Congressional Memberships

A native of La Crosse, Wisconsin, Ron Kind was first elected to represent the people of western Wisconsin's Third Congressional District in November 1996. Kind currently is a member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, Resources Committee, and the Budget Committee. In addition to serving on the full Committees, Kind holds seats on Education's Reform and 21st Century Competitiveness Subcommittees for the Education and the Workforce Committee as well as Resources's Fisheries, Conservation, Wildlife & Oceans and National Parks, Recreation & Public Lands Subcommittees.

Ron Kind, 42, was born and raised in western Wisconsin. He is the third of five children born to Greta and Elroy Kind, and the fifth generation to live in the district. Greta formerly worked as the Assistant Director of Personnel in the La Crosse School District. Elroy had a 35-year career as a telephone repairman and union leader at the La Crosse Telephone Company.

Kind attended public schools in La Crosse and became a standout student athlete at Logan high school in both football and basketball. He accepted an academic scholarship to Harvard University where he graduated with honors in 1985. While attending Harvard, Ron played quarterback on the football team and worked during the summer with Senator William Proxmire in Washington. In Proxmire's office he helped investigate wasteful abuses of taxpayer money, which provided the basis for some of the Senator's famous Golden Fleece awards.

Kind went on to receive his Master's Degree from the London School of Economics and his Law Degree from the University of Minnesota. He practiced law for two years at the law firm of Quarles and Brady in Milwaukee.

Kind returned to his hometown of La Crosse to become a county prosecutor and gained recognition for his tough and effective prosecution in cases involving adult and child sexual assaults, child abuse, domestic abuse and white-collar crime. He also served as special prosecutor in numerous counties throughout western Wisconsin.

In September of 1995, Kind announced his intention to run for the Third Congressional District seat being vacated by 16-year incumbent Steve Gunderson. More than a year later the La Crosse native won a difficult five-person race for the Democratic nomination and went on to defeat his Republican opponent 52% to 48%. In 2002 he won with 63% of the vote.

The Third Congressional District includes nineteen counties in western Wisconsin along the Mississippi River. It stretches from the Illinois border in the South to the Minneapolis-St. Paul suburbs in the North. The major cities in the district include La Crosse and Eau Claire.

Since being elected to Congress, Kind has focused his attention on issues of fiscal responsibility, education, agriculture, healthcare, environmental conservation, and protection of the Mississippi River. In addition to his Committee responsibilities, Kind is a minority Chief Deputy Whip, co-founder of the Upper Mississippi River Congressional Caucus, and a co-chair of the New Democrat Coalition.

Ron and his wife Tawni continue to live in his hometown of La Crosse. Tawni is an official court reporter for the County Court system. The Kind's have two sons, Johnny (born August 1996) and Matthew (born in May 1998).

The Kinds have also remained active in their community and are members of the Immanuel Lutheran Church. Ron is a member of the La Crosse Optimists Club, and a leader in the Boys' and Girls' Club, and the La Crosse YMCA. He is also on the Board of Directors for Coulee Council on Alcohol or Other Drug Abuse. Tawni organizes the annual Congressional Art Competition for high school artists in western Wisconsin.