Dakota Spotlight: True Crime & Cold Case Investigations
Dakota Spotlight is a true crime series investigating unsolved murders, cold cases, and missing persons in North Dakota and the Midwest. Hosted by investigative journalist James Wolner, each season takes a deep dive into one case, from rural crime and small town murders to decades-old disappearances. Through meticulous research, exclusive interviews, and on-the-ground reporting, Dakota Spotlight brings forgotten crimes back into the public eye and gives voice to victims and their families. Alongside full investigative seasons, the show also features shorter standalone episodes that explore individual mysteries in a single sitting. If you are drawn to investigative journalism, small town...
Episodes
Meanwhile in Mankato (0): Lies, Silence & Murder in Minnesota
Announcing Season 12 Meanwhile in Mankato: Lies, Silence & Murder in Minnesota arrives this November. Episode 1 premieres for all listeners on Thursday, November 6. Spotlight PLUS subscribers can hear — and binge — the entire season ad-free…
The House on Sweet and Seventh (6): Escape to the Movies – A North Dakota True Crime Story
Episode 6, Escape to the Movies, brings forward Misty Jones — remembered as the girl with the little red car — in a 2020 interview. Misty recalls her early path into a party lifestyle, her personal struggles since 1998, and her account of t…
The House on Sweet and Seventh (5): A Sick Salute – A North Dakota True Crime Story
The arrest of Brian Erickstad and Robert Lawrence confirmed their role in Barbara and Gordon Erickstad’s murders, but the aftermath shocked the community. Episode 5, A Sick Salute, reveals how the East Sweet crew rallied disturbingly behind…
The House on Sweet and Seventh (4): One of These Days – A North Dakota True Crime Story
The night before Barbara and Gordon Erickstad’s murders revealed troubling signs in Bismarck, North Dakota. Episode 4, One of These Days, traces September 16, 1998, through interviews and police files. Detectives Bob Haas and Steve Lundin w…
The House on Sweet and Seventh (3): Patience Pays Off – A North Dakota True Crime Story
Episode 3, Patience Pays Off, captures how patient police work broke open the Erickstad murder case. Barbara and Gordon Erickstad’s deaths had left Bismarck shaken in 1998. Detectives pressed a hesitant witness until the truth began to surf…
The House on Sweet and Seventh (2): Never Ever Narc – A North Dakota True Crime Story
Detective Lloyd Halvorson knew where to look for answers about the murders of Barbara and Gordon Erickstad in 1998. Episode 2, Never Ever Narc, follows Bismarck police as they questioned Brian Erickstad’s teenage friends and the East Sweet …
The House on Sweet and Seventh (1): A Little Red Car – A North Dakota True Crime Story
September 1998 brought a chilling moment in Bismarck, North Dakota, when 17-year-old Aimee walked into the police station. She suspected her boyfriend, Brian Erickstad, had harmed his parents. A welfare check was meant to set things straigh…
Barbara Cotton Cold Case Update: New Witness Insights on Williston's Unsolved Disappearance
In this gripping update on the Barbara Cotton cold case, we delve into new testimony surrounding one of North Dakota's most enduring unsolved disappearances. Barbara Louise Cotton vanished from Williston in 1981, and after decades of silenc…
Introducing - Truer Crime
In July of 2018, 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts went on a run in her small hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa. Something she’d done countless times before. But this time, she didn’t come home. What followed was a search unlike anything this town had e…
The Real Catch Me If You Can: Javier Leiva on Debunking Frank Abagnale
What if 90% of Frank Abagnale’s claims are totally made up? In this special Dakota Spotlight episode, host James Wolner talks with Javier Leiva, creator of PRETEND, about his season The Real Catch Me If You Can. In this series, Javier debun…
The Disappearance of Sharon Bald Eagle: A South Dakota Cold Case
In this Case Snapshot, Dakota Spotlight investigates the 1984 disappearance of 12-year-old Sharon Bald Eagle, who vanished while traveling from South Dakota to Idaho. This unsolved mystery devastated her family and community and led to the …
Who Killed Joseph Anderson? The Unsolved Jamestown Murder
In September 1991, Joseph “Joe” Anderson, a millionaire cattleman, was found murdered under mysterious circumstances in Jamestown, North Dakota. His body was discovered in the trunk of his own Buick at the Gladstone Inn parking lot, sparkin…
Breaking: Brian Erickstad Sentencing Update 2025
In this update episode, we break down the North Dakota Supreme Court’s recent decision in the Brian Erickstad case. The court ruled that Erickstad’s sentence was improperly amended in 2022 without notice, and has sent the case back to the l…
Vanished in Alexander - The Mystery of Talmadge Patton
In 1995, 75-year-old retired truck driver Talmadge “Pat” Patton vanished from his home in the rural town of Alexander, North Dakota. When his daughter came to check on him, she found clues that pointed to a troubling disappearance but no cl…
Evil is a Dumbass Drifter
In 1995, Mary K. Ross, a 25-year-old single mother and college student, was brutally stabbed to death in her Sioux Falls, South Dakota apartment while her baby watched. Her murder remains one of the city’s most haunting crimes, raising pain…
Cold Case: The Murder of Russell Turcotte in North Dakota
In July 2002, 19-year-old Russell Turcotte disappeared while hitchhiking home to Montana. Last seen at a truck stop in Grand Forks, his body was discovered months later near Devils Lake. Russell had been murdered, and two decades later his …
Dead Cold Drop (5) - by James Wolner
Part 5 (Chapters 23–27): As the story draws to a close, Doug Rolfstad faces the full weight of his choices, with each moment tightening the grip of consequences. What began with a mysterious manila envelope of cash now races toward a chaoti…
Dead Cold Drop (4) - by James Wolner
Part 4 (Chapters 17–22): With tensions simmering, Doug Rolfstad follows through on key parts of the plan as new information surfaces and close calls tighten the grip of fear. As pressure builds and alliances prove uncertain, Doug must navig…
Introducing - Nobody Should Believe Me: Season 6
Season 6 of Nobody Should Believe Me–out weekly starting June 19, available in full for subscribers at launch–covers the extraordinary and tragic saga of the McDaniel family, a real-life Southern Gothic tale of Munchausen by Proxy that span…
The Mysterious Disappearance of Keith Schmidt
Keith Schmidt was last seen on the morning of May 20, 2024, in Dickinson, North Dakota. His unexplained disappearance shocked the community and left his family searching for answers. This episode retraces the days leading up to when Keith w…
Dead Cold Drop (3) - by James Wolner
Part 3 (Chapters 12–16): Tension rises as Doug Rolfstad is pulled further from his life as a Bismarck plumber into a world of fear, paranoia, and uncertainty. With unsettling discoveries piling up and new layers of danger emerging, Doug mus…
Introducing - The Burden: Get the Money and Run
Getting started as a bank robber isn’t easy for Joe Loya. It takes courage … and rage. But Joe does the math. Thousands of dollars gained for a few minutes work. That’s what he figures he deserves. Meanwhile at home, losses mount. Get the M…
Dead Cold Drop (2) - by James Wolner
Part 2 (Chapters 6–11): Returning to Bismarck, Doug Rolfstad puts a plan in motion to protect his daughter Mandy and make sense of the manila envelope full of cash. With each cautious step, the pressure mounts, the danger sharpens, and an u…
North Dakota’s Coldest Case: The Unsolved Murder of Larry Jo Phebus
In 1962, 14-year-old Larry Jo Phebus vanished from Tioga, North Dakota. Months later, two farmers found his body in a snow-covered field, sparking one of the state’s earliest and most haunting cold cases. Six decades later, the murder of La…
Dead Cold Drop (1) - by James Wolner
Part 1 (Chapters 1–5): In the opening chapters of Dead Cold Drop, Bismarck plumber Doug Rolfstad meets his daughter Mandy at a Valley City truck stop after her urgent request. There, she reveals a manila envelope filled with cash, drawing f…
Introducing - You Probably Think This Story’s About You
This isn’t your typical true crime story. Brittani Ard steps back into the shadowy labyrinth of memories, scars, and fragile ties that bind us to our past. Where wounds still ache and the bonds of connection blur between salvation and entra…
The Ethics of True Crime: A Conversation with Eric Carter-Landin
More than 30 years ago, Eric’s brother Jacob was murdered—a case that remains unresolved to this day. In this conversation, we discuss his pursuit of justice and explore the ethical challenges of creating content in the ever-growing, often …
Introducing - Slaycation
Slaycation is a darkly funny true crime podcast hosted by Kim Davis, a former social worker and true crime fanatic, her comedy-writer husband Adam “Tex” Davis, and Emmy-nominated producer Jerry Kolber. Blending horror, humor, and empathy, S…
Krissi's Search: The Murder of Wilma June Nissen
In 1978, the body of a young woman was discovered in a rural Iowa ditch—no name, no missing persons report, and clear signs of a violent death. For 27 years, she was known only as a Jane Doe. Her name was Wilma June Nissen. She was 23 years…
Introducing - Ice Cold Case
In 2002, Madison McGhee’s father, John McGhee, was shot and killed in his own home in Belmont County, Ohio. Driven by her desire to find justice she began conducting her own investigation into his murder that remains unsolved to this day. T…
Park Like a Fargonian - by James Wolner
In this debut installment of Friday Night Fiction, a harmless social media group turns sinister in Fargo, North Dakota. When a local banker’s carefully planned Friday night is derailed by a group of self-appointed parking vigilantes, what b…
Introducing Friday Night Fiction - by James Wolner
We introduce you to our new series of original crime-inspired short stories, all set in North Dakota and the Upper Midwest. If you're a fan of true crime but curious to explore fictional tales with the same tension, twists, and emotional de…
Vanished in Vermillion: Interview with Lou Raguse
In May 1971, Pam Jackson and Sherri Miller were two seventeen-year-olds driving to an end-of-the-school-year party in a rundown Studebaker Lark when they seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth. In this episode James interviews auth…
The Murder of Joli Truelson - New developments, interview with Trisha Taurinskas
On the evening of July 3, 1972, 16-year-old Joli Truelson stood hitchhiking in Uptown Minneapolis, MN. Just 15 hours later she was found deceased in Minnehaha Creek, four miles away. She died from blunt force trauma to the back of her head.…
Poetic Justice Rebroadcast - Interview with Deon Wiggett, creator of the podcast My Only Story
In 2017, Deon Wiggett confronted a repressed trauma: he had been sexually abused by a schoolteacher as a teenager. His response was to create "My Only Story," a podcast exploring justice, activism, and revenge. Dakota Spotlight interviewed …
Moonlight Feels Right: A Valentine’s Conversation with Bruce Blackman
Continuing a Dakota Spotlight Valentine’s tradition, this special episode features an interview with Bruce Blackman, the mastermind behind the 1976 hit Moonlight Feels Right by Starbuck. James chats with Bruce about the song’s romantic char…
Homicide at House of Bottles (Postscript): The Bismarck Murder of Robbie Rahrich
In this postscript to Homicide at House of Bottles, we revisit key moments from the 1999 Bismarck murder of Robbie Rahrich through archival news reports recorded immediately after the homicide and following the arrest of a suspect. Former d…
Homicide at House of Bottles (6): The Bismarck Murder of Robbie Rahrich
In the final scheduled episode of Homicide at House of Bottles, we reflect on the profound impact of Robbie Rahrich’s life and death while exploring themes of justice, rehabilitation, and accountability. This episode features conversations …
Homicide at House of Bottles (5): The Bismarck Murder of Robbie Rahrich
In Episode 5 of Homicide at House of Bottles, the case of Shawn Helmenstein moves toward resolution. After confessing to the 1999 murder of Robbie Rahrich, Helmenstein participates in a videotaped walkthrough of the crime scene, calmly reco…
Homicide at House of Bottles (4): The Bismarck Murder of Robbie Rahrich
In Episode 4 of Homicide at House of Bottles, the story intertwines poignant memories with pivotal breakthroughs in the investigation of the 1999 Bismarck murder of Robbie Rahrich. In Clinton, Montana, Detectives Haas and Wooten close in on…