Kristin Robbins is a native of Crookston, Minnesota. Kristin’s dad owned what was then called the Stenshoel Funeral Home in Crookston, until her family moved to Upper Michigan, where her parents owned the Jacobson Funeral Home until they retired.

Kristin’s mom was an LPN at Swedish Hospital in Minneapolis and became a stay-at-home-mom when they moved to Crookston and Kristin’s sister was born.  As Kristin and her sister grew up, her mom took a much more active role in the funeral home.  The Jacobson family, like most family businesses or farms, all played a role in the funeral home.  The girls helped with cleaning, setting up and taking down chairs and flowers, mowing the lawn, and answering business phone calls.

Kristin attended Washington Elementary School in Crookston and then attended L’Anse Area public schools, graduating from high school in L’Anse, MI.  In high school she participated in debate, Youth in Government, founded the Student Leadership Forum and was elected Lt. Governor at Girls State. She worked at the local Dog-N-Suds as a car-hop in the summer and also taught figure skating through the community education program.

Kristin had always wanted to come back to Minnesota and returned to attend Bethel University in St. Paul on a full scholarship, where she doubled-majored in Political Science and Economics.  At Bethel, she served in Student Senate, was a member of College Republicans, and played intramural broomball.

After college, Kristin lived and worked in Washington, D.C. for three years, becoming the Legislative Director for a Member of Congress from IL.  She also met her husband, Brent, a native of Portsmouth, NH, while working on Capitol Hill. 

Kristin received a full scholarship to Washington University in St. Louis for graduate school, where she got her M.A. in Economics. She and her husband then moved to Minnesota, where they have lived for the last 25 years. 

Kristin and her husband, Brent, have been married 28 years and have raised three daughters in Plymouth and Maple Grove.  She was a “soccer mom” and has spent countless evenings and weekends cheering on her girls in soccer, basketball, softball, gymnastics and trap shooting.  She has been an active volunteer, coaching Destination Imagination and teaching Junior Achievement’s economic literacy program, as well as teaching Sunday School, AWANA and VBS at her church.

Kristin has an extensive economics and public service background.  She co-founded and served as the Executive Director of the Economic Club of Minnesota for 10 years.  The Economic Club is a non-profit focused on strengthening Minnesota’s ability to compete in the global economy. 

Prior to creating and leading the Economic Club, she was the Executive Director of a group that helped pass education tax credits in Minnesota.  The Wall Street Journal called this legislation “a model for the rest of the country.”  She also served on the State Commission to End Chronic Homelessness during the Pawlenty Administration.

When Kristin worked in Washington, D.C., as a Legislative Assistant and then Legislative Director, she focused on taxes, trade, education and labor issues.  She also led the bi-partisan Congressional Porkbusters Coalition, co-chaired by Rep. Fawell and Rep. Tim Penny (MN), cut millions of dollars of wasteful government spending from appropriations bills.  Before that, she was employed in the Business and Economics Division of the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS).

Kristin has been an active member of New Hope Church, where she serves on the board of HopeBridge food shelf.  She was a founding Director of the Banyan Community, a neighborhood community development organization focused on addressing the achievement gap in the East Phillips area of Minneapolis, and she continues to be actively engaged in their work.

Kristin has also been an active volunteer for Republican candidates throughout her life and has served as a precinct Chair, Vice Chair and Deputy Chair for SD 34 Republicans for many years.

Kristin holds a Masters in Economics from Washington University in St. Louis and a B.A. in Economics/Political Science from Bethel University.  She lives in Maple Grove with her husband and their college-aged daughters.