GRAYLING – AuSable Media Group is proud to announce that Kurt J. Kolka has joined the staff of the Crawford County Voice is proud to announce that Kurt J. Kolka has joined its staff.
AuSable Media CFC Tracy Constance said she is pleased to have Kurt join the Voice team.
‘Kurt is an excellent writer with a significant amount of experience,’ Constance said. ‘He will be writing a regular ‘Neighbors’ feature, focusing on the people and history of Crawford County. We hope our readers will enjoy his style of writing.’
Kolka’ first attempt at self-publication was in the sixth-grade when he wrote his own Dracula book on folded-over typing paper and passed it around to other students in class. Later, attending Grayling High School, he spent two years reporting and doing comic strips for the student newspaper.
His love of writing continued into college, where he received an Associate of Arts degree from Concordia University – Ann Arbor and a Bachelor’ degree in English from Anderson University in Indiana.
Over the years, he has written articles for the Crawford County Avalanche, Star Publications, Weekly Choice and the Traverse City Record-Eagle. In 2005, he landed a job at the Gaylord Herald Times, where he spent nine years reporting and editing.
During his tenure at the Herald-Times, Kurt received two Michigan journalism awards. The first was for his story on a seaman whose ship followed the Edmund Fitzgerald on its final voyage. Secondly, he received an award for his story on a young Gaylord woman who felt lost until she found her calling working at a mission in Africa.
Kurt’ side work has included a long-running comic strip, ‘The Cardinal,’ which he has written and illustrated for more than 25 years. The weekly strip is about a Michigan superhero protecting the Great Lakes area, written in a fun 1960s style. It can currently be read online at www.gocomics.com/thecardinal.
When not at his computer writing or doing graphics work, Kurt is an anti-bullying advocate. He puts on presentations for both kids and adults about bullying, using his cartooning ability to help get his message across. In 2014, he wrote the book, ‘Bullying is No Laughing Matter,’ assisted by 36 other cartoonists from around the world, including Mort Walker (Beetle Bailey), Dean Young (Blondie), Ron Ferdinand (Dennis the Menace), Greg Evans (Luann), Karen Moy (Mary Worth) and many others.
He has been married to his wife, Diane, for 24 years. They have one daughter, Rebekah, who attends Spring Arbor University. All three are members of Friendship Church in Gaylord. When relaxing Kurt enjoys reading mysteries and classic literature, studying history, watching old-time movies and reading newspaper comic strips.
Kurt has a Facebook page at www.facebook.com/KurtJKolka. He can be contacted at kurt.j.kolka.writer.artist@gmail.com.
###
Au Sable Media Group, LLC, is a veteran-owned company that owns and operates the Roscommon County Voice, Crawford County Voice, Michigan Boomers and Voice of the Au Sable.
Our focus is on the positive people and events that make Northern Michigan a great place to live, vacation, work and play.
We have been commercial printers and publishers since 2010, specializing in brochures, rack cards, magazines and other newspapers and publications. A new addition to our stable of marketing products are various promotional items such as shirts, hats, mugs, water bottles and much more.
Through our publications and website at UpNorthVoice.com, we cover the following communities: Roscommon, Houghton Lake, St. Helen, Higgins Lake, Grayling, Frederic, Gaylord, Lewiston, Johannesburg, Atlanta, Hillman, Fairview, Comins, McKinley, Mio, Rose City, West Branch, Hale, Glennie, Sand Lake, Harrisville, Tawas City, East Tawas, Oscoda, Au Sable AuGres, Standish, Omer, Sterling, Gladwin, Beaverton, Kalkaska, South Boardman, Fife Lake, Mancelona, Alden, Traverse City, and Waters.
Our staff regularly covers the following school districts: Roscommon, Houghton Lake, St. Helen, Grayling, Mio and Fairview.
We can also be found on Facebook at Roscommon County Voice, Voice of the Au Sable, Michigan Boomers and Crawford County Voice.
For information on promoting your business in any of our products please contact Tracy Constance at 989-275-1170 (tracy@ausablemedia.com) or Walt Smith at 989-390-5359 (waltsmith1955@gmail.com).
If you have information you would like to see published, email Theresa Ekdom at theresa@ausablemedia.com, or Elana Warsen at elana@ausablemedia.com. You can also enter calendar items at your convenience at ww.UpNorthVoice.com.
Au Sable Media Group is an equal opportunity employer and follows all applicable state and federal laws. Our corporate office is located at 709 Lake Street in beautiful downtown Roscommon, Michigan.
