South from Alaska! Couple connects with Live Wide Open to help make the move

by Rick Schara, Live Wide Open

One goal of Live Wide Open is to offer help for people looking to move to west central Minnesota. Need a job? Want to connect with employers or communities? Looking for something specific? We’re here to help!

So the Live Wide Open guide – yours truly – hopes there are more stories like Denise and Mark Kaelke’s.

They spent more than 50 years combined in Juneau, Alaska, surrounded by oceans, mountains and wilderness. Now, since late 2019, they live near Underwood, Minnesota, surrounded by lakes, prairies and farm fields. (Cue slightly modified song: “South! From Alaska, going south the rush is on!”)

Welcome Mark and Denise!

Denise contacted me through the Live Wide Open website nearly a year ago as they were mulling over a move “near Dalton.” Denise said they were exploring the region when they came across Live Wide Open and it “sounded interesting.” She was pleasantly surprised that there was a real person answering her inquiry!

What’s the connection? Mark remembers exploring the area as a kid. “We always talked about coming back to Minnesota,” he said. Mark grew up in Hopkins where his mother still lives and he has a sister in Brainerd.

“I remember ‘going up north’ as a kid” and loving the topography of west central Minnesota. “I shot my first duck  on Ten Mile Lake,” he said. “I always liked that area.”

Denise grew up in New Jersey and for the last ten years has worked with the State of Alaska in water resource management. Her experience with Minnesota consisted of visits with Mark, but now since the move, she’s settled in as a Hydrologist 2 with the Minnesota Department of National Resources, out of the Fergus Falls office.

The Kaelkes and I emailed several times as they were looking to land jobs in their future home. When Denise interviewed and accepted her DNR job, the plans to move went into action even though Mark didn’t have work lined up.

So how does your new home feel? “We haven’t had a lot of time to explore,” Denise says, but they are looking forward to discovering new places to ski, bike, snowshoe, ice fish and hunt. And, turning to Mark with a big smile, Denise says “I want to look at getting a fat tire bike!”

They bring with them their love of the outdoors so you’ll find them outside a whole lot!

When asked about differences between Alaska and west central Minnesota…well, are there really many similarities? Oceans, glaciers and mountains are routine back in Alaska. And to Denise, the people here seem more reserved, more traditional.

“In Alaska, not everyone is Scandinavian!” Denise smiles. “I work with a great bunch of people and I’m excited about getting out in this region to research water issues,” she said. “My job is very ‘sciency.’ I know that’s not a scientific term,” she laughs. “But I love applying science to what I’m doing.”

Ironically, it seems more crowded here than in Alaska. “Even though Juneau has more people, they are very spread out,” Mark said.

Mark managed a regional Alaska Trout Unlimited  program through the end of 2019, so he is now job hunting and hopes to land something connecting with the outdoors. “We’re looking forward to life here and getting to know the people and the area,” Mark said.

And they can always visit Alaska.