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 Season 8, Unresolved: The Murder of Joel Lovelien, originally released in 2023.

Explore the full 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? Email: [email protected]

Join the Dakota Spotlight community on Facebook: https://facebook.com/groups/dakotaspotlight

Watch Dakota Spotlight on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@dakotaspotlightpodcast4800

To advertise on Dakota Spotlight, contact [email protected]

Dakota Spotlight is produced by Six Horse Media: [email protected]

All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and sound design, is the property of Six Horse Media. Unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited. For permissions, contact [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

Explore the full 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? Email: [email protected]

Join the Dakota Spotlight community on Facebook: https://facebook.com/groups/dakotaspotlight

Watch Dakota Spotlight on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@dakotaspotlightpodcast4800

To advertise on Dakota Spotlight, contact [email protected]

Dakota Spotlight is produced by Six Horse Media: [email protected]

All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and sound design, is the property of Six Horse Media. Unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited. For permissions, contact [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 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.

Explore the full catalog at 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? Email: [email protected]

Join the Dakota Spotlight community on Facebook: https://facebook.com/groups/dakotaspotlight

Watch Dakota Spotlight on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@dakotaspotlightpodcast4800

To advertise on Dakota Spotlight, contact [email protected]

Dakota Spotlight is produced by Six Horse Media: [email protected]

All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and sound design, is the property of Six Horse Media. Unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited. For permissions, contact [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 episodes early, ad-free, and more. Subscribe to Spotlight PLUS: https://dakotaspotlight.com/spotlight-plus/

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

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: https://facebook.com/groups/dakotaspotlight

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@dakotaspotlightpodcast4800

X/Twitter: https://x.com/DakotaSpotlight

Instagram: https://instagram.com/dakotaspotlight

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@dakotaspotlight

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/dakotaspotlight.bsky.social

Proudly produced by Six Horse Media: [email protected]

Advertise your podcast or brand in Dakota Spotlight episodes: [email protected]

All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and soundscapes, is the property of Six Horse Media. Any unauthorized use, reproduction, or rebroadcast of this material without the express written consent of Six Horse Media is strictly prohibited. For permissions or inquiries, please contact [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 how one detective refused to let the case go quiet.

Listen to Untested wherever you get podcasts. To read the companion piece and the full investigation, in addition to listening to the podcast: https://usatoday.com/rapekit

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.com/spotlight-plus/

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

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: https://facebook.com/groups/dakotaspotlight

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@dakotaspotlightpodcast4800

X/Twitter: https://x.com/DakotaSpotlight

Instagram: https://instagram.com/dakotaspotlight

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@dakotaspotlight

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/dakotaspotlight.bsky.social

Proudly produced by Six Horse Media: [email protected]

Advertise your podcast or brand in Dakota Spotlight episodes: [email protected]

All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and soundscapes, is the property of Six Horse Media. Any unauthorized use, reproduction, or rebroadcast of this material without the express written consent of Six Horse Media is strictly prohibited. For permissions or inquiries, please contact [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 to the memory of Tammy Haas.

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.com/spotlight-plus/

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

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: https://facebook.com/groups/dakotaspotlight

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dakotaspotlightpodcast4800

X/Twitter: https://x.com/DakotaSpotlight

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dakotaspotlight

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dakotaspotlight

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/dakotaspotlight.bsky.social

Proudly produced by Six Horse Media: [email protected]

Advertise your podcast or brand in Dakota Spotlight episodes: [email protected]

All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and soundscapes, is the property of Six Horse Media. Any unauthorized use, reproduction, or rebroadcast of this material without the express written consent of Six Horse Media is strictly prohibited. For permissions or inquiries, please contact [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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, and how does the truth finally come to light?

Listen to the complete story of The Rachel Cancer Scam: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rachel-cancer-scam/id1772955263

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.com/spotlight-plus/

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

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: https://facebook.com/groups/dakotaspotlight

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dakotaspotlightpodcast4800

X/Twitter: https://x.com/DakotaSpotlight

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dakotaspotlight

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dakotaspotlight

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/dakotaspotlight.bsky.social

Proudly produced by Six Horse Media: [email protected]

Advertise your podcast or brand in Dakota Spotlight episodes: [email protected]

All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and soundscapes, is the property of Six Horse Media. Any unauthorized use, reproduction, or rebroadcast of this material without the express written consent of Six Horse Media is strictly prohibited. For permissions or inquiries, please contact [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.

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.com/spotlight-plus/

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

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: https://facebook.com/groups/dakotaspotlight

X/Twitter: @dakotaspotlight

Instagram: @dakotaspotlight

TikTok: @dakotaspotlight

Bluesky: @dakotaspotlight.bsky.social

YouTube: @dakotaspotlightpodcast4800

Proudly produced by Six Horse Media: [email protected]

Advertise your podcast or brand in Dakota Spotlight episodes: [email protected]

All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and soundscapes, is the property of Six Horse Media. Any unauthorized use, reproduction, or rebroadcast of this material without the express written consent of Six Horse Media is strictly prohibited. For permissions or inquiries, please contact [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.

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.com/spotlight-plus/

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

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: https://facebook.com/groups/dakotaspotlight

X/Twitter: @dakotaspotlight

Instagram: @dakotaspotlight

TikTok: @dakotaspotlight

Bluesky: @dakotaspotlight.bsky.social

YouTube: @dakotaspotlightpodcast4800

Proudly produced by Six Horse Media: [email protected]

Advertise your podcast or brand in Dakota Spotlight episodes: [email protected]

All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and soundscapes, is the property of Six Horse Media. Any unauthorized use, reproduction, or rebroadcast of this material without the express written consent of Six Horse Media is strictly prohibited. For permissions or inquiries, please contact [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 catalog and everything Dakota Spotlight: https://dakotaspotlight.com/

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

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

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: https://facebook.com/groups/dakotaspotlight

X/Twitter: @dakotaspotlight

Instagram: @dakotaspotlight

TikTok: @dakotaspotlight

Bluesky: @dakotaspotlight.bsky.social

YouTube: @dakotaspotlightpodcast4800

Proudly produced by Six Horse Media: [email protected]

Advertise your podcast or brand in Dakota Spotlight episodes: [email protected]

All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and soundscapes, is the property of Six Horse Media. Any unauthorized use, reproduction, or rebroadcast of this material without the express written consent of Six Horse Media is strictly prohibited. For permissions or inquiries, please contact [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.com/spotlight-plus/

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

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: https://facebook.com/groups/dakotaspotlight

X/Twitter: @dakotaspotlight

Instagram: @dakotaspotlight

TikTok: @dakotaspotlight

Bluesky: @dakotaspotlight.bsky.social

YouTube: @dakotaspotlightpodcast4800

Proudly produced by Six Horse Media: [email protected]

Advertise your podcast or brand in Dakota Spotlight episodes: [email protected]

All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and soundscapes, is the property of Six Horse Media. Any unauthorized use, reproduction, or rebroadcast of this material without the express written consent of Six Horse Media is strictly prohibited. For permissions or inquiries, please contact [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices