Debra Kiel

Debra L. Kiel ( ; born August 31, 1957) is an American politician who served from 2011 to 2025 in the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, Kiel represented District 1B in northwest Minnesota, which includes the cities of Crookston and East Grand Forks and Norman, Polk, Clay, and Red Lake Counties.

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.

In January 2024, Kiel announced she would not seek reelection that year.

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. She opposed increasing the state tobacco tax, saying people in her district would drive to North Dakota to buy cigarettes.

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. She co-authored an op-ed arguing that employers need to "hold on" to older workers to solve workforce shortage issues.

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

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. She visited Israel and the West Bank in 2019 with a bipartisan delegation from the Minnesota legislature.

Electoral results

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.

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