Meet The Owners!

Hey! We are Katherine and Alex Funk, owners of Cuyuna Matata. If you are looking to learn a little more about us and our journey, this is the place to be!

Both Alex and Katherine grew up in a very outdoorsy family. Alex went fishing and camping for family vacations, while Katherine was born in Hawaii creating many memories hiking, exploring and swimming in the ocean. They both went to grade school and high school in St Cloud, Minnesota where they met in 8th grade. After becoming highschool sweethearts, they attended College of Saint Benedict and Saint Johns University meeting some of their best friends. Katherine graduated with global business and nutrition, accepting a job in IT healthcare just outside of the metro. Alex stayed in St Cloud working as a nurse at the Saint Cloud Hospital. Katherine bought her first duplex in 2016 kicking off the house hacking life. Alex soon joined and bought his first duplex west of the cities in 2017. It came apparent that these two duplexes were just the beginning. They adopted their fury companion Nari Bean from Secondhandhounds in 2018 and continued to live and renovate in their properties. In 2019, Katherine and Alex got married and started traveling more to state parks, national parks and back to Hawaii. Soon after, Alex graduated from CRNA school and Katherine quit the corporate world to take on real estate full time. They moved once again into a 4plex, which is where the short term rental journey began. By 2021, there had been a lot of reflection and was the year they decided to look into places that brought them back to nature and the outdoors where they truly loved to be. In the spring they purchased a home in Florida, but continued to keep an eye on land in northern Minnesota. This is when Cuyuna Matata is born. It has been a passion project to create the 3 cabins and hope that it brings joy and many memories to those who stay here. Watch the youtube video below to learn more about the building process and a tour of the newest Tiny Pine A frame!