Last week, I never got around to writing a column because our house got hit with a major cold. So, let me catch you up!
A couple of weekends ago, Chase and I went down to Sioux Falls for a live event of our favorite podcast, Midwest Murder. I was so excited. If you like true crime podcasts, this is the one for you. Jonah and Dawn cover cold cases from all around the Midwest, one of them researches the case, and the other has no idea what it’s about. There is some dark humor, but they still are very respectful to the case and families it affects. There banter between is what makes the serious situation just a little lighter. Just true midwesterns getting worked up, saying our words like, “oh jeez” and, “what the frick.”
When we first got to Sioux Falls, we decided we should probably stay the night since the drive was long. I wasn’t too impressed with the hotel, but that’s not why we were there. We went out for a date night dinner and then headed to the show. I’m always the early, nervous one, but when my husband said, “We should go…” (an hour early!), I knew he was just as excited as I was.
The show was at The ICON in downtown Sioux Falls, a really cool building and bar. Chase had surprised me with VIP tickets so we could get front-row seats and meet the hosts after the show. Needless to say, we were some of the first ones there, haha! I had made a joke about podcasts being the new version of a rock concert and how “mosh pitting” looks a little different in your 30s. We had a good laugh about how much things change as you get even just a little older.
The show started, and it was a full house! If you’re not into true crime, I’ll spare you the gory details, the rest of you can listen to the episode online. The case was from a small town outside of Madison, Wisconsin, in 2021. A young college student named Chandler, was living with his parents and had decided to drop out of school without telling them. He fabricated emails to make it look like he was still in contact with the school.
Well… his dad eventually found out after calling the school and pretending to be him. The school responded, “Sir, you haven’t been enrolled since the fall semester.”
Chandler’s dad then texted him, saying, “I know what’s going on. When you’re ready to talk, I’ll be here.” Instead of having that conversation, Chandler chose to avoid it altogether. No one knows all the details of why or how, but over the Fourth of July weekend, his parents vanished.
After eventually filing a missing persons report, Chandler tried to play dumb, until investigators had enough evidence to bring him in. I’ll stop the story there in case you want to listen to the podcast, but let’s just say Chandler was not as innocent as he tried to seem.
After the show, there was a Q&A session, and audience members could submit ideas for the episode title. There were plenty of funny and serious suggestions, but the winning title was, without a doubt, the best: “Could I be any more guilty?” If you’re a Friends fan, you know that the only other time we really hear the name Chandler said like that is on the show. The crowd immediately burst into laughter and applause. It was clear we had a winner. There were shirts you could buy with sayings they had created throughout their shows. Like, “Try Therapy, Not Homicide.” And “Divorce is easier than Murder.” I of course bought a shirt with one of my favorite sayings from Dawn.
Jonah and Dawn were so nice! I’ve been listening to their podcast for the past five years, and they were exactly how I imagined them, funny, down-to-earth midwesterns, that are genuinely appreciative of their fans. Getting the chance to meet them after the show made the whole experience even more memorable. Chase and I talked about it the whole drive home, while listening to another episode, already saying how much we’d love to go to another live show sometime. It’s not often you find something you enjoy listening to come to life in such a fun and personal way, and this definitely lived up to the dark hype. You can listen to them on Apple, Amazon music, Spotify or anywhere you’d basically listen to your podcasts. Ten out of Ten recommend for true crime junkies!
“Come to the Midwest, Stay for the Murder.”
