New Hastings Police Chief Peter Kortum is pictured with his
wife, Mary, in front the Hastings Police Department Friday.
Thirty-eight years of experience in law enforcement helped land Peter Kortum of Grand Island the role of chief for the Hastings Police Department.
Managing people and money are going to be a big part of the job for Kortum and he's ready for the challenge. It's what he's been doing for the past 14 years as a captain serving in an administrative capacity for the Grand Island Police Department. He's been involved in patrol, training, investigation and administration.
"I've been exposed to a lot of the different components of the police department," he said in his soft-spoken and friendly tone Friday after being named Hastings' new police chief.
Kortum, 61, is a 1970 graduate of Lincoln Northeast High School. He and his wife, Mary, moved to Grand Island in 1972 and Kortum joined the GIPD two years later. As a patrol officer, Kortum responded and investigated calls for police service. He also helped develop safety programs for elementary, junior high and high school students and acted as a presenter for the police department.
To read more, see Saturday's Hastings Tribune or the Tribune e-edition.>>>
