Meet the Karibou Group Home Director & House Coordinator

Elaine Bugge & Katie Kline

“We’re all a team; titles don’t necessarily matter,” stated Katie Kline who, however, can rightly be described as the director of Karibou Home in Karlstad (and also of Raven and Northwoods, which are two group homes in Roseau).

Assisting Kline is Elaine Bugge, who has served as house coordinator since August of 2019.

The North Star News made a visit to Karibou Home recently to learn a bit more about Kline and Bugge, Karibou Home and Lutheran Social Services, of which Karibou Home is a part.

A graduate of high school in Cavalier, Kline earned a bachelor of science degree in family and consumer science education with minors in child development and individual and family wellness from North Dakota State University.

“I started off with Lutheran Social Services as a direct support professional 15 years ago,” stated Kline of her beginnings with the organization in Roseau, where she was eventually promoted to the position of direct support professional lead, a position she held for five years.

She left the organization for a couple of years, but soon returned and began overseeing group homes in Karlstad in addition to those in Roseau.

She currently resides in Roseau with her 10-year-old twin daughters and a pug, named Winnie. In her free time she said she is “chasing kids around with hockey.”

A graduate of Greenbush/Middle River High School, Bugge attended Northland Community and Technical College “for accounting and some computer networking.”

“I like a job where I am constantly learning. If I’m not constantly learning I feel stuck,” she said.

Perhaps that preference could partly explain the wide variety of jobs she’s held. She’s served as a billing clerk for the cities of Thief River Falls and Warren, worked in several capacities at Digi-Key, managed Dollar General in Greenbush and worked for the United State Postal Service as a mail deliverer.

“I want to work smarter, not harder,” she stated, noting that in previous jobs she found satisfaction in reducing the time it took to complete processes.

In her fairly new role at Karibou Home, she gets the individuals ready to go to the Day Activity Center in Lake Bronson in the morning and then completes office work. She replaced Lori Foster who now works at Prime Security Bank in Karlstad.

Bugge currently resides in Pelan. She and her significant other have six chidren and three grandchildren. She said her hobby of making custom tumblers is becoming a small business.

Kline and Bugge bring up a quote related to their approach to the individuals they serve – “Nothing about me without me.” They note that decisions aren’t made about the individuals without consulting them and that “It’s their life, not ours.”