Friday, December 19, 2025

Weather related announcements for Thursday, December 18th: No Lessons at St. Francis Music Center. CLC Campus at Brainerd and Staples closing at 5pm the buildings will be locked at 5pm no evening activities, classes or events at CLC in both buildings. Evening games for Pierz, Royalton, Upsala, Swanville, Holdingford have been postponed. Check the school calendars for details. 

A northern Minnesota man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to several charges, including murder, after he abducted a pregnant woman and her four children during a crime spree last year. Court records show Chad Aanerud, 36, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree assault and one count each of first-degree murder, kidnapping and first-degree burglary. He is scheduled to be sentenced on February 17th. According to charges, on the night of Oct. 31, 2024, Aanerud went to a woman's home on Loerch Road in Brainerd, where he sexually assaulted her and threatened to shoot her children. He then took guns from another home on the same property before dousing it in gasoline and setting it on fire. The woman told her children to run to a neighbor's house, which they did, and the neighbor then went to the woman's house to investigate. According to the complaint, Aanerud shot the neighbor, whom authorities identified as 62-year-old Lyle Maske. Maske died at the scene. Authorities say that, after the shooting, Aanerud forced the woman into a van with threats of violence, then drove to the neighbor's house and abducted the four children. On Friday morning, authorities issued an Amber Alert for Aanerud and his alleged victims. Around 7:20 a.m., he was found and arrested near Little Falls. The woman had injuries "consistent with having been physically assaulted," the complaint states. Authorities said they found 13 stolen guns in Aanerud's car. In an interview with law enforcement, Aanerud said he accidentally shot Maske and intentionally burned the house down, the complaint states. He also admitted to abducting the woman and children, according to the complaint. The victim's mother said her daughter and Aanerud were ex-partners, and her daughter was pregnant with Aanerud's child. Again Aanerud pleaded guilty and will be sentenced February 17th. 

A barn has been destroyed, and several animals died, in a fire. The Douglas County Sheriff's Office says the initial call came in just before noon on Wednesday. The fire was in rural Garfield. The caller said there were no visible flames, but he could see smoke. By the time deputies arrived, there was visible smoke and flames. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but no foul play is suspected. There were no injuries to humans from the incident. The Alexandria Fire Department and the Brandon Fire Department assisted the Garfield Fire Department.

The DNR Conservation report stated that Ice conditions have rebounded since last week. The slush beneath the snow has melted away and new ice is forming making ice fishing conditions dramatically better. The DNR reports that anglers locally should be able to get out on area lakes with ATVs soon. A reminder that the ice on area lakes is especially slippery with very little snow left on the ice recently. On Average lakes in the Brainerd to St. Cloud regions are around 6-8 inches thick some lakes are up to 12-14 inches in areas but some like in Meeker and McLeod County reported open water and ATVs falling through the ice last week. Also the muzzleloader deer hunting season concluded Sunday.  More than 9,300 deer were shot in Minnesota during the muzzleloader season. Those numbers picked up in recent weeks after a slow start and are up 7% from last year going into the final weekend.  The archery season is wrapping up on December 31st with 3,500 deer shot between traditional bow and crossbow this year.