Dave Kruse knows the value of family and community.  The youngest of four children, he spent the early part of his childhood in a small, two bedroom house.  The close quarters made the Kruses a close family, and his father, a minister, and his mother, a nurse, instilled in him the value of individual responsibility, the importance of hard work and the meaning of faith in action.

Dave understands the meaning of making ends meet and paying off student loans.  After graduating from Mankato West High School in 1997, he earned a Liberal Arts Associate’s Degree at Bethany Lutheran College in 1998.  In 2001 he graduated from Minnesota State University, Mankato, with a Bachelor’s Degree in English.  He has served as webmaster for South Central College and taught at Bethany Lutheran College, and for the past two years has worked for The Garland Group, a compliance and collaboration company.  In his free time he enjoys reading books and riding his motorcycle, an activity that for him embodies the American way of life.

Dave cares about the future we leave for the next generation.  He and his wife Courtney, a sign language interpreter, have been married eight years and have two children:  two-year-old Solomon and three-month-old Josiah.  He knows from first-hand experience what paying bills while raising a family is like, and he believes in the need to preserve a strong future for our children.  Dave has also been involved in church work his entire life, helping with lighting and stage design at Crossview Covenant Church.  He has served on a mission trip to Ecuador and done online marketing and development work for various organizations.