Minnesota Station Owner David Linder Presumed Dead In Skiing Accident

Minnesota station owner David Linder is presumed dead in an Alaskan avalanche during a backcountry heli-skiing trip. The 39-year-old was on a ski trip with three other skiers when the avalanche struck about 40 miles south of Anchorage.

Heli-skiing is when skiers board a helicopter, travel into the backcountry to an inaccessible peak, and ski down to the bottom, where they are picked up again by the helicopter.

The avalanche happened Tuesday afternoon, leaving Linder and the others buried under 40 to 100 feet of snow.

John Linder founded Linder Radio Group and owns 21 stations in Minnesota. When Linder Sr. died in 2017, the company passed to his son, David. In 2019, Linder added partners Lynn and Matt Ketelsen.

Linder’s business partner wrote David Legault on Facebook, “Tough day. You never think about losing a friend and business partner. He was the smartest guy I knew. He helped with critical thinking situations and presented me with a new perspective every time… something I’ll be missing. Of course, if you know Dave Linder, you know every time we got together it ended up turning into an adventure. Great memories! I pray for your family and am thankful I got to know you.”

Linder, who was now living in Florida, is survived by his wife and three sons.

The other skiers are identified as Jeremy Leif of Minnesota and Charles Eppard of Montana.

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