This Was Brainerd - April 20 A look through the Brainerd Dispatch archives with Terry McCollough combing the microfilm for tidbits of history through the decades going back to 1921. Written By: Terry McCollough | × Women out in front of Murphy's Dry Goods Store on Front Street in Brainerd, circa 1901. Source: 'Out of the Woods, A Pictorial History of The Brainerd Lakes Area', Published by The Brainerd Daily Dispatch. Copyright 1994. APRIL 20 20 years ago (2001) Gas prices at Brainerd-Baxter filling stations jumped from $1.59 to $1.69 yesterday, with a couple at $1.73. That's near the high price of last summer when the price per gallon peaked near $2.00, after costing just $1.35 last spring. Minnesota AAA says there is consumer speculation that prices could go to $3.00 per gallon.