Dave St. Peter is the president and CEO of a first-place major league team he listened to on the radio as a child in North Dakota, a team that plays in a picturesque ballpark he helped build.
He ranks as one of the longest-tenured sports executives in the Twin Cities, having purchased his positions with sweat equity that astounds even the workaholics who populate baseball.
St. Peter is an American success story. He hopes no one emulates him.
Growing up in Bismarck, N.D., St. Peter invented games in the basement when the diamonds froze. He'd pencil in statistics for teams real and imagined, and when his modest athletic career ended, he volunteered for the sports information department at the University of North Dakota.
After interning with the Minnesota North Stars, he interned with the Minnesota Twins and rose rapidly and improbably through the team's hierarchy.
St. Peter has proved that if he gets one foot in the door, he will kick it open with the other. Sometimes, the door swings back hard.
"I'm praying and working hard every day to ensure that part of the legacy of my leadership will be transitioning from that old-school, workaholic approach to one that emphasizes more of a work/life balance," he said. "Maybe that will save some marriages. I hope so."
