lloyd jerome brenna

Lloyd Jerome Brenna was an Edina, Minnesota resident whose technical career peaked with his engineering of Braemar Ice Arena. At the time, little in his public life suggested the criminal history that had preceded it — or what would come later.

Alongside his brother Wallace Woodrow Brenna, Lloyd was involved in a series of crimes spanning from the 1930s into the early 1970s, including allegations involving an attempted attack on a federal employee and a 1971 Huron South Dakota bombing — a case that would come to define a long and complicated life shaped by instability, opportunity, and repeated encounters with the law.

The story and the events surrounding the bombing will be released as a five-part serial podcast titled The Bagpiper and His Brother on May 7, 2026. The series, by Dakota Spotlight, examines the events in detail through meticulous research and original reporting.

Lloyd Brenna – Early Life

Lloyd Jerome Brenna was born in 1917 in northwestern North Dakota, near the small community of Stady. His mother died in 1922, and the family was soon separated, with the children placed among relatives and institutions.

Lloyd’s criminal activity began at a young age against the backdrop of 1930s Chicago, where he spent formative years after the breakup of his family.

Through interviews, archival research, and original reporting, Dakota Spotlight revisits this period to better understand the early influences and hidden history of the man who would later help build Braemar Ice Arena.

The 1971 Huron South Dakota Bombing

In 1971, Lloyd Jerome Brenna and his brother Wallace were connected to a bombing in Huron, South Dakota — an event that would become the defining moment of their criminal history.

The case, unusual in both its planning and execution, involved transporting an explosive device across state lines and remains one of the more obscure yet striking crimes of its time.

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