The son of a Norwegian immigrant, Carl was born and raised on a farm near Fullerton, North Dakota. After graduation from Fullerton High School, he attended North Dakota State University and graduated with a degree in agricultural economics. While at NDSU, with the strong support of his AGR brothers, he was elected to the student senate. The highlight of that experience was being involved in the successful name change campaign from North Dakota Agricultural College to North Dakota State University.

Following college, he returned to the farm with his wife, Ellen ’64, and in addition to farming small grains, started an accounting and tax preparation business, which they operated for 15 years. During that time, he was elected to the board of directors of the Fullerton Farmers Elevator and served until 1981 when he and brother Rodney co-founded Larson Grain Company of LaMoure. Today the entity provides grain, agronomy and edible bean processing services to local farmers.

In 1973, he partnered in the acquisition of the First State Bank of LaMoure where his position on the board broadened his perspective of the financial world, especially as it applied to agriculture.

In 1992, he joined a small group to form Golden Growers Cooperative to build a corn processing plant. The effort led to 1,800 investor shareholders and, along with two local sugar cooperative partners, built the Progold Plant at Wahpeton, North Dakota. Carl served as chairman of the board of directors for the last half of his 12-year term.

The opportunity door opened again in 2003 when he joined a small group to acquire Gooseneck Implement headquartered in Minot, North Dakota, that now has 13 locations and over 500 employees.

Among Carl’s recognitions is the 2003 NDSU Alumni Achievement Award where he presented a seminar titled “Beyond the Farm,” and in 2017 the Alpha Gamma Rho Outstanding Alumnus Award.

Reflecting, Carl has said, “The loss of my father while a freshman at NDSU was a crossroad in my life that likely would have taken a different turn had it not been for the faculty support and encouragement I received at NDSU, the brotherhood at Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity and most importantly meeting Ellen, my wife of 64 years.”

Although his sons have taken over the farming operation, Carl remains on the board of directors of the John Deere dealership as chairman, and Trustee Emeritus of the NDSU Foundation. He is also an avid pilot and has logged over 7,000 hours in his 57 years of personal aviation. He enjoys NDSU sports, golf, traveling, reading and spending time with family.

Carl and Ellen have three children — Eric, Carl Jr. and Jane — and 13 grandchildren.