Kurtis Karn
Age: 40, Fargo, N.D.
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Story by | April Knutson
ne day Kurtis Karn may slow down, but that day won’t be in the near future. His passion for people fuels his busy life as a dad, music performer and successful leadership and talent developer. A quick smile, genuine warmth and infectious energy, leaves every person he meets with a “Let’s do this!” attitude. In fact, in the seventh grade, he confessed to his mom, “I think I’m just going to focus on getting to know my classmates instead of focusing on actual school.” While earning his bachelor’s degree in business administration at the University of Jamestown, he jokes he would have changed his major to “talking to people” if he could. This honest fascination with people and what moves them also fuels his lifelong love of music, resulting in starting a pop-punk band, At the Emporium, with his friends more than 12 years ago. Now that he and some of his bandmates have kids, they play less often — but he still loves to perform as the band’s singer and frontman whenever possible. As a husband to Katie and dad of two to 8-year-old Kingston and 3-year-old Kendrix, Karn says he is most passionate about helping his kids (and those he meets) to become “awesome humans.” Besides his family, he works toward this goal at Discovery Benefits and Wex Health as their manager of talent acquisition. This year, as the co-creator of Sunshine&79 with Nicole Turchin, he develops and presents on a variety of topics that will resonate with every human, on every team, in every organization, to partner in the creation of a world of awesomeness and humor.
RAD DAD
I would describe my childhood as… I don’t know how to describe it, but I always remember the sunshine. My mother was an elementary teacher, so I remember the summers and being outside. There was also a lot of music in my house growing up, so there was a lot of dancing and singing. The soundtrack to my teenage years are these albums… When I was 16, I inherited my brother’s car which only had the radio and an 8-track. The two 8-tracks were Journey’s album “Escape” and Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” But I also had glorious AM radio…so I am a HUGE sucker for ‘80s pop songs. I LOVE one-hit wonders, but basically everything from the early to mid-’80s. My dad also had a ‘50s and ‘60s cover band so I can sing basically any hit from those two decades as they probably played it! My hidden talent is… clapping my feet. (Don’t ask). The thing I always hope to do someday is… sing one of my own songs on “Saturday Night Live.” That was always the highest platform for music for me growing up. My favorite thing when I have free time is… I love listening to music with my kids! The go-to meal my kids love is… mac and cheese or pizza. The best part of my job is… I love watching a person grow in their position, both personally and professionally! People continually impress me every day. JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2020 | ON THE MINDS OF MOMS
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