Brian Kalk (born c. 1966) is a

North Dakota Republican Party The North Dakota Republican Party is the North Dakota affiliate of the United States Republican Party. Its platform is conservative. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling North Dakota's at-large U.S. House seat, both U.S. S ...

politician in the U.S. state of

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

. He served on the North Dakota Public Service Commission from 2009 to 2017.

Early life

Kalk was born and raised in Bottineau, North Dakota and graduated from Bottineau High School in 1984. He was class President in Bottineau his Freshman and Senior years of high school. While in High School he was active in the FFA, Hockey, Football, Track, and Choir. Kalk graduated in the top 10% of his class. Following High School graduation he attended Dakota College at Bottineau where he played hockey for the "Lumber Jacks" and studied Political Science and Natural Resources until his enlistment in the Marine Corps in 1987.

Marines

Kalk served as a

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

from 1987 until his retirement. During his years as a Marine, he traveled to over forty countries. Kalk served in many operations including

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...

, and

Operation Iraqi Freedom {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

. While serving, he received his bachelor's degree in Political Science from Campbell University in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. In 2003, Kalk deployed as the Forward Operations Officer for Transportation Support Group One. In 2003, he returned to

to command the Fargo Military Entrance Processing Station. While in Fargo, he received his

Doctorate Degree A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

from North Dakota State University in Natural Resource Management. He then taught different courses at NDSU.

Politics

In January 2008, Kalk announced his campaign for the Republican nomination for the Public Service Commission. He won in the general election and has focused on job creation utilizing the state's natural resources. Kalk was re-elected in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. Kalk resigned in January 2017 to accept a position at the Energy and Environmental Research Center until April of 2019 when Kalk was named the Executive Director of the North Dakota State University Research and Technology Park.

Personal life

Kalk and his wife Karen have a daughter. He is active in organizations such as the American Legion, the Marine Corps League, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the American Veterans.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalk, Brian 1960s births Living people People from Bottineau County, North Dakota Campbell University alumni North Dakota State University alumni United States Marine Corps officers North Dakota Public Service Commissioners