Tim was born in Minneapolis, the second of six children in the family of a Lutheran minister.  When Tim was still young, the family moved to rural North Dakota, where his father took up farming, in addition to serving two congregations. Most of his youth was spent working on the family farm, where he learned the value of hard work. In school, he excelled in math and science subjects and enjoyed singing in the choir and playing basketball and baseball.

Tim graduated from North Dakota State University in 1983 with a major in Agriculture Economics. He worked for a local Farmer's Union, which eventually led him to Mora in 1990, where he managed the Kanabec Cooperative thru 2000. Under Tim's leadership, the Coop experienced significant growth, the sales volume increasing two and one-half times during his ten-year service.

Most of Tim's spare time is spent raising his three children Jared, Tyler, and Zachary.  Tim also finds time to be active in his community. He has always been very active in his church congregation, where he has led the Children's Choir, taught Sunday School, and he currently serves as the congregation president of Calvary Lutheran Church in Mora. Tim has served Mora's youth with his long-term involvement in MAYRA, the Mora Area Youth Recreation Association. He has coached thirty Little League baseball and other sports teams. Tim was president of MAYRA for nine years. During that time the organization paid off nearly $200,000 of debt, expanded its program offerings, and involved more kids. Tim also created the MAYRA Field of Dreams, which still involves hundreds of kids every summer.

With all this going on, Tim occasionally needs to take a break. His favorite place to unwind is the BWCA. The outdoors in general and canoeing in the BWCA in particular is one of Tim's passions. His experience in the outdoors has inspired him to preserve and restore our waters, so we are not the last generation to enjoy Minnesota's natural treasures.