Kirk Klocke
Kirk Klocke has wide-ranging interests, and that’s one reason he practices journalism. For him, reporting offers the chance to learn something new every day and the opportunity to meet interesting people; having something to show for his efforts is another aspect of the business he likes.
Klocke was born in Denver, Colo., and has two younger sisters and one younger brother. He grew up in Rochester, Minn., and then attended the University of North Dakota, where he wrote for the school’s newspaper, The Dakota Student. In the summer of 2005, Klocke interned at Agri News, and after graduating with a degree in communications in 2006, he took a job in communications planning at the Walt Disney Company in Florida.
From 2007 to 2009, Klocke was a news editor and reporter for the Charles City Press, a daily newspaper in Charles City, Iowa. In the summer of 2008, he covered a record-breaking flood, which caused billions of dollars of damage and threatened to drench the pressroom. He left Iowa for New York in the summer of 2009 to attend Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
Klocke is inspired by the work of National Public Radio’s Terry Gross, as well as the writers Malcolm Gladwell, John Updike and Nicholson Baker. If he could meet a historical figure it would be Ernest Hemingway, because he enjoys fiction and would like to write in that genre.
A competitive swimmer in high school, these days Klocke enjoys running on a treadmill while watching CNN. His hobby is cooking, and he specializes in seafood. He also enjoys eating, especially fusion dishes derived from various types of international cuisine, which he hopes to indulge in during his time in New York City.