Longtime KARE 11 anchor Julie Nelson is coming back to the airwaves nearly three months after a boating crash on a Wisconsin lake left her with non-life-threatening injuries and an arm that is still healing. She will ease back into her role as an anchor.
Nelson's return was detailed in a report from Bring Me The News, which noted she promised viewers she would be back on the air soon. The 54-year-old anchor has co-anchored KARE 11's 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. evening newscasts since joining the Minneapolis-St. Paul NBC affiliate in September 2003, according to Patch. Before that, she spent years as an anchor and reporter for Twin Cities ABC affiliate KSTP-TV Channel 5, giving her more than two decades of continuous presence on local Minnesota television, per Wide Open Country.
A Crash on Balsam Lake
The accident happened on June 13, 2026, at approximately 11 p.m. on Balsam Lake near Pine Island, Wisconsin, and involved a pontoon boat, Polk County law enforcement confirmed to Patch. Nelson and her husband, Kurt Krumenauer, were both involved in the single-boat crash, and the pair were treated for injuries, the outlet reported. Krumenauer, who founded Edina-based commercial real estate brokerage Midwest Apartment Brokers in 2008, married Nelson in June 2001, according to the Hindustan Times.
Shortly after the crash, Nelson took an indefinite amount of time off to heal and recover, per Bring Me The News's reporting. The Minnesota Star Tribune had reported that Nelson sustained significant injuries including broken bones and deep lacerations, and that her injuries would likely cause lasting scars and effects on her quality of life, according to that attribution cited in the same Bring Me The News report. Nelson has said she is dealing with a lingering arm injury, and in a September 2 update she said nerve damage to her right arm was delaying her full recovery, describing nerve rehabilitation as “frustratingly slow and unpredictable.”
A Retraction Complicated Early Coverage
Public understanding of the crash was muddied weeks after it happened when the Minnesota Star Tribune issued a full retraction of its June 22 article about the incident, saying the report failed to meet standards for accuracy, verification and editorial rigor after misattributing and paraphrasing Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources statements, according to PopCulture.com. The retraction left official details about the crash sparse in the weeks that followed.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has confirmed it is investigating the boat crash but has declined to provide additional details, per Bring Me The News. Separately, Ramsey County officials filed an application for a search warrant connected to the case, the outlet reported, though the specifics of that filing were not detailed. Under Wisconsin Statutes § 30.67(4), information compiled within mandatory operator boating incident reports submitted to the state DNR is statutorily prohibited from being used as evidence in civil or criminal trials, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
State regulations require boat operators involved in an incident resulting in injury requiring medical treatment beyond first aid, or in property damage exceeding $2,000, to report the event immediately to law enforcement and submit paperwork to the DNR within 10 days. The agency also publishes annual summaries of boating incidents.
Anchor Desk Changes Ahead of the Crash
Nelson's absence came after her years anchoring KARE 11's evening broadcasts.
Nelson has thanked viewers for their kindness and encouragement during her recovery.
