Patrick Mader

Patrick "Packy" Mader grew up with six brothers and sisters on a dairy farm near St. Bonifacius, Minnesota. He attended college in Bismarck, North Dakota and later graduated with a degree in elementary education from St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin.

Following graduation, Packy worked in both the education and business fields in Minnesota. He spent summers in Minnesota working on area farms, as a materials handler for Tonka Toys, and teaching at a Carver County school for mentally challenged adults.

Always having an interest in Minnesota sports, history, and geography, Packy began researching information on Minnesota athletes who competed at the international level. He then formed the idea of writing a nonfiction book about the elite athletes from a variety of sports over a wide era (1948 - present), while trying to represent all geographical areas of the state and have a balance of men and women. His first conversations with famous athletes proved they were people who were friendly, modest, and intelligent (Wendell Anderson, Shani Marks, Angus Morrison, Van Nelson, and Janis Klecker) cemented the idea. It led to further conversations with Lindsay Whalen, John Mayasich, Jessie Diggins, and a host of other delightful athletes. Please join in the discovery of Minnesota Gold!

He is also the author of four intergenerational children's picture books that celebrate rural lifestyles: Opa & Oma Together, Oma Finds a Miracle, the 2010 IPPY award-winning Big Brother Has Wheels, and Moonbeam silver-medalist, Visiting the Visitors.

He spent most of his professional career as a teacher at Morristown Elementary in south central Minnesota, and resides in Northfield, Minnesota, with his wife, Karen, and two children, Karl and Ellen.