Mike Winans’ first interest in law enforcement started in the late 1990s during a ride-along with a high school friend who worked as a Blackfoot police officer, a step that would forever change his life’s trajectory along with the many lives he has positively impacted over his three decades in service.

Next year, Winans will have spent 30 years in service to the Gem State community. For the recently promoted Idaho State Police major, his experiences as a first responder mark what he describes as not only a career, but a calling — an opportunity to be a part of something bigger than himself.

“I take great satisfaction in protecting our communities from those that would do us harm and I really like making a difference in people’s lives,” Winans said. “I’ve been able to do that through my service. I’ve seen countless other troopers do that as well, helping people in a time of need when they had nowhere else to go or no one else to turn to, and in their worst moments, we were there to help.”

Winans, a Pocatello native, had just finished serving his mission in South America for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when he returned to Idaho in 1997. Initially hoping to go into education as a Spanish teacher, Winans’ trajectory changed after he spent time on a ride-along with a high school friend who worked as a Blackfoot police officer.

Though he didn’t have any prior experience, the department hired him because of his bilingual abilities, a talent that would be extremely useful in working with Blackfoot’s significant Hispanic population. It wasn’t long before he signed a three-year contract and graduated from the POST Academy.

Though Winans has many stories of the time he’s spent as a first responder, he noted a time early in his career when he made a profound impact.

“One night I was on patrol and I happened to drive by a local bar,” Winans said. “I saw a guy staggering out to his vehicle, and I pulled up and intervened and was able to call his family before he got behind the wheel and took off. I remember receiving some cards from his family that said they were so grateful that I was able to help him in that situation, because he’d obviously been struggling with alcoholism. That was a turning point in his life. That was one of the earliest moments where I saw that I could truly make a difference in somebody’s life.”

In 2001, Winans made the move to the Idaho State Police to pursue work exclusively in criminal interdiction.

“I was happy just being a road trooper, taking calls, making traffic stops and responding to crashes,” Winans said.

After five years of work as an Idaho State Police trooper, Winans would try his hand at supervision in 2007 and applied to be a sergeant. He tested a few times and was officially promoted to sergeant, supervising an “awesome patrol team.”

“For a while we actually had one sergeant, what we called the double-team sergeant, and they would take two teams of troopers,” Winans said. “I’d have a night shift team and a day shift team, and I’d have to split my time between them. So it was kind of a unique circumstance, but it was a great experience where I learned how to be a first-line supervisor.”

In some ways, the promotion was a trial by fire, keeping Winans busy managing both a day and night shift of officers, all while juggling his own personal life and other responsibilities.

“I could work all day with one team, and then go home, and then something would kick off,” Winans said. “I’d have to go back into service and help with what they were dealing with on the night shift. I didn’t know if I was coming or going half the time.”

Winans would serve as a sergeant for 10 years before his eventual promotion to lieutenant around 2017, functioning as the patrol commander for District 5 in Pocatello.

By 2024, he was promoted to captain, assuming command of ISP’s District 3, which encompasses the counties of Ada, Adams, Boise, Canyon, Elmore, Gem, Owyhee, Payette, Valley and Washington.

“I was promoted to captain in one of the busiest districts of the state police,” Winans said. “The biggest population center in District 3 is the Boise area, and I couldn’t have done that without being surrounded by good lieutenants, good troopers, good sergeants and good support staff.”

Winans’ dedication as a first responder was recently rewarded yet again last week when he was promoted to major. In his role, Winans will oversee agencywide investigations, executive protection and Capitol security, District 3 operations and the ISP’s forensic services system.

Throughout all of the promotions and his dedicated service, Winans remains humble.

“I’ve never been the smartest guy in the room or the most articulate, but I’ve always been willing to do whatever I can to help other people,” Winans said. “That includes the employees with the Idaho State Police. I think they’re our most important asset that we have, and I’m here to try to make the Idaho State Police the best place to work possible.”

Regarding what makes his leadership unique, Winans relayed that he wants to be a source of strength and reliability for his fellow officers and supporting cast.

“I think that it’s important when you get into this type of a leadership position to recognize that everybody that works there — they’ve all got a story,” Winans said. “They’re all dealing with something that may be behind the scenes and no one knows about it. I’m there to try to help. I want to be that friendly face, or somebody that they can come to and talk to if they need something. I’ve benefited from a lot of good leaders in my career, and I want to be able to pay that back and be a good leader myself.”

Regarding the command promotion as major, Winans said he takes pride in knowing he has worked his “hind end off” for nearly 30 years.

“I’ve done it for my family and I’ve done it for the people of Idaho,” Winans said. “I’m proud of the career that I have.”

In reflecting on why he was chosen for the position, Winans said that the ISP tries to promote officers who have a history of making good decisions and that he believes he’s proven he can exemplify that.

“I think that law enforcement in general, we get a bad rap because somebody will see a snippet of a use of force somewhere in the country, and then they will judge all police officers by that one thing that they saw. It’s been my experience that the people that I’ve served with really do have the best interests of the public in mind, and I’ve really tried to see people and treat people the way that I would want to be treated, even in those really difficult situations.”

For Winans, it comes down to treating people with dignity and respect, even in their worst moments, and he finds that goes a long way.

“I love Idaho,” Winans said. “I was born and raised here, and my family’s been raised here. I’m just happy that I can continue to serve.”