Jill Kaufenberg

Jill Kaufenberg is a longtime outdoor enthusiast, the author of “The Mitten Thief,” and the founder of Chopper Mill, a children’s outdoor apparel company. A recurring question asked by Jill and the parents of winter-loving kids everywhere—where do all the lost mittens go?—sparked the idea for her book and her brand.

Chopper Mill is one of Jill’s many ventures. After discovering two historic 1885 buildings in Stillwater, Minnesota, she acquired and renovated them back to their historically correct roots. In 2019, she launched Lift Bridge Cowork, a unique pair of spaces for professionals to work and gather. Her appreciation of nature and history also led her to co-found St. Croix Enterprises, a land holding company that acquires and conserves undeveloped land along the Minnesota and Wisconsin borders in the St. Croix Valley.