperatures in rural Itasca County. She had texted a relative to say she was stuck in the woods and didn’t know where she was.

The state patrol reports Kucza saw tire tracks leading down a maintenance road and followed them onto a narrow trail. He then found the missing woman standing next to her burned-out vehicle.

Also honored Thursday was Wendell Hudspeth with the Meritorious Citizenship Award, presented to citizens who assisted the state patrol and provided a service to the public.

Hudspeth voluntarily stepped in and helped a state trooper apprehend a man who was physically resisting arrest at a Motley gas station in September. He placed the man’s hands behind his back so the trooper could apply handcuffs.

Several other honorees were recognized for acts like pulling a driver and passenger from a fiery crash, coordinating emergency response to the mass shooting at Annunciation School and Church in Minneapolis and saving a man trapped in a grain bin up to his neck.