SWITZERLAND COUNTY, Ind. — Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Conservation Officer Steve Kinne, who serves Switzerland County, has been selected as the 2024 District 9 Officer of the Year. District 9 includes Jennings, Decatur, Ripley, Rush, Fayette, Union, Franklin, Jefferson, Switzerland, Ohio, and Dearborn counties.
Kinne has been a conservation officer since 1985, starting in Boone County before transferring to Switzerland County in 1987. He was part of the investigative section for the DNR Division of Law Enforcement from 2011 to 2022 and then returned to field patrol for the division.
The district award puts Kinne in the running for the Pitzer Award, which is presented to the top overall conservation officer in the state and is selected from the 10 district winners. The Pitzer Award is named after Conservation Officer James D. Pitzer, who was fatally shot while investigating illegal hunting activity on Jan. 2, 1961, in Jay County.
