Deb Kiel

Debra L. Kiel (born August 31, 1957) is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2011. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, Kiel represents District 1B in northwest Minnesota, which includes the cities of Crookston and East Grand Forks and Norman, Polk, Clay and Red Lake Counties.[1][2]

Deb Kiel
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
from the 1B district
Assumed office
January 4, 2011
Preceded byBernard Lieder
Personal details
Born (1957-08-31) August 31, 1957
Crookston, Minnesota, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseLonn
Children4
Residence(s)Crookston, Minnesota, U.S.
EducationConcordia College
Occupation
WebsiteGovernment website Campaign website

Early life, education, and career

Kiel was born and raised on a farm south of Crookston, Minnesota. She graduated from Crookston High School and attended Concordia College in Moorhead.[1]

Kiel was a member of the Crookston School Board for seven years, serving as its chair and treasurer. She and her husband are sugar beet farmers.[1]

Minnesota House of Representatives

Kiel was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2010 and has been reelected every two years since. She defeated 13-term DFL incumbent Bernard Lieder.[1]

Kiel serves as the minority lead of the Human Services Policy Committee and serves on the Health Finance and Policy and Ethics Committees. From 2015 to 2016, she served as an assistant majority leader, and from 2017 to 2018 she chaired the Subcommittee on Aging and Long-Term Care, a subcommittee of the Health and Human Services Reform Committee.[1][3]

Health care and long-term care

Kiel supported increasing funding for student loan forgiveness for doctors who agree to practice in rural areas, and increasing that program to include nurses, dentists, and mental health workers.[4][5][6] She opposed increasing the state tobacco tax, saying people in her district would drive to North Dakota to buy cigarettes.[7]

As chair of the subcommittee on aging, Kiel introduced legislation to better protect seniors from retaliation when they report elder abuse and establish work groups to review crimes against vulnerable adults like those with dementia.[8][9] She co-authored an op-ed arguing that employers need to "hold on" to older workers to solve workforce shortage issues.[10]

Abortion

Kiel opposes abortion rights and has sponsored legislation to increase inspection requirements at abortion facilities and require them to be specially licensed.[11][12][13] She has called for audits of Planned Parenthood and said it should be able to show it is "not marketing baby parts".[14]

Other political positions

In 2011, Kiel was one of four Republican representatives to vote against roughly $1 billion in budget cuts to local government aid and higher education.[15][16] She visited Israel and the West Bank in 2019 with a bipartisan delegation from the Minnesota legislature.[17]

Electoral results
2010 Minnesota State House - District 1B[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Debra "Deb" Kiel 6,528 50.48
Democratic (DFL) Bernie (Bernard) L. Lieder (incumbent) 6,397 49.47
Write-in 7 0.05
Total votes 12,932 100.00
Republican gain from Democratic (DFL)
2012 Minnesota State House - District 1B[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Debra "Deb" Kiel (incumbent) 9,401 51.90
Democratic (DFL) Marc Demers 8,685 47.95
Write-in 27 0.15
Total votes 18,113 100.00
Republican hold
2014 Minnesota State House - District 1B[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Debra "Deb" Kiel (incumbent) 7,176 55.61
Democratic (DFL) Eric Bergeson 5,721 44.34
Write-in 6 0.05
Total votes 12,903 100.00
Republican hold
2016 Minnesota State House - District 1B[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Debra "Deb" Kiel (incumbent) 11,895 64.75
Democratic (DFL) Michael "Mike" Moore 6,458 35.15
Write-in 19 0.10
Total votes 18,372 100.00
Republican hold
2018 Minnesota State House - District 1B[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Debra "Deb" Kiel (incumbent) 10,026 65.94
Democratic (DFL) Brent Lindstrom 5,173 34.02
Write-in 6 0.04
Total votes 15,205 100.00
Republican hold
2020 Minnesota State House - District 1B[23]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Debra "Deb" Kiel (incumbent) 13,904 70.90
Democratic (DFL) Cindy Ansbacher 5,687 29.00
Write-in 19 0.10
Total votes 19,601 100.00
Republican hold
2022 Minnesota State House - District 1B[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Debra "Deb" Kiel (incumbent) 10,878 71.13
Democratic (DFL) Cindy Ansbacher 4,399 28.76
Write-in 16 0.10
Total votes 15,293 100.00
Republican hold

Personal life

Kiel married her husband, Lonn, in 1977. They have four children and 12 grandchildren. Kiel is active at her home church, Our Savior’s Lutheran. Lonn ran three unsuccessful campaigns against Bernard Lieder before Deb unseated him.[1]

On March 20, 2023, Kiel announced she had a stroke while at the State Office Building, and returned home to recover.[25]

Kiel's great-grandfather, John Perry, a Crookston farmer, represented Polk County in the Minnesota House during the 1921-22 biennium.[26]

References
  1. "Kiel, Debra "Deb" - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present". www.leg.state.mn.us. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  2. "Rep. Debra Kiel (01B) - Minnesota House of Representatives". www.house.mn.gov. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  3. Kimball, Joe (2014-12-03). "New majority Minnesota House GOP caucus sets leadership team". MinnPost. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  4. Olson, Jeremy (February 20, 2015). "With rural doctors in short supply, Minnesota lawmakers consider more financial incentives". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  5. Star Tribune Editorial Board (September 1, 2017). "EDITORIAL | Albert Lea flap spotlights need to help small hospitals recruit, retain medical providers". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  6. The Associated Press (February 2, 2015). "At Capitol, plans for addressing rural health care". MPR News. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  7. Scheck, Tom (April 24, 2013). "Minn. House passes bill raising tax on income, alcohol, tobacco". MPR News. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  8. Serres, Chris (March 6, 2018). "Legislative auditor: Minnesota failing to protect vulnerable adults in senior facilities". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  9. Pugmire, Tim (April 9, 2018). "Here's what's happening at the state Capitol this week". MPR News. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  10. Anderson, Paul; Halverson, Laurie; Kiel, Debra (October 18, 2019). "Tapping older workers is key to solving state's workforce problem". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  11. Lopez, Ricardo (April 24, 2017). "Minnesota House backs ban on state dollars for abortion". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  12. Golden, Erin (January 22, 2017). "Republican gains bring fresh hope as abortion foes rally". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  13. Renault, Marion (March 4, 2015). "As abortion bills surface, new debates over women's health". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  14. Howatt, Glenn (August 15, 2015). "Local Planned Parenthood weathers storm". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  15. Nord, James (2011-01-27). "House passes GOP's first 'budget fix' — but only by 5 votes". MinnPost. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  16. Grow, Doug (2011-01-28). "Vote on budget-cutting bill gives GOP first look at how hard it can be holding a majority caucus together". MinnPost. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  17. Multiple authors (December 11, 2019). "OPINION EXCHANGE | Counterpoint: Yes, we state legislators belong in the Mideast. Here's why we're there". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  18. "2010 Results for State Representative District 1B". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  19. "2012 Results for State Representative District 1B". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  20. "2014 Results for State Representative District 1B". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  21. "2016 Results for State Representative District 1B". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  22. "2018 Results for State Representative District 1B". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  23. "2020 Results for State Representative District 1B". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  24. "2022 Results for State Representative District 1B". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  25. Ferguson, Dana (March 20, 2023). "Crookston Rep. Deb Kiel recovering from stroke". MPR News. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  26. "Perry, John T. - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present".
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