It’s Women’s History Month, and there’s no better time to highlight CPO Amanda McKune – Illinois officer, new mom, and the 2025 NWTF Officer of the Year. Amanda shares the behind‑the‑scenes reality of the job: the long hours, the high‑stakes turkey and deer cases, the instincts that guide her, and the determination that has already defined her first six years in the field. Humble and relentless, she’s exactly the kind of story this month is made to celebrate.
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Here’s what we discuss:
· Working turkey and deer hunters in southern Illinois – being “in the right place at the right time.”
· Stepping onto the NWTF stage and realizing the scale: “I had no idea going into that… wow.”
· The habitual turkey poacher and the tip that set everything in motion.
· Working 3 AM mornings through April until she finally caught him.
· Charging him with 8 birds she could prove, knowing the real count was far higher.
· Spending another April up before dawn to catch him again during suspension.
· The rush when officers from another district caught him a third time.
· Why turkey cases are so tough: long hours, staying still, waiting.
· “Sometimes it doesn’t add up… but 90% of the time it leads to something.”
· The strain of April on her young family – “They put up with me the whole month of April.”
· A wild deer case: a shot at dark, a suspect in Long Johns, and three huge bags of illegal deer corn.
· Interviews stretching for hours as he claimed he was “just looking.”
· Finding his gun buried in a creekbed, wrapped in his unworn camo: “We were all amped up… we got him.”
· Growing up fishing, discovering her interviewing superpower — “People just like to talk to me.”
· The importance of catching a single word out of place.
· Illinois’ massive deer – with 26‑pointers becoming normal in some counties.
· Ongoing cases involving 30+ illegally killed deer.
· Starting her career in the same county she grew up in.
· Knowing the land, families, and history.
· Tips and informants as the backbone of most big cases.
· Balancing motherhood, a state‑trooper husband, and long hours: “I’m taking advantage now and trying to catch these guys while I can.”
· The rise of night road hunting and non‑residents chasing big Midwest deer.
· October–December feeling like another April.
· A new era of poaching — thermal optics and crossbows with thermals.
· Working across the Missouri border and the challenges of multi‑state cases.
· District teamwork: “It takes all of us to make these big cases.”
· The impact of heavy illegal take on local populations — especially in concentrated areas.
Credits
Hosts: Wayne Saunders and John Nores
Producer: Jay Ammann
Warden’s Watch logo & Design: Ashley Hannett
Research / Content Coordinator: Stacey DesRoches
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