Kurt was born and raised in Hortonville, Wisconsin.  Received a B.S. Degree in Wildlife Biology from University of Idaho, 1990.  After active duty with the U.S. Army from 1990-1993 in Fort Polk, Louisiana, he began working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a Private Lands Biologist in Wisconsin in 1994.  His work led him from Wisconsin to North Dakota and Ohio before returning to Wisconsin as the State Coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Partners Program in 2009.  Kurt served as Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves from 1993-2013. 

​