| Kelly Kortum grew up in Ekalaka, a small agricultural community in southeastern Montana. His family was working class, as most are in our rural and frontier parts of the state, and Ekalaka's strong community and neighborly culture made becoming a healthy adult all but inevitable. On his grandparents' ranch, Kortum developed an appreciation of hard work as well as both the importance of self-reliance and having neighbors to call on. While in school and sports, he learned to value cooperation and teamwork. As a teenager, locals began calling him to help them with their computer troubles as his reputation as a friendly problem solver grew.
After spending the first half of his life in Ekalaka, he moved to Bozeman to attend Montana State University and has not considered moving again. He quickly grew appreciative (and then protective) of Bozeman's growing technology scene, healthy local economy, and the diverse palette of cultural experiences that it provides. He works at Bozeman's Community Food Co-op as a Systems Administrator.
Kortum became involved in the day-to-day politics of Bozeman in the summer of 2015 when he became the volunteer website/communications director for the Gallatin County Democrats. He went on to attend every Democratic state convention since, and voted in the 2017 special election primary convention. Additionally, he co-founded a local non-partisan progressive group, Gallatin Progressive Action Network, in the summer of 2016. He is currently the Gallatin County Democrats State committeeman and leads the organization's communications committee. He also writes a progressive events newsletter for Gallatin County monthly. His strong sense of fairness and ability to reach across any aisle has served him well in these roles and extended his reputation as a friendly problem solver into this part of the state.
Kortum and his spouse, Rebecca Stanton, rent an apartment in west Bozeman. |