Crow Wing County (trfnews.i234.me) — A Brainerd man faces life in prison.
The case involved a 2024 murder and a kidnapping near Brainerd.
Chad Aaron Aanerud, 36, was sentenced Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026.
He received life in prison for first-degree murder.
The victim was 62-year-old Lyle Maske.
The sentence allows possible release after 30 years.
Sentence terms
Aanerud entered a plea deal on Dec. 17, 2025.
The deal dismissed other charges.
It also set prison terms on these counts:
- Kidnapping to aid a felony or flight: 240 months.
- First-degree burglary with a dangerous weapon: 114 months.
- Second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon: 42 months, on each of two counts.
The kidnapping, burglary, and assault terms run one after another.
Those terms run at the same time as the murder sentence.
Court records show Aanerud received 474 days of jail credit.
Impact statements
Prosecutors read statements from victims and family members in court.
They described lasting fear, grief, and trauma.
Lois Maske wrote that her husband tried to help Aanerud.
Nikkole Dobson said she and her children are in therapy.
What the complaint alleges
A criminal complaint says officers got a 911 call around 1:50 a.m. on Nov. 1, 2024.
Maske was found shot on a driveway on Loerch Road near Brainerd.
Investigators also found a home on the property burning.
In court, Aanerud said he used diesel fuel to start the fire.
The complaint says Dobson was pregnant at the time.
It says Aanerud forced Dobson and her four children into a van.
An Amber Alert was issued later that morning, authorities said.
Police found the van near Little Falls and arrested Aanerud.
Dobson and the children were located in the vehicle, records say.
The complaint says Dobson had injuries consistent with an assault.
Investigators reported stolen firearms inside the van.
More information
Public court records can be searched through Minnesota Court Records Online.
Information on Amber Alerts is posted by the Minnesota BCA.
County prosecution duties are outlined by the Crow Wing County Attorney’s Office.
I’m Chris Harper reporting for TRF News.