Frederick named Holton Police Chief

For more than 30 years, Steve Frederick has been a viable presence in Jackson County law enforcement, including five years as a Jackson County undersheriff and the last two decades with the Holton Police Department.

On Monday, Frederick was announced as Holton’s new chief of police, taking over the position after former chief Gale Gakle’s retirement earlier this month.

The Holton City Commission applauded Frederick on his promotion to police chief, which they noted was the culmination of a career in law enforcement that began in 1988, when he volunteered with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office’s “mounted posse,” then joined the office full-time two years later.

Frederick served as a patrolman with the sheriff’s office until 1993, when he was promoted to sergeant, and in 1995, he was appointed as the county’s undersheriff by then-Sheriff Phil McManigal.

Two years later, McManigal was replaced by Daina Durham, and Frederick continued as Durham’s undersheriff until December of 2000. He joined the Holton Police Department shortly after that and has been there since then.

“I appreciate your vote of confidence,” Frederick told commissioners during their regular meeting on Monday.

Frederick also told commissioners that he plans to step up traffic enforcement and presented commissioners with a biweekly report that prompted Commissioner Mike Meerpohl to compliment Frederick’s efforts thus far.

“It looks like our police department doesn’t have too much idle time,” Meerpohl said.