Dan started his broadcasting career at WCCO-TV, the CBS affiliate in Minneapolis, as a TV weathercaster, producer, and fill-in news anchor. It was the beginning of a 25-year career in TV and radio that would expand into other roles in the broadcast industry (listed below). Dan would eventually earn four undergraduate degrees and professional certifications from accredited institutions with emphasis of study in communications, earth sciences, broadcast meteorology and ministry. He is also a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.
Motivated by a constant dedication to learning and expansion of professional skills, Dan cannot remember a time when he wasn’t working at least two jobs. Doing so has given him a broad and diverse professional background. The following is a list of positions in which Dan has more than two years of professional experience over the course of his career thus far:
- Weathercaster/Broadcast Meteorologist (20 years)
- Freelance Newspaper Columnist (18 years)
- Freelance Writer (24 years)
- Small Business Owner (14 years)
- Retail Copywriter (11 years)
- Pastor (14 years)
- Corporate Crisis Management and Emergency Preparedness (6+ years)
- Forensic & Consultant Meteorologist (6 years)
- Corporate Meteorologist (5+ years)
- Corporate SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analyst (5 years)
- Daily Corporate Newsletter Editor/Writer (5 years)
- Director of Radio Programming and News, on-air personality (5 years)
- Magazine Contributing Writer (4 years)
- Market Research Analyst (3 years)
- Fire Meteorologist/Wildfire Behavior Specialist (2+ years)
Dan typically had one primary full-time job with two or three part-time side gigs going, so there is chronological overlap in the positions listed.
Dan is a voracious reader and published author. It’s not unusual for him to be reading three or more books at a time. His first published book, “Trophy Bucks in Any Weather“, was released in 2008. It was the first detailed book written by a meteorologist about how weather impacts big-game animal behavior.
His first novel, “Species Unknown” was published late in 2019. It’s a science-fiction thriller set in the Black Hills of western South Dakota and has received glowing reviews from readers. It hit No. 1 in its category on Amazon in 2020, as did the sequel, “Species Unleashed” in 2022. Both are available at Amazon.com.
Dan’s hobbies and interests include hunting, fishing, shooting sports, storm chasing, weather and nature photography, military history, cryptozoology, UFO/UAP investigation, and thoughtful discourse about theology, philosophy, and current geopolitical events. He lives with his wife of 36 years in the northern Black Hills of South Dakota where he is currently the senior pastor at Christian Life Center in Belle Fourche. They have two grown children.
You can see how Dan’s extensive experience across a range of disciplines equips him to write well about a number of topics. Let his background and skills work for you or your business. Reach out to Dan today using the “contact us” feature on the main menu. For rate information, please click HERE.