Sheriff: Joseph Then, 65, killed in tractor explosion near Brainerd

CUSHING TOWNSHIP, Minn. – A man is dead after a tractor explosion Saturday in central Minnesota. 

It happened just before noon in Cushing Township, which is about 20 miles southwest of Brainerd.   

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The Morrison County Sheriff's Office says 65-year-old Joseph Then, of Randall, was driving this tractor when it hit an underground propane tank valve. 

First responders flew him to Hennepin Health in Minneapolis, but he died later from serious burns.