Why have you chosen to be on the board?
I watched with amazement as CURE’s organizing and activism helped stop the expansion of the coal plant in Big Stone City, SD. In retrospect, that was a really big deal for our air, water, and climate. I’ve been a long-time supporter of the organization, and among other things I’m thankful for the many ways that CURE has forged a community of creative, determined, and hopeful folks, out here in rural MN.
Tell us about your vocation/profession.
I’ve been a professor of economics for a little over 30 years, at the University of Texas, University of Mississippi, Tulane University (New Orleans), Universidad de Guanajuato (Mexico), Danish Technological University (Roskilde, Denmark), and the University of Minnesota, Morris. For the last 20 years I’ve been primarily interested in environmental and natural resources policy, and the green energy transition. As I approach retirement, I’m most proud of the dozens of former students out doing good work in the clean energy space.
Fun Fact(s):
In 2013 my wife Athena and I bought the ruin of an old dairy farm near Farwell, MN. We finally bit the bullet, took down the old bat- and mice-infested farmhouse, and built new and moved in in 2021. As a city kid, raised in Chicago, I have been humbled and often flummoxed by the challenges of country living. Every single piece of machinery I have bought is too small for the job. Thank goodness for the kindness of neighbors!
Arne Kildegaard was elected to the CURE Board of Directors in 2023.