Melrose Man Killed in Stearns County Motorcycle Crash After Sturgis Trip

(KNSI) – A Melrose man has died after his motorcycle collided with a pickup Friday night in western Stearns County.

According to the Minnesota State Patrol initial incident report, Neil Gerald Blenker was riding a 2012 Harley-Davidson north on Highway 71 in Lake George Township just after 9:15 p.m. when a southbound 2017 Ford F-150 turned onto the highway from private property and the two collided.

The 50-year-old was rushed to CentraCare-St. Cloud Hospital with what the State Patrol described as life-threatening injuries. His family says he died Saturday.

The driver of the pickup, a 21-year-old man from Belgrade, was not hurt. The State Patrol says he was wearing a seat belt and that Blenker was not wearing a helmet.

The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office, Belgrade Police, the Elrosa Fire Department and Sauk Centre Ambulance assisted at the scene.

Patton-Schad Funeral Home

According to his obituary with the Patton-Schad Funeral Home, Blenker was a 1994 graduate of Melrose High School and had worked at Land O’Lakes for 32 years. It describes him as a “gentle giant” who loved fishing, riding and time with family and friends, and notes his ringtone was Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man.”

A friend posting in a Sturgis Motorcycle Rally group on Facebook said Blenker had been in South Dakota for the rally in the days before the crash. She wrote that he was killed roughly 18 miles from home and called him the nicest guy on the planet.

Visitation is Thursday from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Patton-Schad Funeral Home in Melrose, with parish prayers at 4:00. A Mass of Christian Burial is set for 11:00 a.m. Friday at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Melrose, with visitation beginning at 9:30. A luncheon and celebration of life follows at the Freeport Community Center.

The Mass will be livestreamed at oneinfaith.org.

The crash remains under investigation.

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