A Perham, Minn., funeral home confirmed Sunday the name of a man killed in a train-truck collision Saturday.
Charles "Chuck" Minge, 62, of Perham was in a pickup truck about one mile west of Lake Park, Minn., when the truck was struck by a BNSF Railway train.
Minge and his wife, Brenda, owned a Perham resort complex, which was destroyed by fire in late December. The complex was undergoing construction and was scheduled to open in the spring.
The blaze was so destructive that investigators cannot determine what started it, according to the Minnesota state fire marshal's office.
In a story published Jan. 3 in the Perham Enterprise Bulletin, Minge told the paper the next step for the Cactus Resort and RV Park was uncertain.
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To continue with the 76-lot RV and Park Model campground, Minge said he would need to rebuild the pool and recreation area. But as far as the more extensive lodge, seven executive suites and four condominium units that were part of the lodge complex, Minge wasn't certain he would rebuild.
After suffering two strokes in July, his doctor ordered him to "slow down."
"With congestive heart failure, I just don't know if I can go through the whole process again," Minge told the Enterprise Bulletin, which is owned by Forum Communications.
Because of his health, Minge and his wife had considered selling the entire RV resort project, but keeping his Cactus restaurant and bowling lanes.
The resort fire was the third fire incident for Minge in 20 years. He lost two restaurants in Frazee, Minn., five years ago when, according to Minge, faulty installation of a new water heater started a fire. He also lost his house about 20 years ago when a battery charge ignited a fire.
Minge built and operated the Cactus supper club and bowling facility in the 1980s. Since then, it had a number of owners, but the Minges took over again two-and-a-half years ago and launched extensive remodeling of the club. Construction of the resort and RV park project, on 85 acres he owns directly north of the restaurant, began in early 2007.
Minge owned several supper clubs in Otter Tail County, including the Otter Supper Club, which he started in the 1970s. He also owned Spanky's on Rose Lake for 17 years.
