Dan Kapanke
Owner
Hometown: Coon Valley, WI
College(s): UW-La Crosse
Walk Up Song: “God Bless the U.S.A” by Lee Greenwood
Favorite Pro Teams: Milwaukee Brewers, Green Bay Packers, & Milwaukee Bucks
Fun Fact: I had a car and drove it at 12 years old. After 65 years, that 1949 Chevrolet is still on the farm (in the woods).
Connect With Me For: Peanuts & Lawn Care
Dan was born and raised on a small dairy farm in nearby Coon Valley, Wisconsin where he developed a love for the game of baseball. As a young boy, Dan loved to watch and play baseball. Believe it or not, in the middle of school, Dan and his friends skipped their classes to watch the 1960 Yankees vs. Pirates World Series Game 7. In addition to playing and watching the game, he coached youth baseball in the La Crosse area for 15 years. Knowing that baseball has long been a fixture and passion to the people of La Crosse, Kapanke and his wife Ruth turned dreams into reality when they decided to bring the La Crosse Loggers to Copeland Park in 2003.
Being a UW-La Crosse graduate in Economics and Political Science, Dan became heavily involved in local politics and is well-known throughout the community. Dan was elected to the State Senate in November of 2004 and represented the 32nd District in Wisconsin until 2011. Along with his involvement in the political realm, Dan has over 30 years of experience in the agriculture business. You can find Dan throughout Copeland Park during Logger’s home games, taking in the experience with fans and tossing peanuts into the stands. The love of Dan’s life, Ruth, has put up with Dan for 50 years! Dan and Ruth have a family of 4 children and 12 grandchildren.
Ruth Kapanke
Owner
Hometown: La Crosse, WI
College(s): Methodist-Kahler School of Nursing (Rochester, MN)
Walk Up Song: “You’ve Got A Friend in Me” by Randy Newman
Favorite Pro Teams: Milwaukee Brewers
Fun Fact: We have 13 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren. We even have a plaque in our house with the quote, “Grandchildren are the reward you get for not strangling your teenagers.”
Connect With Me For: Gameday Employment, Reading Club, & Community Appearances
Ruth has been Dan’s life partner for 50 years and is happy to participate in all things “Loggers”. Her biggest joy and privilege is training and working with our staff. As a staff developer, her main goal is to ensure that we treat others the way we would want to be treated.
Ruth recently retired from a very rewarding career in nursing, which has allowed her more free time to spend with her 12 grandchildren! She loves to read and, along with Logger Dog, was instrumental in the creation of Logger Dog’s Reading Incentive Program. As the program grows, she hopes kids will develop a deep love for reading. With the couple’s 4 children, their spouses and grandkids all close by, life is busy and fulfilling for Ruth and Dan.
Chris Goodell
President
Hometown: Oelwein, IA
College(s): University of Dubuque (IA)
Walk Up Song: “Gonna Fly Now (Theme From Rocky)” by Bill Conti
Favorite Pro Teams: Los Angeles Dodgers & Pittsburgh Steelers
Fun Fact: I can recite all of the lines in Caddyshack.
Connect With Me For: Sponsorships & Anything Baseball
Chris Goodell is enjoying his 25th season in the Northwoods League and has been involved with the La Crosse Loggers since their inception in 2003. After serving as the General Manager for sixteen seasons, Goodell moved into the role of Team President prior to the 2019 season. During Goodell’s tenure, La Crosse has ranked top-five in summer collegiate attendance during each of the team’s first 17 seasons of existence and is one of only two summer collegiate teams to draw over 100,000 fans for eleven consecutive seasons. Goodell also had the honor of receiving the prestigious Northwoods League Executive of the Year Award on two separate occasions, in 2004 and 2012.
Along with helping lead the business side of the Loggers, Goodell also spearheads the player recruitment and advancement for the club. 28 former Loggers (to-date) have received “The Call” up to the big leagues since 2003 including the likes of Max Scherzer, Chris Sale, Matt Chapman, Lars Nootbaar and more. Hundreds of other alums have been drafted into professional baseball with the Loggers annually having one of the top draft classes in the Northwoods League. Goodell has also had the privilege of working with two former Logger coaches who are now in Major League Baseball (Andy Mckay – Seattle Mariners, Ethan Katz – Chicago White Sox) as well as a pair of former players who are also coaches in the bigs (Pete Woodworth – Seattle Mariners, Justin Toole – Seattle Mariners).
Prior to La Crosse, Goodell served as the Assistant General Manager with the Waterloo Bucks for three-plus seasons (1999-2001), during which Waterloo made three consecutive playoff appearances and broke the national record for attendance in a single season for summer collegiate baseball in 2001.
Following his tenure in Waterloo, Goodell stepped away from the Northwoods League for one year, while staying involved in the sports business. He worked as a sales executive for the ESPN Radio and ABC television affiliate (KCRG-TV 9) in northeast Iowa. During that same time, Goodell also served as the official statistician for the Cedar Rapids Kernels Baseball Club, the Class A affiliate of the Anaheim Angels.
Goodell currently resides in Holmen, Wisconsin, with his wife Shannon. The couple have three children: Carson (23), Hayden (19) and Adalyn (17).
Goodell was also a board member of the UW-La Crosse “L Club” and formerly served on the Junior Achievement board, La Crosse Area Sports Commission, and Holmen Viking Wrestling Club board. In 2009 and 2012, Goodell was named the La Crosse Tribune “Sports Person of the Year”.
Ben Kapanke
General Manager
Hometown: La Crosse, WI
College(s): UW-Madison
Walk Up Song: “Seek and Destroy” by Metallica
Favorite Pro Teams: Green Bay Packers
Fun Fact: Started my career in Agriculture and wanted to be a dairy farmer when I was 20 years old.
Connect With Me For: Sponsorships & Community Events at Copeland Park
Ben Kapanke just completed his 20th season with the Loggers after the 2024 season and his sixth as the team’s General Manager after serving as the Assistant General Manager over the previous ten seasons. Ben has been with the Loggers full-time since the 2005 season. Ben helps oversee the day-to-day operations and is heavily involved with sponsorship sales, coordinating the events at Copeland Park & Events Center, the Loggers concession operations, as well as the team’s finances.
As the orchestrator of Copeland Park & Events Center, Kapanke has spearheaded national concert acts at the venue going back to 2017. Since developing the venue to host concerts, 13 different shows have been executed with 33 National Acts performing to the La Crosse Community at Copeland Park & Events Center. Some of the Acts to perform have featured Seether, Skillet, Stone Temple Pilots, Bush, Jerry Cantrell, Three Days Grace, Chevelle, Highly Suspect, Sugar Ray, Candlebox, Lee Brice and Billy Currington. Furthermore, his work in the community has helped garner local festivals and events to be hosted at Copeland Park & Events Center including the likes of Oktoberfest Events, WingFest, BaconFest, corporate movie nights, BassMaster Elite Fishing Series and more.
Ben is the youngest son of Dan & Ruth Kapanke and is married to his wife Elizabeth. The couple resides on French Island with their two sons, Evan and Drew, and daughter Paige.
Kara Griswold
Steam General Manager
Hometown: Olathe, KS
College(s): UW-Stout (Undergrad), Baker University (Masters)
Walk Up Song: “A Warriors Call” by Volbeat
Favorite Pro Teams: Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Royals, & Minnesota Lynx
Fun Fact: I played college basketball & collect board games!
Connect With Me For: Corporate Sponsorships, Group Sales, & Ticket Sales
Growing up in Olathe, Kansas, sports were a large part of Kara Griswold’s life. Griswold moved to the upper Midwest to become a member of the women’s basketball team at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. As a student-athlete at UW-Stout, Kara Griswold was a 3-time Scholar Athlete and a 5-time Chancellor’s Scholar graduating with a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in sports management and marketing. Returning home temporarily Griswold worked as a graduate assistant to the Athletic Director and Communications Director while earning her master’s degree in Sports Management from Baker University.
While working towards her degrees Griswold also worked as a Program Administrator for Kansas Elite Girls Basketball, a competitive AAU traveling girls basketball club based in Kansas City. Griswold is a proud member of the Women Leaders in Sports organization and has been a champion for women’s sports her entire life.
Moving back up to her new favorite home Kara Griswold will continue supporting women’s sports in her second season as the General Manager for the La Crosse Steam Softball. Griswold currently resides in Tomah, Wisconsin with her partner Jacob, and their cat Eleanor.
Magann Dykema
Director of Group Sales
Hometown: Norton Shores, MI
College(s): Michigan Technological University (Undergrad), UW-La Crosse (Masters)
Walk Up Song: “Sugar, We’re Going Down” by Fall Out Boy
Favorite Pro Teams: Detroit Tigers & Detroit Red Wings
Fun Fact: I have a bucket list to see a game at every MLB ballpark, and I am at 10!
Connect With Me For: Community & Corporate Group Experiences
Magann Dykema, originally from Norton Shores, Michigan, is in the midst of her third season with the La Crosse Loggers, La Crosse Steam, and Copeland Park & Events Center as the Director of Group Sales. While receiving her bachelor’s from Michigan Technological University and her master’s from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, she discovered her true passion is in building memorable experiences for people. She is excited to assist fans and the community in making memories at the ballpark every night through baseball, softball, concerts, and more! If you see her around, ask her about her MLB Ballpark bucket list and what her favorite concert experiences have been.
Zach Weiler
Director of Ticket Sales
Hometown: Burlington, WI
College(s): UW-La Crosse
Walk Up Song: “Icky Thump” by The White Stripes
Favorite Pro Teams: Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Brewers, & Milwaukee Admirals
Fun Fact: I’m red/green colorblind.
Connect With Me For: Season Tickets, Ticket Packages, & Single Game Tickets
Zach Weiler, from Burlington, Wisconsin, is in the midst of his second season as the Director of Ticket Sales. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse with a bachelor’s degree in Exercise and Sport Science with a Sport Management focus. While in school, he also competed for the school’s Wrestling team. Zach enters his fifth season at the Lumberyard after interning with the Loggers from 2021-2023. He is excited for another summer of fun at Copeland with all the energy the fans bring to the stadium.
Ellie Arndt
Community Relations Intern
Hometown: Appleton, WI
College(s): UW-La Crosse
Walk Up Song: “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers
Favorite Pro Teams: Milwaukee Bucks, AC Milan, & US Women’s National Team
Fun Fact: I can move my ears without touching them!