Dag Kittlaus, founder of Siri, was photographed April 24, 2012.
Meet Dag Kittlaus! Dag moved to the dunes when he was in 6th grade. He spent his childhood years here before going to college at Indiana University and then BI Norwegian Business School. Dag is most notably known for co-founding and launching Siri — the first true automated virtual personal assistant that can now be found on all iPhones. Dag lives in the Chicago area, but comes home often to visit his mother in Long Beach. What is he up to now? Google “Viv” and you will find out!
What brought you to the dunes? I moved to Duneland Beach the summer before 6th grade with my mom and family.
How long did you live here? I lived “in the dunes” through high school and spread the college years between there and Chicago. I also visit my mother in Long Beach and love to hit the beach, Redamaks and some of my favorite old haunts when I can. Great memories.
What is your favorite thing to do in the area? I love to run along LSD. Such a great stretch to take in the lake and see what’s new in the area. Incredible the number of new homes along the beach although I miss the “all year round” neighborhood I grew up in over the “summer house” invasion I have seen develop.
Tell us a secret about the dunes. As mischievous kids we used to create “traps” in the sand where we would dig a big hole, cover the top with branches and leaves and re-cover with sand. The unsuspecting victim would step into the trap and be very startled. Hey, we didn’t have smartphones back then so what else did we have to do?
Give us your top three “hidden treasures” (restaurant, shop, trail, beach, event…really anything!) a) Easily the best part is watching storms roll in off the lake. I did so during my youth and have since developed a strong passion for storm chasing and now travel the world in search of experiencing hurricanes and tornados whenever possible.
b) Walking around Long Beach golf course is a beautiful stroll.
c) Always love the Fourth of July parade in Long Beach. Authentic community fun.
What would you like to teach people about the dunes? That despite the economic struggles that the area has endured it’s a great place to live.
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