Little Crimes on the Prairie

You’d be surprised at small town America and the stories you might hear if you spend some time at a local watering hole. We know, you’re likely on your way to almost anywhere else. Our little home towns with our single stoplights, and noon special diners are rarely the desired destinations for travelers. 

Except for maybe once a year, when any Midwest town worth driving to, has it’s annual celebration. Where I’m from we will celebrate anything in the summer! 

We celebrate water towers, chislic, flowers, outlaws, quarries.. Literally anything… We also have Pow Wows, All kinds of Reunions, Centennials, Sesquicentennials for those fancier towns established before statehood in the Dakotas. 

The highlight of these small town celebrations is people show up… Sons, daughters, cousins and friends come home to visit, because if we don’t celebrate Jesse James, who will??? 

Most of these celebrations are capped with a street dance, and if you’ve never attended one I highly recommend it! If you don’t like drinking and dancing on Main Street to a cover band playing Don’t Stop Believing, I still 10/10 would recommend going just to people watch. Or listen. 

I have heard some of the wildest stories (probably starred in a few as well) at gatherings like these. The story will be told, and you’ll be as confused as a fart in a fan factory. Oh but not for long! There will be a guy who won’t say names, but he’ll tell you all about the “cover-up”... Could be a murder, could be a robbery, could be a story about someone breaking into cars stealing change, maybe poachers… It doesn’t have to be sensational, it just has to be unsolved, or at least without a clearly defined sequence of events. 

It wasn’t until I started listening to Dakota Spotlight this past spring, that I discovered I wasn’t alone! I wasn’t the only one who refused to accept one of these conspiracy theories without a second thought. 

I wasn’t the only one who was irritated hearing a whale of a tale with no facts. I was no longer alone in my search for some damn answers, and mostly, I wasn’t alone in my disappointment. The kind of disappointment you feel when society feels like sandpaper against the grain of your morality. Angry after you hear a story about a teenage girl found dead in the creek on the edge of a town you practically grew up in, but would barely tell you her name. Or when it happened. Yet, somehow, all of them knew with alarming confidence who was responsible, and why… 

It wasn’t until I heard James Wolner tell the story of Viktor Newberry, that I finally felt like I wasn’t the only one pissed off at all these people who seem to know it all, but have never thought to do anything, other than gossip, about it…. This wasn’t poachers, or a change thief. This was a young lady who these people claim was murdered. Why in the hell isn’t anyone raising hell about this?? Alas, across the prairie in Glen Ullin North Dakota the story of Viktor Newberry’s death and the cover up that followed was told to James. Unacceptable without facts, finally someone set out to find some.  

Last spring I was sick of hearing about quid pro quo, conspiracies, cover ups, collusion, but mostly I was sick of hearing about “fake news”...  James so accurately described what I was feeling I had to add a little snippet!

The thing about conspiracies, is that they’re supposed to be secret… If a whole town knows about it, it’s not much of a conspiracy. If the allegations of a cover up were true, and everyone knows about it, aaannnddd nobody does anything about it? That’s not a conspiracy, that’s bullshit. That’s blatant abuse of power, and a bunch of dumbasses who allow it to happen. 

I don’t even think I was through the first episode of Dakota Spotlight before I was emailing James. It felt like I had a kindred spirit up there in North Dakota, and turns out I was right! 

I reached out to James and he’s been an incredible resource, I enjoy collaborating with him on various projects! He’s been so kind to offer help and encouragement, I’ve come to think of him as a friend (even if he is from ND)... Hahaha! Just kidding! North Dakota is great in the summer! 

*I should really get some sound effects to highlight these hilarious jokes*

James’ podcast journey with Dakota Spotlight began much like mine did. Albeit about 3 years apart, but that’s ok, somebody has to know the things. 

He found himself in Glen Ullin, North Dakota for their annual Fall Festival. Somehow he ended up listening to some guy in a bar tell him about a guy named Viktor Newberry, how he was whacked by the Boston Mob and the local police covered up the true nature of his death. 

Well, he wasn’t just going to take the word of some guy who likes to tell stories. So, he started checking it out. Just like anyone else could, but won’t for some reason. They’d rather sit there with their rumors, than actually try to find out some facts. My experience with Debbie Vallejo’s case, and James’ deep dive into the life and death of Viktor Newberry struck every chord in my soul. Not in a weird way, but in a “oh yay, I feel less like a crazy person!” sort of way...  

Let’s see what he’s up to……

When we talk about the midwest sometimes we forget to mention the weather. The climate in the midwest is pretty much as you might guess, warm in the summer and cold in the winter. 

There’s a phenomenon in the midwest where the weather changes very quickly. I’ve seen the temperature shift almost 100 degrees in 24 hours. In January 1943 in Spearfish, SD the temperature increased 49 degrees in 2 minutes from 4 below zero to a sunny 45 degrees. 2 minutes. 

Let’s not forget the wind…. There’s so much damn wind here, there are wind turbines all over in the southwestern corner of Minnesota and Eastern South Dakota. It seems like it is always windy here.. Chinook winds from the southwest bring warm winds and Alberta Clippers bring the cold arctic wind. 

The I-90 and I-29 corridors in Western MN, Eastern SD, Northern IA is where I’m from. There’s The Buffalo Ridge in Southwest MN, which turns into the Coteau Ridge as it runs north just past the North Dakota border. This is known as the Coteau de Prairies, a flatiron plateau where the wind builds strength before it rolls down the plateau and across the prairie, spinning the wind turbines like a child’s pinwheel.  

We don’t hear enough about the blizzards. The wind is what separates a snowfall from a blizzard. Not a winter storm, but the full on, you better have your shit together, for real or you could die fucking blizzards. 

Since we just had a blizzard I figured I would tell you a story about my mom and one of the worst blizzards on record. 

There’s probably a lot of people listening that don’t know what a blizzard is like. I’m gonna do my best to describe it.. 

Let me paint you a picture, it’s white….. And I slap you in the face with it a hundred times while your extremities freeze and you can’t see. 

The blizzard I’m gonna tell you about started on January 9th, 1975. This particular blizzard had winds sustained at 45-55 mph and gusts up to 80 miles per hour. Yes. 80. Imagine freeway fast snow, ice and debris coming at you as the wind takes your breath away. You can only breathe if you don’t bury your head in your coat or scarf. The wind shapes the drifts that can drastically change the landscape. You can’t tell which way you are going, in the upper midwest if you are stuck you never leave your vehicle to walk somewhere. 

Obviously, that was more important back before cell phones, but still sometimes out here (Yes even now) there’s dead zones. Calls are dropped and texts just sit there half sent.. That’s not where you want to be when the wind picks up and the snow starts flying. 

The murders of Larissa Dumansky and Piper Streyle

Sioux Falls, SD is the largest city in South Dakota, snuggled near the eastern border with Minnesota and Iowa’s northeast corner.  You can often find it on some list of the Best Places to live. Almost 30% of the state’s population can be found in the Sioux Falls “Metro” Area.  (yes I used airquotes) 

Over 2 decades has passed since the confusion, worry and ultimately the realization of the predator that lurked among South Dakota’s east river metropolis. 

Hunting and studying women from all over the areas in and outside of Sioux Falls. A predator that was insidiously astute, patient and decisive preyed upon unsuspecting women. A creature lived beneath an exterior that was dangerously unnoticeable. 

In August, 1994 Larisa Dumansky disappeared after a long night at work. The night shift at the John Morrell’s meat packing plant was hard work, but Larisa was up for the task. She and her husband Bill immigrated from Ukraine in 1991, determined to create a better life for their growing family. The mother of 2 girls was 6 weeks pregnant. Larisa’s van sat parked in the same spot she parked before walking into work that night. 

The disappearance of the doting mother and loving wife left investigators frustrated, her family devastated and a burgeoning city shaking its head at the lack of leads. Weeks turned into months, and then years as the Dumansky family remained hopeful, although knowing Larisa would never leave her life voluntarily. Larisa’s husband Bill and their children held on to hope, and for 3 years that was all they had. The answers they ultimately received were nothing short of unimaginable.   

In July of 1996 Piper Streyle’s disappearance was the catalyst that set off a chain of events, uncovering the sort of depravity that deserved to be kept in the dark recesses of a foul mind without context or a story to tell. 

But, I’ll tell the story, not to give fame or glory to this depraved man, but to educate. Trust your gut, and if it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.  

It was the situation mothers have nightmares about. The paralyzing idea of being taken from your children in a manner that leaves them scarred as witnesses. 

Something so fucking terrifying you can only hope your 2 and 3 year old will be safe long enough for you to endure whatever this is, you’d do anything to get back to them. Hoping only they understand that the only thing that could have taken you is the fear of them being killed or death itself .. Every mother I know would gladly stare death in the face if it meant putting distance between a monster and her children. You pray for your family as it all fades to black and honestly, at this point you’re probably welcoming death after what he’s done to you. 

Sexually Violent Predators most commonly use violence as a means to gain and maintain control of a nonconsenting party. We all know and understand that sexually motivated assaults are difficult to endure, difficult to prove and difficult to prosecute. This is likely why only 230 out of 1000 sexual assaults are reported, out of 1000 sexual assaults 995 perpetrators will walk free.  

Marquis de Sade was a French author and sexual deviant, from whom we derived the word Sadist. He was a pedophile, rapist and a sexual terrorist. He is the father of the modern day sexual sadist. Sexual Sadists make up a small percentage of perpetrators, not all rapists are sadists.   

Sexual sadists get sexual pleasure from the pain, suffering and/ or humiliation of their victims. Of course all predators are terrifying, but there is something about these crimes that I find exceptionally horrifying. I think it’s the pleasure they get from your suffering. They are unlikely to have empathy for you in any capacity, their ultimate satisfaction comes with watching you suffer and then die.  

In July of 1996 Piper and Vance Streyle, with their children Shaina and Nathan lived in rural Canistota, SD. On July 29th after failing to appear at work a coworker named Patty Sinclair called the Streyle residence, where 3 year old Shaina Streyle answered the phone. 

Patty spoke with Shaina who said her mommy and daddy weren’t home, and hung up. Patty called a second time and Shaina was incoherent between her uncontrollable sobs. Patty was able to talk with Shaina enough that the poor girl had calmed down a bit and when she expressed to Patty “She didn’t want her mommy to die!” “I don’t want my daddy to die!” “They’re probably killed”... Patty promptly notified the McCook County Sheriff's Office. McCook County Sheriff Gene Taylor arrived and found the 2 Streyle children in the home alone. 3 year old Shaina’s statements to her father and police are heart wrenching “he took mommy and he took the tent. It’s ok we have another one. He left in a black truck, all black and she (Piper) isn’t coming back.  He is going to kill her.” 3 year old Shaina sobbed uncontrollably at times. It was 2 year old Nathan’s birthday and his birthday present, a little blue tent was taken along with their mother.