Biography

I was a born in 1981 in the small farming community of New Prague, Minnesota, just south of the Twin Cities. I was raised on the farm pitching bales, pulling weeds, riding the tractor and likely giving my parents and siblings a hassel for not wanting to do such things. I know I spent a lot of time in the corner.

Over the years I have come to love singing and the performing arts through various experiences... and I guess I learned to love the country and what farming is too. However, one thing I loved since I was a little boy is weather. Growing up on a farm, your attention daily is, "What is the weather going to be like?"

Extreme weather is my fascination. The power of nature is simply amazing and beautiful to experience in person, sometimes maybe even a bit scary.

The push to experience more of what nature had to offer came when I was 14 and we had up to softball-sized hail for 20 minutes on an early morning in late August. That was a whole new kind of alarm clock, on a non-school day, and awoke my love of chasing extreme weather. Another defining severe weather event, that really sealed the deal for me, was the 1998 St. Peter/Comfrey Tornado. I was 16 then. That is when I discovered storm chasing.

Even though I have been chasing for a long time, my father still says things like, "You're crazy!" and "I wouldn't go out there!"  In some ways, I think he is envious. It is surprising because, as a child, I was one of the first to head to the basement during severe weather, which is the proper response for most people and situations, and he was the one to stay upstairs looking at the weather.

I tackled my fears, sometimes with a few Hail Marys, and learned more about how weather works. Now I seek out some of the most extreme weather on Earth right here in my backyard and beyond. I caution that storm chasing still comes with risks. Even I sometimes find myself feeling very small in the arms of Mother Nature out there. It's humbling.

The 1994 hailstorm that was the first defining event to get me interested in extreme weather. This is the article the following morning from the Star Tribune. (Below)