A family of five was shot to death by Neil M. Pladson in 1970. Pladson was imprisoned, then released to a halfway house in 1987. A year later, he was found strangled to death in his apartment.
Watch, listen and read exclusive reporting 40 years in the making as Forum Communications Columnist Jim Shaw looks back at the infamous Medina, North Dakota, shootout and tells where it stands today.
Five law enforcement officers were injured and another was traumatized by the horrors of the 1983 Medina shootout. Surviving officers and family members share their pain.
In this first installment of a three-part series, police officers who were at the scene of the shootout with Gordon Kahl, Yorie Kahl and Scott Faul offer a glimpse of the harrowing experience.
Two juveniles were charged with arson related to the fire, which caused $75 million in damage, or $232 million in 2022 dollars. However, charges were later dropped. Why?
Built in 1911 to house North Dakotans sick with tuberculosis, the sanatorium near Dunseith, North Dakota, closed in 1989. Left to the elements, the decaying buildings are a popular spot for urban explorers and paranormal investigators.
"The part that is not resolved is not going to be resolved ever," the victim's daughter said after the sentencing. "He's obviously not going to admit to this at all, whatsoever."
In the latest update from the Dakota Spotlight podcast's Season 5: A Better Search for Barbara Cotton, host James Wolner interviews a someone who may have seen the 15-year-old girl, gone missing from Williston, North Dakota, in 1981.
