Dakota Spotlight: True Crime & Cold Case Investigations

While waiting on Season 2 to be released, I’m releasing an edited version of a story I did in 2015 about a young boy with a dream, and the town that got behind him in 1976. Also a short word on Season 2.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season 2 of Dakota Spotlight, Zeeland, tells the untold story of the 1976 murder of Wade and Ellen Zick. This trailer introduces the season’s focus on the crime that shocked the small town of Zeeland, North Dakota, and the impact it had on friends, family, and neighbors. Combining investigative journalism, eyewitness accounts, and reflections more than 45 years later, this series is a documentary...

On July 11, 1976, Wade and Ellen Zick were murdered in their Zeeland, North Dakota home, leaving a community shaken. In Zeeland, Season 2 of Dakota Spotlight, investigative journalist James Wolner revisits this true crime story through interviews with family, law enforcement, neighbors, and even the perpetrators themselves. This trailer previews the season’s exploration of an unsolved murder that...

Episode 10, A Bar Named Heaven, concludes Season 1 of Dakota Spotlight. Host James Wolner offers his own theory — along with evidence — about the events that may have contributed to the mysterious 2014 death of Victor Newberry, a Glen Ullin bartender whose story began this podcast. This episode is dedicated to Victor Newberry and his family, with special thanks to everyone in Glen Ullin who shared...

Episode 9, B.L.O.O.D., dives deeper into the unanswered questions surrounding Victor Newberry’s mysterious 2014 death. Why doesn’t the autopsy note blood on Victor’s clothing? Host James Wolner reviews the toxicology report, introduces a “bartender with a van,” and shares the detailed list of questions he submitted to the Morton County Sheriff’s Department — along with their responses. We also hea...

Episode 8, Blue Christmas, highlights contradictions and new questions in the investigation of Victor Newberry’s death. Why don’t early media reports match the police report? For Victor, the holiday season was never tied to joy and celebration, and this year it turned tragic. A DUI police report reveals unusual movements by two of the three “strangers” who were around after the bar closed. Host Ja...

Episode 7, Left For Dead, uncovers troubling gaps in the investigation of Victor Newberry’s mysterious 2014 death. Two days after Victor was found next to his running vehicle, a stranger entered the sheriff’s office claiming he had been with Victor at his car on the night he died. Yet the audio and video recording of that interview is missing from police files. Why was Victor’s wallet lying on the...

Episode 6, Just Not Right, explores puzzling details from the night Victor Newberry vanished in Glen Ullin, North Dakota. Listeners hear from Doug, Brad, Steven, and Donna as they recall Victor’s final hours, raising questions about lanyards, key chains, and mysterious strangers. Meanwhile, Henry’s flimsy alibi adds to the uncertainty. Despite surveillance cameras downtown, Victor still managed to...

Episode 5, Boys and Girls, brings forward new voices and perspectives on the night Victor Newberry died in Glen Ullin, North Dakota. Host James Wolner meets four of Victor’s friends, who provide fresh information that reshapes the story of his final hours. The investigation also takes a turn as James examines the possible criminal pasts of Victor and his friend Henry, adding new complexity to the...

Episode 4, Better Left Alone, highlights the challenges host James Wolner faced while navigating North Dakota’s open records laws in his investigation of Victor Newberry’s death. At the Glen Ullin Times newspaper, we learn more about the small town where Victor lived and died. Local music legends Francis and Harvey Tibor recall that Victor’s death was not the only perplexing crime to trouble weste...

Episode 3, You’re a Dead Man, takes listeners deeper into western North Dakota, the place where Victor Newberry lived and died. Glen Ullin is a small town where, as some say, “everybody knows everybody” and people are “accountable” to one another. While reflecting on those statements, host James Wolner meets two of Victor’s friends who share why he might have felt the need to look over his shoulde...

Episode 2, Forensic Garbage, explores whether Victor Newberry’s autopsy report should be trusted — or tossed aside as meaningless. After Victor, a Glen Ullin bartender, was found dead next to his running vehicle on a freezing December morning in 2014, authorities ruled out foul play. But was the medical examiner’s report reliable? From Virginia to Washington, D.C., to Bismarck and Minot, host Jame...

Episode 1, Everybody Knows, introduces the story that launched Dakota Spotlight. In a rural North Dakota bar, host James Wolner hears an outlandish tale about the perplexing death of Victor Newberry, a well-known Glen Ullin bartender found dead beside his running vehicle on a frigid December morning in 2014. What starts as local chatter soon drives Wolner to separate fact from rumor and to uncover...

Victor Newberry’s death in 2014 shocked the rural town of Glen Ullin, North Dakota. Found next to his running car on a freezing December morning, his case was quickly dismissed as non-criminal by authorities. But townspeople told a different story — one of murder, mafia rumors, and unanswered questions. In this second trailer for Season 1: Victor Newberry, Dakota Spotlight host James Wolner introd...

Season 1 of Dakota Spotlight begins with the puzzling case of Victor Newberry, a Glen Ullin bartender discovered dead next to his running vehicle on December 27, 2014. Despite authorities ruling out foul play, locals whispered of murder, mafia ties, and unanswered questions. In this trailer, host James Wolner introduces the case that launched the podcast and his investigation into one of North Dak...