Dakota Spotlight: True Crime & Cold Case Investigations

James introduces his new podcast, Meanwhile with James Wolner, and shares the first episode. Explore the show and find out where to listen at meanwhilepodcast.com

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Have information about a case or want to get in touch? Email: [email protected]

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James looks back at a busy year for Dakota Spotlight and talks about what’s ahead, including plans for the podcast and YouTube, Indigenous cases, and four North Dakota cases listeners most often ask him to cover.

Explore the full Dakota Spotlight catalog: https://DakotaSpotlight.com

Listen early and ad-free with Spotlight PLUS: https://dakotaspotlight.com/spotlight-plus

Support the show on Patreon: https://patreon.com/cw/DakotaSpotlight

Sign up for the Dakota Spotlight newsletter: https://dakotaspotlight.com/newsletter

Have information about a case or want to get in touch? Em...

Season 10 update: Nearly six decades after the murder of Christine Rothschild, an FBI agent and a Wisconsin Department of Justice investigator traveled to Linda Schulko to interview her over two days. Linda joins James and Dakota Spotlight research assistant Mari Zoerb Hansen to describe what investigators wanted to know—and why the long-awaited meeting didn’t go quite as she had hoped.

Murder on the 56th Day: Linda Schulko. Get the Kindle version of Linda’s great book. Linda donates all proceeds to charity. Get Linda’s book on Amazon⁠ https://amzn.to/4cX0DEe⁠

Explore the fu...

James shares new information about red scoria, or clinker, found on Shelly’s car and speaks with a North Dakota geologist about what that material could mean for the investigation.

This season of Dakota Spotlight tells the full story behind Call Me Shelly, the Upper Midwest Emmy Award-winning documentary film inspired by this investigation. Watch the official trailer and learn more about the film at https://callmeshellyfilm.com

Call Me Shelly is written and produced by James Wolner.

Archival audio courtesy of the State Historical Society of North Dakota.

Music by Wo...

James examines allegations involving Bismarck Police Lieutenant Don Schaffer, discusses questions and comments from listeners, and lays out what he believes could still be done in Shelly’s case.

This season of Dakota Spotlight tells the full story behind Call Me Shelly, the Upper Midwest Emmy Award-winning documentary film inspired by this investigation. Watch the official trailer and learn more about the film at https://callmeshellyfilm.com

Call Me Shelly is written and produced by James Wolner.

Archival audio courtesy of the State Historical Society of North Dakota.

Music by Wowza in...

James speaks with Jaden Woodworth about his memories of his mom, growing up without her, his father and grandparents, and a later police interview with Kevin Woodworth that centered on when Shelly was reported missing.

This season of Dakota Spotlight tells the full story behind Call Me Shelly, the Upper Midwest Emmy Award-winning documentary film inspired by this investigation. Watch the official trailer and learn more about the film at https://callmeshellyfilm.com

Call Me Shelly is written and produced by James Wolner.

Archival audio courtesy of the State Historical Society of North...

James interviews Tony Hulm, former bartender at the Burnt Creek Club, and revisits questions about Shelly’s final days, the Comfort Inn, the railroad workers, and other leads still left to examine.

This season of Dakota Spotlight tells the full story behind Call Me Shelly, the Upper Midwest Emmy Award-winning documentary film inspired by this investigation. Watch the official trailer and learn more about the film at https://callmeshellyfilm.com

Call Me Shelly is written and produced by James Wolner.

Archival audio courtesy of the State Historical Society of North Dakota.

Mu...

James sits down with Shelly's parents, Wes and Linda Julson, and retired Bismarck Police Officer Rob Carvell, who responded to the original missing persons call in 1994 and later volunteered to re-examine the case in 2016.

This season of Dakota Spotlight tells the full story behind Call Me Shelly, the Upper Midwest Emmy Award-winning documentary film inspired by this investigation. Watch the official trailer and learn more about the film at https://callmeshellyfilm.com

Call Me Shelly is written and produced by James Wolner.

Archival audio courtesy of the State Historical Society of North Dakota.<...

James speaks with one of Shelly’s friends, retired investigator Bill Connor, and one of the railroad workers mentioned in the cold case file. He also goes looking for Jennie, the former Burnt Creek Club barmaid Shelly suspected may have been harassing her.

This season of Dakota Spotlight tells the full story behind Call Me Shelly, the Upper Midwest Emmy Award-winning documentary film inspired by this investigation. Watch the official trailer and learn more about the film at https://callmeshellyfilm.com

Call Me Shelly is written and produced by James Wolner.

Archival audio co...

James follows the early investigation into Shelly’s final known days, including Tony Hulm’s statements, the babysitter’s account, the two railroad workers, Rick Snell, and the missing records in Shelly’s case file.

This season of Dakota Spotlight tells the full story behind Call Me Shelly, the Upper Midwest Emmy Award-winning documentary film inspired by this investigation. Watch the official trailer and learn more about the film at https://callmeshellyfilm.com

Call Me Shelly is written and produced by James Wolner.

Archival audio courtesy of the State Historical Society of North Dakota.<...

As investigators continue looking for Shelly, they interview friends and co-workers, follow reports of harassment, search for her Ford Thunderbird, and begin tracing the people who may have seen her before she disappeared.

This season of Dakota Spotlight tells the full story behind Call Me Shelly, the Upper Midwest Emmy Award-winning documentary film inspired by this investigation. Watch the official trailer and learn more about the film at https://callmeshellyfilm.com

Call Me Shelly is written and produced by James Wolner.

Archival audio courtesy of the State Historical Society of North Dakota.

In August 1994, 26-year-old Michele "Shelly" Julson drops off her three-year-old son with his grandfather, planning to return a few hours later. She never does. As family, friends, and police begin searching, troubling details emerge about the days leading up to her disappearance, including reports that Shelly believed she was being harassed.

This season of Dakota Spotlight tells the full story behind Call Me Shelly, the Upper Midwest Emmy Award-winning documentary film inspired by this investigation. Watch the official trailer and learn more about the film at https://callmeshellyfilm.com

Call Me Shelly is written and...

Leah Sottile joins Dakota Spotlight for a conversation about investigative journalism, the ethics of true crime storytelling, and the challenges of reporting on unresolved cases in overlooked rural communities. Leah discusses the making of Hush Season 2, the line between mystery and journalism, and the emotional weight of reporting on the 2019 death of Sarah Zuber in rural Oregon.

Following the interview, hear the first episode of Hush Season 2. In March 2019, 18-year-old Sarah Zuber was found dead just 400 feet from her family’s home in the wooded hills above Rainier, Oregon. Six years later, her family still has no cl...

After the release of The Bagpiper and His Brother, listeners who knew Harold Pieper began reaching out. In this update episode, Harold's stepdaughters and granddaughter share memories that reveal a devoted husband, caretaker, and grandfather. Their stories offer a fuller picture of the man whose life was forever changed by the 1971 bombing.

Binge the full season of The Bagpiper and His Brother ad-free with Spotlight PLUS. Sign up on the Dakota Spotlight show page in Apple Podcasts or Spotify, on Patreon, or at https://DakotaSpotlight.com/spotlight-plus

Explore the full catalog: https://DakotaSpotlight.com

Journalist and podcast creator Josh Dean joins Dakota Spotlight to discuss scams, deception, and the craft of narrative podcasting. Josh talks about the rise of fraud stories, producing investigative audio on a weekly schedule, and his upcoming book on the legendary Lockheed Skunk Works.

Following the interview, hear an episode of Chameleon Weekly titled “The de Kooning Job: Teachers Turned Thieves,” the strange true story of a retired couple linked to the theft of a priceless Willem de Kooning painting that vanished from an Arizona museum in 1985, only to resurface decades later hanging behind a bedroom door in r...

In September 1972, in Edina, Lloyd Brenna appears to have put the bombing behind him, until federal agents return with a new case. This time, it’s tax fraud, built around a fabricated identity and a scheme that begins to unravel in court. Faced with the evidence, Lloyd doesn’t back down. Instead, he offers explanations so strange, so confident, that they seem to defy common sense. As Lloyd faces sentencing, Wallace Brenna serves time for his role in the bombing, and Harold Pieper, still recovering from his injuries, turns to the civil courts in search of accountability. 

A spe...

On a quiet night in 1971, in Huron, South Dakota Harold Pieper is asked to pick up a small case at the airport. Minutes later, it explodes. The investigation turns to Genevieve Johnson and her connection to Wallace Brenna, setting off a chain of events driven by jealousy and obsession. With Lloyd Brenna pulled in, the brothers become the focus of a bombing case that leads to a nationwide search, an arrest, and a trial that seems all but certain. But when the verdict comes down, it leaves more questions than answers, and the consequences are far from over.

In 1960, in St. Paul, something didn't look right with an office phone, and it leads back to Lloyd Brenna. By now, he has built a life that looks stable on the surface, a job, a home, a reputation, but there are cracks. A wiretap. A past he’s left behind. Behavior that doesn’t quite line up with the man people think they know. As Wallace Brenna settles into his own version of adulthood, Harold Pieper moves forward on a steady path. Then, in 1970, an IRS agent investigating Lloyd is shot.

The Bagpiper and His Brother is writ...

In 1930s Chicago, Lloyd Brenna is arrested for burglary and sent to prison, where parole hearings reveal a young man who is both highly intelligent and deeply unpredictable. Given a rare second chance with a job and housing, he quickly violates parole, returns to theft, and lands back behind bars. As Lloyd moves between incarceration and opportunity, his brother Wallace Brenna is arrested and imprisoned for crimes of his own, while a boy named Harold Pieper grows up, unaware their paths will one day cross.

The Bagpiper and His Brother is written and produced by James Wolner...

Lloyd and Wallace Brenna are two Midwestern brothers whose outwardly ordinary lives conceal a long pattern of troubling behavior. From rural North Dakota beginnings to a 1971 bombing in South Dakota, the story moves through wiretapping, theft, and an attempted assassination. Built from years of research and original reporting, the series follows the Brennas while, in parallel, the life of the victim unfolds, carrying a quiet, growing sense of dread toward an unsettling end. A serious story, with moments of dark humor along the way.

A special thanks to Mike Wald and Derrik Dyka for their contributions to...

The Bagpiper and His Brother traces two Midwestern brothers whose outwardly ordinary lives conceal a long pattern of troubling behavior. From rural North Dakota beginnings to a 1971 bombing in South Dakota, the story moves through wiretapping, theft, and an attempted assassination. Built from years of research and original reporting, the series follows the Brenna brothers while, in parallel, the life of the victim unfolds, carrying a quiet, growing sense of dread toward an unsettling end. It’s a serious story, with moments of dark humor along the way.

Binge the full season of The Bagpiper and His Br...

James is joined by Dakota Spotlight researcher Mari Zoerb Hansen for a conversation with investigative reporters Hayley Fox and Betsy Shepherd about the making of Valley of Shadows, their deep dive into the disappearance of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Jon Aujay. It’s a discussion about reporting, persistence, and what happens when a case refuses to stay buried. Following the interview, you’ll hear Episode 1 of the series.

Listen to Valley of Shadows: https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/valley-of-shadows

About Valley of Shadows: How the search for a missing deputy uncovered the Mojave Desert...

James sits down with award-winning filmmaker and host of Someone Knows Something, David Ridgen. We talk about his approach to storytelling, how he works with families, and what it really means to stay with a case over time. We also get into his latest investigation, the disappearance of Jaclyn Ferland-Smith, and how a simple trip to Costa Rica turned into something much more. Following our conversation, you’ll hear Episode 1 of the Jaclyn Ferland-Smith investigation from Someone Knows Something.

Jaclyn Ferland-Smith moved to Playa del Coco with her husband Sebastien to find and build a new life. Bu...

Years pass, and the case remains. In this final episode, we hear from people still connected to that night, to the investigation, and to what followed. They reflect on what has changed, what has not, and the question that still lingers at the center of it all, who killed Joel Lovelien.

Music by HandTurner and Wowza in Kalamazoo.

If you have information about Joel Lovelien’s murder, you can submit a tip through the tip411 app, or contact the Grand Forks Police Department at 701-787-8000.

This episode is part of a rebroadcast of...

Inside the courtroom, the story is told again, through testimony, through argument, through the structure of a trial. And when it is all over, the jury returns a verdict, not guilty. A moment that resolves one question, and leaves others behind.

Music by HandTurner and Wowza in Kalamazoo.

If you have information about Joel Lovelien’s murder, you can submit a tip through the tip411 app, or contact the Grand Forks Police Department at 701-787-8000.

This episode is part of a rebroadcast of Season 8, Unresolved: The Murder of Joel Lovelien, originally released in...

Here, we look at the case as it was built. What investigators believed, what prosecutors brought forward, the evidence piece by piece. And the questions that come with it, not just what it shows, but what it cannot fully explain.

Music by HandTurner and Wowza in Kalamazoo.

If you have information about Joel Lovelien’s murder, you can submit a tip through the tip411 app, or contact the Grand Forks Police Department at 701-787-8000.

This episode is part of a rebroadcast of Season 8, Unresolved: The Murder of Joel Lovelien, originally released in 2023.

Before all of this, there was Joel. In this episode, we step away from the investigation and spend time with the people who knew him. The stories are simple, but they stay with you, offering a picture of who he was and a quiet reminder of what was lost.

Music by HandTurner and Wowza in Kalamazoo.

If you have information about Joel Lovelien’s murder, you can submit a tip through the tip411 app, or contact the Grand Forks Police Department at 701-787-8000.

This episode is part of a rebroadcast of Season 8, Un...

Now the focus turns to Travis Stay, who was there that night, moving through the same space and crossing paths with the same people. As investigators begin to build a timeline, his name comes into sharper view. It leads from those early questions toward something more defined, and eventually, toward arrest.

Music by HandTurner and Wowza in Kalamazoo.

If you have information about Joel Lovelien’s murder, you can submit a tip through the tip411 app, or contact the Grand Forks Police Department at 701-787-8000.

This episode is part of a rebroadcast of...

In the hours after Joel is found, the story begins to shift and scatter. Witnesses recall different things, a clown, a cowboy, a hunter, a lion, people arriving and leaving, a party bus pulling in and out. Detectives are left to sort through fragments of a night that feels crowded, blurred, and just out of reach.

Music by HandTurner and Wowza in Kalamazoo.

If you have information about Joel Lovelien’s murder, you can submit a tip through the tip411 app, or contact the Grand Forks Police Department at 701-787-8000.

This episode is...

We begin with a 2026 interview with Sergeant Suby of the Grand Forks Police Department, sharing where the Joel Lovelien case stands today. Then we return to the original 2023 episode, and back to October 27, 2007, a crowded Halloween night at the Broken Drum Bar. Costumes, noise, people coming and going. Outside, in the parking lot, something happens. Joel is found unconscious and badly injured, and by the end of the night, he is gone.

Music by HandTurner and Wowza in Kalamazoo.

If you have information about Joel Lovelien’s murder, you can submit a tip through the ti...

Journalist Melissa Jeltsen joins me to discuss the investigation behind her podcast What Happened to Talina Zar.  In April 2020, a woman posted a troubling message on Facebook about COVID-19 and then vanished. What followed was an unusual search involving online sleuths, hidden identities, and a mystery that captured national attention.

Listen to What Happened to Talina Zar wherever you get podcasts and https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-what-happened-to-talina-z-310583841/

Learn more about Melissa Jeltsen’s work: https://melissajeltsen.com/

Check out the full catalog and everything Dakota Spotlight: https://dakotaspotlight.com/

Get all...

James sits down with investigative journalist Gina Barton, host and creator of the USA Today true crime podcast Untested, to talk about a case that illustrates the real-world consequences of untested rape kits. In this episode of Untested, Detective Annie Harrison learns that a man she is investigating for rape in Michigan has also been accused hundreds of miles away. The evidence existed. The reports were filed. But delays and gaps in the system allowed years to pass before patterns came into focus. This conversation looks at how evidence can sit on shelves, how survivors are left waiting, and...

In September 1992, Tammy Haas was 19 and figuring out her next step in life. After attending a homecoming celebration in Yankton, South Dakota, she and her on-again-off-again boyfriend crossed the Missouri River to a farm party in Nebraska. By morning, Tammy was missing. Five days later, her body was discovered in a ravine near a golf course just across the state line. A broken neck. Conflicting statements. A trial that ended without conviction. More than thirty years later, silence still lingers in Yankton, and investigators believe there are people who know what happened that night. This Case Snapshot is dedicated...

James sits down with Harry, the host and victim behind The Rachel Cancer Scam, before sharing Episode One of his story. What Harry once believed was a twenty-year love story slowly revealed itself to be a long-term romance scam built on lies, emotional manipulation, and carefully constructed identities. Careers were invented. A pregnancy was faked. Crises were manufactured to keep multiple men emotionally tethered at the same time. This is a true story about a love scam that was never about money, but about control, devotion, and the power of belief. How does a relationship scam last for decades...

This episode examines how Raymond Matzker assumed the identity of William T. Boerum and used it to secure jobs, credentials, and professional standing across multiple states. As the deception went unchecked, the stolen identity became a shield behind which far more serious crimes were committed. Through firsthand recollections and reporting, the story traces how the fraud unfolded, why it was never properly challenged, and how institutional failures allowed devastating consequences to follow.

Tour the Northern California Wine County with Bill Boerum: https://californiawineservices.com/

Produced by James Wolner. Research assistance by Mari Zoerb Hansen.

This episode presents the complete police interview of Edward Royal Reitan, recorded following his arrest for the 1990 murder of Robin Enockson in Driscoll, North Dakota. The interrogation is presented in full, allowing listeners to hear Reitan’s own words as investigators question him about the crime, his actions, and his shifting explanations.

Related episode: Ten Years from Killing - The Murder of Robin Enockson: https://dakotaspotlight.com/dakota-spotlight-standalone-stories/

Music heard in this episode by Ike Turner: https://michiganindienetwork.bandcamp.com/track/a-ghost-bike

Produced by James Wolner. Research assistance by Mari Zoerb Hansen.

...

I’m joined by returning guest Peter Hicks, whose music with Sleepy Driver was heard in Season Two of Dakota Spotlight—but this time to talk about his debut novel Roughing It, written under the pen name Andi Ellis. We discuss his shift from songwriting to fiction, the inspiration behind the book, and he reads an excerpt from the story.

"Roughing It", available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Roughing-Andi-Ellis-ebook/dp/B0FT4J9PW2

"Unicorn Blues", available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Unicorn-Blues-Andi-Ellis-ebook/dp/B0G6Q43RXY

Check out the full...

This Case Snapshot examines the 1990 murder of Robin Enockson in rural North Dakota. Beginning with an escape from a state hospital a decade earlier, the episode lays out the crime, the investigation, and how the case was ultimately resolved years later after a confession.

Archival news audio courtesy of the State Historical Society of North Dakota.

Produced by James Wolner. Research assistance by Mari Zoerb Hansen.

Check out the full catalog and everything Dakota Spotlight: https://dakotaspotlight.com/

Get all episodes early, ad-free, and more. Subscribe to Spotlight PLUS: https://dakotaspotlight...

Forty years after 22-year-old Kelly Jean Robinson was found floating in a gravel pit pond in rural Minnesota, her case had gone cold — until DNA tests taken by an adopted man revealed that Kelly was his biological mother, and she had been murdered.

In this episode, Dakota Spotlight is excited to share this story from our longtime friend Trisha Taurinskas. Her investigative reporting is meticulous, insightful, and deeply respectful of the families she covers.

Working with Kelly’s family, Trisha uncovered never-before-released information: new suspects, details from her autopsy, and new critical facts from an auto...

James shares a Christmas message with Dakota Spotlight listeners. A moment to pause, say thank you, and reflect before the year comes to a close, with appreciation for everyone who listens, supports the show, and makes this work possible.

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