General Manager, Thor Johnson
Thor Johnson enters his fourth year in the Northwoods League and fifth year in organized baseball. He got his start in 2023 with the Eau Claire Express, serving as their Media Relations Intern while finishing his degree at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. After graduating in 2024, he spent the summer with the St. Paul Saints, gaining additional experience in ticketing, corporate partnerships, and media relations. In 2025, he joined Rochester as the PC Director, where he helped manage all Honkers’ home webcasts before becoming the Director of Operations in 2026. Growing up with a dad who coaches baseball, Johnson has spent countless hours at the ballpark playing and learning the game he loves. He is excited to serve as the General Manager and can’t wait to see MoonDogs fans out at ISG Field this summer.
Email: thor@mankatomoondogs.com
Director of Ticket & Group Experiences, Kaylee Smith
Eyota, Minn. native Kaylee Smith enters her second season in the Northwoods League after leading the ticketing department of the Rochester Honkers during the 2026 season. A 2025 graduate of the University of Missouri, Columbia, Smith earned a degree in Sports Management while also minoring in Business. She enjoys playing sports, hanging with friends, and being outdoors! My goal is to work within professional baseball or football within ticket sales and event planning/management. A fun fact about me is that I play pickleball and club volleyball for Mizzou! I am super excited to be apart of the team and can’t wait to see you guys in the stands! Go MoonDogs!
Chris Goodell (Owner) will conduct his 28th season in the Northwoods League in 2027, having spent time with both the Waterloo Bucks and the La Crosse Loggers. Goodell, who currently serves as the team president of the Loggers, Mankato MoonDogs, and the Dyersville Dreamers, served as the general manager of the Loggers from their inaugural season of 2003 through the 2018 season, helping build a stadium and team that is one of the top drawing teams in all of summer collegiate baseball. Goodell was honored as the Northwoods League Executive of the Year on two occasions, in 2004 and in 2012, and was recognized as the La Crosse Tribune’s Sports Person of the Year in 2009 and 2012.
Ben Kapanke (Owner) is in the midst of his 23rd season in the Northwoods League, having been with the La Crosse Loggers since 2005 season and is in his eighth season as the team’s General Manager after serving as the Assistant General Manager over the previous ten seasons. Ben, who is also a co-owner of the Dyersville Dreamers, helps oversee the day-to-day operations and is heavily involved with sponsorship sales, coordinating the events at Copeland Park & Events Center in La Crosse, Wisc., the concession operations, as well as the team’s finances.
Dan Kapanke (Owner), along with his wife Ruth, are the owners of the La Crosse (Wisc.) Loggers baseball club and La Crosse Steam softball club. Kapanke started the Loggers in 2003, building Copeland Park from the ground up. He is also a co-owner of the Dyersville Dreamers. Being a UW-La Crosse graduate in Economics and Political Science, Dan became heavily involved in local politics and is well-known throughout the La Crosse community, having also been inducted into the La Crosse Area Baseball Hall of Fame in 2023. 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.
Chad Surprenant (Owner), is the chief strategy officer for ISG, an architecture, engineering, environmental and planning firm with offices in five states. After earning a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Iowa State University, Chad Surprenant began a more than 29-year career at ISG. He was appointed president and CEO in 2001 and chief strategy officer in 2020. Surprenant has earned numerous professional awards, and he has served in several education, business and non-profit organizations, holding various member and leadership roles.
Kyle Smith (Owner) is currently a principal at North Star Aviation. He spent 25 years generating business opportunities in both the student housing and commercial sectors for the Tailwind Group. Holding a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from Minnesota State University, Kyle has not only been active in real estate development, but his business experience also includes aviation, health & fitness franchising and the food service industry.
Email for Ownership Group – diamonddreams2018@gmail.com.