BRAINERD — A 56-year-old Brainerd man died Friday, Nov. 7, after leaving the roadway on Highway 18 and striking a tree.
The Minnesota State Patrol reported William James Gardner was traveling westbound at 6:50 p.m. in a 2004 Honda Civic. The vehicle went off the road east of the intersection with Crow Wing County Road 144.
Gardner was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, the state patrol reported. He was dead at the scene.
The Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Brainerd Fire Department and North Memorial Health ambulance assisted.
-
Extreme fire conditions caused some of the 17 wildfires burning in the Superior National Forest to rapidly spread July 13-14, 2026.
-
Months before the midterms, the Trump administration dismantled a bipartisan federal commission that serves local offices that oversee voting.
-
The library matched the anonymous matching donation for $30,000 it received in June 2026. A larger fundraising goal is aimed at increasing public hours in 2027.
-
Due to smoke from Boundary Waters wildfires, the MPCA issued air quality alerts for large parts of Minnesota. The alert lasts until at least Friday, July 16, 2026.
-
During the Phenology Report for the week of July 14, 2026 Staff Phenologist John Latimer remarks on blooming basswoods, hawks hunting in harvested fields, and more.
-
The evidence includes body camera footage, officer statements and the Honda Pilot in which Good was killed, all of which the federal government had previously refused to turn over.
-
Get to know the volunteers behind the mic on KAXE. This week we find out more from On the River host and volunteer, Nicole Hoops.
-
While it is expected to cool off slightly on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, temperatures will stay high enough that additional heat advisories may be put in place.
-
The KAXE Music Team on new music from Baby Rose, Allison Russell, John R. Miller, Margaret Glaspy, Obi Original & The Black Atlantics, and Rush for our Pick From '76.
-
Nearly 9,000 acres are estimated to be burning in the BWCA as of July 13, 2026, and the closure is for public safety. The Boundary Waters is not expected to fully reopen this summer.