Benjamin Allen Kruse (born April 18, 1978) is an American politician and a former member of the

Minnesota Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any U.S. state legislature. Floor sessions are h ...

who represented District 47, which included portions of Anoka and Hennepin counties in the northern

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in sta ...

metropolitan area. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, he is a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Burnet, based in Minnesota. Kruse was first elected in 2010. He was a member of the Commerce and Consumer Protection, the Education, the Local Government and Elections, and the Transportation committees. His special legislative concerns were commerce, education, taxes, and public safety. Kruse was defeated in his 2012 bid for re-election, losing to John Hoffman. Kruse was born and raised in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and moved to Minnesota to attend the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. He eventually left college to work as a restaurant manager, and later became a real estate agent. He also worked for a time as a legislative assistant to State Representative

Bob Gunther Bob Gunther (born July 12, 1943) is a Minnesota politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, he represented the 23A district, which includes all or portions of Blue Ear ...

, who represents District 24A in the southern part of the state. Active in his local business community, Kruse is a founding member of the North Hennepin Area Chamber of Commerce Government Relations Committee, and has been a member of the Minnesota Association of Realtors Government Affairs Committee, the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors Public Affairs Task Force and Government Affairs Committee, the North Hennepin Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Coldwell Banker Burnet Presidents Advisory Council.

References

External links

Senator Benjamin Kruse Web PageProject Vote Smart - Senator Benjamin Kruse Profile

1978 births Living people People from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota Politicians from Green Bay, Wisconsin American real estate brokers University of Minnesota alumni Republican Party Minnesota state senators 21st-century American legislators 21st-century Minnesota politicians {{Minnesota-politician-stub