Season 5, Episode 17: Talks with Lisa Jo Schiele, Diane (Cotton) Schiele and Kathy (Cotton) Nulph all of the #findbarbcotton movement.  New information on why Barb's older (now deceased) brother Frank is considered a person of interest.  A billboard for Barb is now up in Williston and the new website. Sponsor: Join millions of other taking control of their mental health and get 10% your first month at https://betterhelp.com/dakota inforum.com/the-vault/ Email James at jwolner@forumcomm.com      

Dakota Spotlight Podcast

The FindBarbCotton Movement - A Better Search for Barbara

David Feist, one of three men convicted for the murders of Wade and Ellen Zick in 1976 is scheduled to be released after serving 45 years in federal prison.   David Feist is the third and last of the three to be released from prison.  His younger brother, Sebastian Feist was released last year in Texas and the third man, Gregory Huber was released over ten years ago and lives in North Dakota.  Full story at The Vault:  https://www.inforum.com/the-vault/7093169-Killed-in-their-pajamas-Listen-to-the-story-of-Wade-and-Ellen-Zick-murdered-45-years-ago-this-weekend   Contact me jwolner@forumcomm.com  

NEWS! Season 2 - David Feist to be released from federal prison

Deon Wiggett woke up one day in 2017 with a startling realization.  He had blocked out a traumatic experience from his past; he had been sexually abused as a teen by a schoolteacher.  Anger turned to action and the result is a beautifully produced podcast about justice, activism and revenge, told in the most artful way.  Dakota Spotlight spoke with him in August of 2021 to talk about his podcast My Only Story Looking for a licensed therapist? Check out https://betterhelp.com/dakota Podcast home  Dakota Spotlight        

Poetic Justice - chasing a serial pedophile with a microphone - interview with Deon Wiggett, My Only Story

In South Africa a school teacher was assassinated in front of her class by hit-men.  Who would take out a contract on a school teacher. That's what Paul McNally wanted to find out when he Season 2 of his gripping podcast Alibi.   Dakota Spotlight spoke with Paul from his home in South Africa.   Listen to Alibi Season 2, Laduma High Dakota Spotlight True crime in The Vault

Commercialized killings: Interview with Paul McNally of the podcast Alibi

Interview with crime reporter Dan Box about his podcast Bowraville.  Three aboriginal children were murdered in a small Australian town.  All three vanished from the same street.   With his podcast Bowraville, Dan Box teamed up with The Australian went looking for answers.  Bowraville Podcast Dakota Spotlight True crime in The Vault

Bowraville murders - interview with Dan Box

Interview with Eric Carter-Landin of True Consequences podcast. Eric's brother Jacob was murdered over 30 years ago and justice has not been served.  I talk with Eric about the ethics of creating true crime content in this very popular yet problematic genre. True Consequences  Dakota Spotlight True crime in The Vault

Ethics in True Crime podcasts: Interview with Eric Carter-Landin of True Consequences

When Kirra McLoughlin died her boyfriend said she must have overdosed on prescription drugs.  That didn't explain the over one hundred bruises on her body however.  And yet, nobody has been charged with Kirra's death.   That didn't sit well with Jamie Pultz.  He had met Kirra once at his former job, back when he was a police officer in Queensland Australia.   When he heard that Kirra had died and nobody had been held accountable, he decided to do something about it.   This is the third installment of our summer series about mysterious crimes and disappearances from around the globe and the people who fight to get justice for victims and their families.   Jamie Pultz's media company Six 10 Media Beenham Valley Road podcast on Spotify Dakota Spotlight at FCC Dakota Spotlight Merch Support Dakota Spotlight: Become a member of FCC    

105 Bruises - interview with Jamie Pultz - Beenham Valley Road

When an innocent teenager is murdered, family members are left devastated and heartbroken. The closest these loved-ones can get to some kind of closure is when the person or persons responsible are apprehended and convicted of the crime. Sometimes that just never happens, even when we know who did it. In 1992, 13-year-old Brandy Myers left her home in Phoenix, Arizona to walk door-to-door and collect money for a book-a-thon. She never returned home. Police know who did it, but they won't be prosecuting him. This is the second installment of our summer series about mysterious crimes and disappearances from around the globe and the people who fight to get justice for victims and their families.   In this episode Dakota Spotlight speaks with Erin Reed, victims advocate and producer/host of Sipping on Some Crime podcast.  Justice for Brandy Myers Facebook page Sipping on Some crime Podcast Looking for a licensed therapist? Check out https://betterhelp.com/dakota Podcast home  Dakota Spotlight        

No conviction: The Brandy Myers story

This is the first installment of our summer series about mysterious crimes and disappearances from around the globe and the people who fight to get justice for victims and their families.  Marion Barter, aged 51, boarded a plane in Australia in 1997 to embark on a trip of a lifetime and has never been seen again.  When her family went to the police they were told that Marion had been located and was safe and sound.  But it wasn't that simple.   22 years later Marion's daughter Sally Leydon teamed up with Seven News in Australia and produced a podcast The Lady Vanishes.  After two long years of hard work, the team may finally be close to answers about what happened to Marion Barter.  Dakota Spotlight speaks with producer and host Alison Sandy to learn more about this surreal and very puzzling case om Australia.  Get Dakota Spotlight Merch: T-shirts, Sweatshirts and more.  Get the Newsletter: The Dakota Spotlight checkbox is half-way down the list The Vault:  Mysteries and True crime at Forum Communications Dakota Spotlight home:  Inforum.com/dakota-spotlight Email me at dakotaspotlight@gmail.com   

Everybody counts or nobody counts: Looking for Marion Barter

Hey there, This is James, host and producer of Dakota Spotlight podcast.  This is just a quick update on what's going on with the podcast this summer. I have some important dates to tell you about and some other news. In this part of the world (north of the equator) it is SUMMERTIME. With summer comes sunshine, the outdoors and some leisure.  North Dakota is a rough climate in the winter, so I am making attempts to spend a little more time outdoors in the sunlight.  I live fairly close to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in the so called Badlands, so I’ll be doing some hiking there soon, hopefully.  I’ll likely run into prairie dogs and buffalo, or Bison, and who knows maybe a rattlesnake. I’m also looking forward to the Icelandic Festival in Mountain North Dakota, which takes place every year on the first weekend in August.  No matter where you live on the planet, no matter what your plans are, I hope you are well.  If you listened to Season 2, ZEELAND: the untold story of Wade and Ellen Zick, their lives and tragic murders, you know all about the events that took place in south-central North Dakota in July of 1976. Wade Zick, bank manager in the sleepy town of Zeeland, and his wife Ellen were kidnapped and tragically murdered in a bank heist perpetrated by three local men.   Well, I want to let you know that on July 10, a gathering will take place in Zeeland, ND, to pay tribute to the Zicks and to their family. I will be attending and welcome you to join us. Visitors are asked to gather at the Zeeland Community Center at 10 a.m., which is just right downtown.  You can’t miss it on main street.  At 10:30, an organized procession will go to where the Zicks lost their lives, one mile north-east of town., A new memorial monument will be inaugurated at the site, with a burger feed following at the community center. I’m looking forward to attending and meeting some of you there. That’s July 10th, in Zeeland, starting at 10 am.  Don’t miss the Facebook-live concert for Dakota Spotlight fans at 7:30 p.m. CDT on June 29th . Peter Hicks, of the band Sleepy Driver, who provided and performed the music for Season 2, ZEELAND will be streaming live on the Dakota Spotlight Facebook group playing favorites like, this song,  ‘North Dakota.’ That's live on Facebook this coming Tuesday, June 29th, for members of dakota spotlight group.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/dakotaspotlight  And by the way please support peter hicks and the band Sleepy Driver. These guys supplied this wonderful music to me and the podcast free of charge, if you can believe that generosity. I’d really appreciate it if you could check them out at bandcamp.com on send them some support.  Head over to sleepydriver dot bandcamp dot com to listen to more of their music and maybe purchase something.  Thanks much Peter Hicks and Sleepy driver, we’ll literally see and hear Peter on Tuesday at 7:30 pm Central.  In Season 5, A Better Search for Barbara Cotton, our search for answers continues. Barbara Cotton, aged 15, vanished without a trace on April 11, 1981 and you have not already you can listen to the intriguing twists and turns of this open investigation anywhere you get your podcasts.  Regarding Barbara’s story and future episodes, I currently am navigating legal channels and jumping through ‘open records’ hoops in Montana and while this process is time consuming, I am making progress. I intend to travel to Montana later this summer to retrace the footsteps of, Stacey Werder, a person of interest.  Werder was seen with Barbara Cotton on the night she disappeared and later took his own life while in custody in Malta, Montana. Another update about Barbara Cotton is this,  just yesterday I sent another tip to Williston PD.  Its a long shot but certainly intriguing and exciting.  So in a nutshell, although it has been a couple weeks since I put out an episode about Barbara, we are not done there.    One final thing I want to tell you about is a short summer podcast Series that I will start on July 7th.  Every Wednesday for at least 6 weeks, I’ll be sharing an interview with a different true-crime podcast host or producer from around the world.  We will travel virtually from Arizona to Australia and meet other skilled storytellers, passionate victim advocates and other dedicated podcast hosts.  That’s every Wednesday starting July 7.  And hey, If you have not gotten your Dakota Spotlight t-shirt or Sweatshirt you can head over to  shop.forumcomm.com and check out all the cool stuff there. You can reach me at dakotspotlight@gmail.com Thank you so much for listening to Dakota Spotlight!   

Summer Update 2021

Season 5, Episode 16 Open records.  What are they and how to get them!   New Facebook Group for Barbara Cotton: https://www.facebook.com/FindBarbCotton Sign petition:  https://www.change.org/p/williston-chief-of-police-david-peterson-hire-an-investigator-dedicated-to-barbara-cotton-case Music: Wowza in Kalamazoo https://wowzainkalamazoo.bandcamp.com/ Dakota Spotlight Merch https://www.shop.forumcomm.com/dakota-spotlight Abbey Investigations https://www.facebook.com/abbeyinvestigations Inforum https://inforum.com/dakota-spotlight Podcast Newsletter https://www.inforum.com/newsletter

Open Records - A Better Search for Barbara Cotton

Season 5, Episode 15 Kidnappings, Cults , Korea.  Where is Barb Cotton? The Mailman who Disappeared/brevbäraren som försvann Podcast The Vault: Murder in Room 30 Podcast:  Crawlspace with Tim and Lance Sign petition:  https://www.change.org/p/williston-chief-of-police-david-peterson-hire-an-investigator-dedicated-to-barbara-cotton-case Music: Wowza in Kalamazoo https://wowzainkalamazoo.bandcamp.com/ Dakota Spotlight Merch https://www.shop.forumcomm.com/dakota-spotlight Abbey Investigations https://www.facebook.com/abbeyinvestigations Inforum https://inforum.com/dakota-spotlight Podcast Newsletter https://www.inforum.com/newsletter

Kidnappings and Cults, Falcons and Dogs - A Better Search for Barbara

Season 5, Episode 14 We talk Barbara Cotton and missing persons with two great songwriters then explore the North Dakota State Archives for information about 1981 Williston. Lili Trifilio of Beach Bunny talks about her recent appearance on Jimmy Fallon, missing persons and women running home in the night.    Isaac (Ike) Turner of Kalamazoo, MI grew up in North Dakota.  His music is sprinkled throughout Season 5.  I sat down with Ike to talk music and Barbara Cotton. We visit the State Historical Society's State Archives and why Dakota Spotlight Podcast will be the first podcast to be preserved there. “April” and “Blame Game” Performed by Beach Bunny Courtesy of Mom + Pop Music and Sony Music Publishing By Arrangment with Hidden Track Music Barbara Louise Cotton has been missing since 1981. Her case is unsolved and open--one of North Dakota's oldest and most mysterious Cold Cases.   Sign petition:  https://www.change.org/p/williston-chief-of-police-david-peterson-hire-an-investigator-dedicated-to-barbara-cotton-case Music: Wowza in Kalamazoo https://wowzainkalamazoo.bandcamp.com/ Dakota Spotlight Merch https://www.shop.forumcomm.com/dakota-spotlight Abbey Investigations https://www.facebook.com/abbeyinvestigations Inforum https://inforum.com/dakota-spotlight Podcast Newsletter https://www.inforum.com/newsletter

Beach Bunny’s Lili Trifilio, Isaac Turner and thousands of documents: EPISODE 14 - A Better Search for Barbara

Season 5, Episode 13 Is there a human skull just sitting on some guy's shelf in Williston?  Host James Wolner goes looking.  Also in this episode we track down an old friend of Frank J. Delapena.  We are also looking for a man nick-named 'Red' who somehow knew Stacey Werder.  Can you help? Barbara Louise Cotton has been missing since 1981. Her case is unsolved and open--one of North Dakota's oldest and most mysterious Cold Cases.   Sign petition:  https://www.change.org/p/williston-chief-of-police-david-peterson-hire-an-investigator-dedicated-to-barbara-cotton-case Music: Wowza in Kalamazoo https://wowzainkalamazoo.bandcamp.com/ Missing Kids https://missingkids.org Dakota Spotlight Merch https://www.shop.forumcomm.com/dakota-spotlight Abbey Investigations https://www.facebook.com/abbeyinvestigations Inforum https://inforum.com/dakota-spotlight Podcast Newsletter https://www.inforum.com/newsletter

Juarez to Williston - A Better Search for Barbara Cotton

Season 5, Episode 12 A celebration of life, a party, the Plainsman, Cakes and Cones and a new lead.  Interviews with three people who believe they saw Barbara on the night she disappeared and someone from out state struggles to help the investigation. Barbara Louise Cotton has been missing since 1981. Her case is unsolved and open--one of North Dakota's oldest and most mysterious Cold Cases.   Sign petition:  https://www.change.org/p/williston-chief-of-police-david-peterson-hire-an-investigator-dedicated-to-barbara-cotton-case Music: Wowza in Kalamazoo https://wowzainkalamazoo.bandcamp.com/ Missing Kids https://missingkids.org Dakota Spotlight Merch https://www.shop.forumcomm.com/dakota-spotlight Abbey Investigations https://www.facebook.com/abbeyinvestigations Inforum https://inforum.com/dakota-spotlight Podcast Newsletter https://www.inforum.com/newsletter

Love doesn’t die - A Better Search for Barbara Cotton

Dakota Spotlight Season one is an exploration into the death of Victory Newberry, found dead next to his vehicle on December 27th, 2014 outside of the town of Glen Ullin, North Dakota.

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